The effect of sexual experience on the attitudes of medical students to learning gynecological examinations

The influence of sexual experience and gender on the attitudes of medical students to the methods of teaching the gynecological examination was studied. Data were obtained by questionnaire from students who had completed their obstetric/gynecological and family medicine clinical terms. Two hundred and eighty-six students agreed to participate. Ninety of the male students (53%) and 63 (54%) of the female students had experienced sexual intercourse. Students male and female, who were sexually experienced felt they were more able to conduct a gynecological examination with sensitivity, put the woman at ease and to explain to the women what was being done and why. Male students who had not experienced sexual intercourse felt less able to perform a speculum examination, to do a Papanicolaou smear or be able to detect an abnormality. There were no gender differences between the preferred methods of learning to conduct a gynecological examination but non-sexually experienced students ranked higher the examination of a woman under anesthesia. The suggestion of student volunteers was more acceptable to sexually experienced women and non-sexually experienced male students. Students varied in their response to being volunteers for students learning to conduct vaginal or rectal (if male) examinations. If only the same sex were present 31% of non-sexually experienced male students would possibly volunteer for rectal examination and 39% of sexually experienced female students for vaginal examination. Sexual experience influences students' choice of methods for learning to conduct a gynecological examination.