I have a tendency for afterthoughts. I'm not one to think in the moment, but reflect on it hours, days, or even weeks later.
When I was 15, I remember visiting the doctor because I had terrible menstrual periods. My primary care physician referred me to a "doctor." I put that in quotations because I'm not sure of his title. The need for parental permission was not necessary until the 90s or so, which made it possible for an underage person like myself to have procedures performed without it.
So, I'm in an exam room when the doctor presents himself, shakes my hand, tells me that he'd perform a D&C on me. Being uninformed, I said it would be okay. Well, it turned out the medical definition of a D&C is dilation and curettage. It was EXTREMELY painful and performed without anesthesia. There wasn't a nurse present, either. On top of that, his fly was open! I just thought he had forgotten to close his pants after urinating, but now I'm not all that sure.
Today, I understand why the need to have stricter medical consent and practices. The patient or legal representative need to be aware of the risks versus benefits of any procedure. Information needs to be given to patient or legal representative so that informed consent can be given, too. Also, during invasive exams/procedures, a second person needs to be present for the patient's safety. Who knows what was happening through that open fly...
