Gynecological Examination - Essay Example

Gynecological examination mentioned in the photograph Introduction This paper seeks to study the provided photograph carefully and explain what is taking place in it. In doing so, the paper will give an analytical account of what is understood from the paper concerning the organization depicted in the photograph and discuss how gynecological examination is constructed and maintained. From the photograph, it’s obvious that gynecological examination is going on in a hospital. Gynecological examination is a procedure of assessing the reproductive system of a woman for her health reasons. Generally, that’s what is going on in the photograph. This examination often makes use of speculum for a view of the cervix and vagina. There may be more specialized procedures including Pap smear for cancer of the cervix detection. It can also be performed in the diagnosis of possible infertility using Rubin’s test. This helps in determining if the fallopian tubes through which eggs travel to the uterus from ovary are occluded. The activity, pelvic exam, going on in the photograph is very essential to every woman’s health. This activity aids the woman and the doctor in evaluating her reproductive organs health and check for unusual rash, color, irritation, discharges, swelling, or warts. In the photograph, the woman was asked to position herself on the table and place her feet above on the foot rests to enable the doctor examine the pelvic region. The patient could sit up and watch the doctor in the process of examination or just lie during the process. The doctor then examines external genitalia, after which a speculum is inserted to enlarge the opening of the vagina to give a clear view of the cervix and the walls of the vagina. It may not be very clear what tests are being done from the photograph, and therefore we can generally conclude that the doctor is assessing the woman’s reproductive system for any possible condition. According to Emerson (1970), the pivotal part of this examination, which is a private place behavior, is a Pap test. This test is a procedure followed in detecting pre-cancerous cells. During the procedure, the doctor uses a round brush for taking cells from the virginal opening or the mouth of the cervix. This may not be a painful procedure; however, one feels the brush touching the cervix. Another possible reason for this examination may be to detect the risk of sexually transmitted disease. In this case, a Chlamydia test is appropriate. This test is used to detect sexual transmitted diseases that cause few or no symptoms but may result into sterility. Just like Pap test discussed previously, the Chlamydia test entails extracting cell samples from the mouth of the vagina or cervix. The sample may also be used to test for possibility of other sexual transmitted diseases. A bimanual exam is begun once this test is done and the speculum removed. During this exam, bimanual exam, the doctor places one hand on the woman’s lower abdomen and from the other hand, two fingers in the vagina. This is done so as to outline the ovaries and uterus. Through this, the doctor can then determine abnormalities from the pelvic and may possibly ask the woman to describe any tenderness felt. Gynecological procedure is one activity that makes a good example of a private place behavior. It may not be a social situation, at least according to Goffman, (1971). This is not something that can be done in public. When in public, people often engage themselves into active maintenance of identity requiring role playing and self projections which happens on several consciousness levels and not be assumed. This is also ascertained by Emerson, who also suggests that reality maintenance demands role playing within the set boundaries of the society. Emerson asserts that what happens whenever realities in the same setting are at odds with one another is a behavior in private place. She goes ahead and argues that the stability of precarious situations like that is dependent on 3 kinds of potential disruptions of fragile reality. People trying to understand how others should behave pose limited social skills and hence cannot have his performance carried off. Emerson in her “Behavior in Private Places”, chose gynecological examination in her study because she had a feeling it is an exemplified setting with multiple contradictory definitions of realities and threatened stability due to inability of some participants to stick to the role scripts prescribed. What is taking place in the photograph, gynecological examination, is an extremely intrusive procedure both psychologically and physically. At any particular moment a woman’s body is examined or handled in this particular way as shown in the photograph or in this kind of physical way, it is done in a sexually intimate setting especially behind closed doors. This is the reason why a gynecological examinations setting indicates a reality maintenance dilemma. However, the means and the ends of the procedure are not compatible seemingly. This is also the reason why most of the attempts in gynecological clinics are channeled towards making and sustaining the definition of a medical situation. In the provided photograph, everything screams professionalism, sterility and neutrality, from the pastel and white colors of a décor of the office to the bright lights glare. The identical uniforms donned by the doctors and the staff, the display of medical equipment and medical technology, the application of terminologies of medicine, contribute to desexualization of gynecological examination setting. This is evident in the photograph provided. According to Emersion, during gynecological examination as seen in the photograph, the patient is perceived as a technical object to the staff and the doctor. The doctor practically disattends connections existing between some intangible self and part of the body which is supposed to occupy the body. Most of these are carried out on the medical side. Medical staff takes most of the day carrying out gynecological examinations and the patient remains a fleeting visitor of the facility. The medical staff is deeply convinced by the reality and is willing to convince their skeptical patients. The scene in the photograph is precisely credible because the doctor acts in such a way to show she has all the right to perform the activity, gynecological examination, this is because any particular hint that indicates doubt compromises medical definition. This makes a reality hinged on persuaded performance theoretically on behalf of the staff of the hospital for the patient’s benefit. Conclusion In summary as seen in the provided photograph, the medical definition is disadvantageous in this setting and is particularly an inquiry about sexual experience and functions of the body. Gynecological examinations may also result into patient exposure and patient body manipulation. It would be a degrading privacy invasion and shocking if doctors did not define their patients as a technical object. This paper has studied the provided photograph carefully and explained the activity taking place in it. Through this, the paper has given an analytical account of what is in the photograph concerning the hospital depicted in the photograph and discussed how gynecological examination is constructed and maintained. It can be deduced from the photograph that a gynecological examination is going on in a hospital. 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