Views of Foundation Doctors (Year 2) on Distress Likely with Genital Examination in Children

Little is known about the attitude of newly qualified doctors towards intimate examination of children. During the 2 course of a training day in child protection, an exercise was undertaken to ask Foundation doctors (FY2) what impact they thought genitalia examination had on children. These responses have been compared with the only systematic examination of the response of children and their parents to such examinations that has been published. The doctors in question believe such examinations to be more distressing than children or their parents appear to perceive. It is likely that such perceptions may inhibit newly qualified in efforts to acquire such skills that may not have been acquired as medical students. This may be an area of continuing difficulty for the future because of the changes in access to relevant learning experiences for medical students.