PHINMA University of Pangasinan

College of Health Sciences

Name: Salcedo, Angela Zulueta Date: September 15, 2022

Year/block/group: UP-FB1-BSN2-13 Clinical Instructor: Ms. Glea Mae Reside Avilla

Title of Journal Reviewed:

Performing the first pelvic examination: Female medical student’s transition to examiners.

Pelvic examination (PE) is a challenging process as the pelvic examination is a sensitive examination, and
suitable interpersonal and technical skills need to be learnt. How are the initial pelvic examinations conducted
by female medical students?

Before the examination situation itself, the students highlighted they had experienced nervousness about
performing the pelvic examination and making mistakes in front of their fellow students. However, as one of
several students who had the same task and who had confidence in each other, the situation became less charged
and uncomfortable than expected. It became a clinical, but permissive, enabling them to show their insecurity
and act as novices. The students postulated how the careful stepwise guidance by the PP and the gynaecologist,
with no time limit, enabled them to learn how to use their fingers and hands in a proper way. Through the
opportunity to touch, feel and bimanually palpate from different angles, they all discovered the size, shape and
consistency of the uterus. It helped them create an image, a three-dimensional picture of the uterus, and
promoted the insight that this organ was not only sexual but an integrated, important part of the body. After
performing the examination, the students stated they were relieved and contended. The opportunity for the
students to perform this sensitive examination once and become comfortable with it was greatly appreciated. It
reduced their uneasiness, and promoted confidence and a feeling of being better prepared to perform a complete
pelvic examination. The medical students left their first session having gained valuable experience. They were
contented and felt greater self-confidence, pride and joy over what they had accomplished. In addition, the
session had contributed to a reflective approach and an increased, more realistic awareness of their own
reproductive organs, benefits that the students had not had in mind beforehand. Enhanced bodily  awareness and
acquired knowledge about the PE enabled the students to look forward to their own next PE as they felt better
able to interact with the examiner during the consultation. 

In summary, learning about the pelvic examination awoke the students' reflections and an awareness of
themselves as female bodies. It also promoted a deeper interest in the body's functions and in future pelvic
examinations, both as examiners and patients. 
 University of Pangasinan
PHINMA Education Network
College of Health Sciences

Name: Salcedo, Angela Zulueta Date: September 15, 2002

Level/block/group: UP-FB1-BSN2-13. Clinical Instructor: Ms. Glea Mae Reside Avila

Reflection to Journal Reviewed:

Performing the first pelvic examination: Female medical student’s transition to examiners.

Nursing is one of the most professionally, personally, and spiritually rewarding careers there are. Nurses or
student nurses are responsible for recognizing patients' symptoms, taking measures within their scope of
practice to administer medications, providing other measures for symptom alleviation, and collaborating with
other professionals to optimize patients' comfort and families' understanding and adaptation, and, of course,
carrying out an examination just like a pelvic examination. How is it possible for a medical student nurse to do
a delicate examination for the first time?

The piece I read, "Performing the first pelvic examination: Female medical student’s transition to examiners,”
discusses the feelings medical student nurses have both before and after performing the sensitive pelvic check
for the first time. It is a privilege and an obligation for the student nurses to perform a sensitivity examination
for the first time. They must check for any abnormalities in the true vulva, vagina, cervix, ovaries, uterus,
rectum, and pelvis. A pelvic exam is a doctor or nurse's visual and physical examination of a woman's
reproductive organs; it is a crucial component of the evaluation for female patients and crucial towards
identifying various diagnoses. There are several ways to learn how to perform this technique. Student nurses
must perform this assessment with direction, comfort, and focus. Student nurses examine the entire uterus, not
just the private area, taking into account its size, shape, and consistency. It's tough to learn and practice giving
detailed, step-by-step instructions. Being a learner and an examiner at the same time is excellent experience.
Because it gradually increased their knowledge and sense of security as examiners, the students realized that
experiential learning was a process over time. The advantage of mixing theory with early exposure to the pelvic
examination allowed the students to anticipate performing PEs in the future with confidence and encouraged an
interest in learning more about this procedure. 
area.

“Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience."