Treating Patients in Non-Labor and Delivery OB/GYN Examinations and Procedures

Non-labor and delivery obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) procedures are an important and necessary part of reproductive health care. However, performing a pelvic exam or procedure, which requires entry through the pelvis, is often an uncomfortable, painful, embarrassing, and anxiety-provoking experience. Given the delicate nature of these examinations and procedures, it is imperative that physicians uphold the inherent trust placed in them that derives from the patient-physician relationship. Respecting a patient's privacy-including physical, informational, decisional, and associational privacy-is a prerequisite for ensuring that a fundamental foundation of trust exists between the patient and physician. This essay explores the ethical issues physicians face during clinical practice when performing non-labor and delivery OB/GYN examinations and procedures.