I don’t know how the custom originated that American women have everything regarding their ladybits taken care of by an OB/GYN, but that’s basically what it is.
I’ve occasionally elicited gasps of horror from my fellow American women when I tell them my GP takes care of the ladybit exam as part of my annual physical. Truth is, something like a Pap smear doesn’t require 12 years of university training to perform correctly. Haven’t had kids, don’t need birth control due to a sterile husband, have been blessedly free of complications in the plumbing so, in fact, my GP really can handle the routine stuff and if something more than that arises (presumably during annual examination) he’ll make an appropriate referral to an expert.
However, many American women go decades without seeing a GP - they use an OB/GYN as their primary physician.
I’m sure some mothers do - but I also know plenty of women in the US who never saw a GYN until they were pregnant. My guess is that woman who take their daughters to the GYN at the time of the first period aren’t doing so because they are too shy to talk to their daughters about birth control or menstruation. I suspect it might be so the daughter has met a GYN before she actually needs one. Although I didn’t take my daughter to the GYN when she began to menstruate , I did at some time around 15 or 16 point out that she had her own insurance card , that there was a GYN in our primary doctors office , and that if she made a GYN appointment, no one was going to call and tell me about it.
This is true. My GP referred me to a gyno when I was 18 for an exploratory laproscopy, which came back normal. I didn’t see a gyno again until I was pregnant - not even when I was undergoing testing for infertility. Most of my pregnancy checkups were done by a midwife, who would consult with a GP if she was concerned or send me directly to him if something was wrong. I chose this type of care - I had the option to exclusively see a gyno but my pregnancies have been uncomplicated until the end and I was happy with the care the midwives gave.
My GP does my 2-yearly paps and prescribes my birth control - about a year ago he prescribed and inserted the implanon birth control implant for me.
My daughter has never seen a paediatrician since she was discharged from the hospital after her birth, and my son was only referred to one because he had a hydrocele. Once it resolved itself we were sent on our way. Both kids had bimonthly checkups with a maternal and child health nurse for the first year of life, dropping to six monthly checkups in their second year, and the GP takes care of anything else. FWIW, I don’t believe I ever saw a paediatrician in my childhood.
I believe that in the United States general practitioners/family practitioners/primary care physicians don’t really have any less training than specialists. As I said, over here, GP/FP/PC is really no less a medical specialty than anything else.
Regardless, my personal experience is that it is a lot easier for me to get in to see a podiatrist, otolaryngologist (ENT), urologist, dermatologist, cardiologist, or other “specialist” at my convenience, with less waiting around in the office and such.
I mean at this point in my life, if I’ve got an ingrown toenail, an allergic wheeze, a penis problem, or a skin tag, then I don’t really need a primary care physician to run interference for me. And it’s a pain in the ass to find a GP (nobody’s taking new patients) and keep one (retiring, moving away, or switching to some god-awful pre-paid health scheme that charges $1,000 a year on top of my insurance).
And, yeah, I’ve had skin tags and ingrown toenails done by both GPs and specialists, and, you know what, the GPs are bloody awful at doing that stuff. I’ve regretted it when I haven’t gone straight to the specialist. I sure as shit would never go to a GP for something like a vasectomy. That’s horrific.
Um… Nowhere did I suggest going to a GP for a vasectomy, that was very much someone else.
And it must be nice to have choices - I don’t have much of one, really. My insurance pretty much will only cover a visit to a GP unless I get a referral, and there are very few specialists in my area that will accept my insurance. I sure as hell can’t afford to pay out of pocket It’s a sad commentary on our “system” that it’s easier to see a specialist - who costs much, much more per visit - than a general practitioner, or that people feel a need to self-diagnose themselves sufficiently to determine which specialist they “need” to see. It’s yet one more reason (actually, two) that we Americans pay twice as much for less actual result.
So, once again - it doesn’t require a specialist to do a pap smear. Even at many OB/GYN offices it’s not the actual OB/GYN doing them but a nurse practitioner of some sort. It’s not rocket science.
As for getting in to see the doctor - if it’s urgent I can usually get in the same day to see mine, although I’ll be spending time in the waiting room until he can squeeze me in. If it’s not urgent I can wait the day or three it takes to get a scheduled appointment. If it’s an actual emergency I’m not going to the GP, I’m going to the emergency room like I’m supposed to.
Up until this year, I’ve had my primary care doc deal with my “well-woman exam” and prescribe my birth control, and I never bothered looking for a gynecologist. It was easy: why hunt down a specialist when the generalist can do it just as well? I switched primary care physicians this year because I changed jobs and the old office is now really inconvenient, and the new doctor unfortunately doesn’t do PAPs and such. I had to do a little research and find an OB/GYN, which is fine in the long run since I’m now trying to conceive and will eventually, hopefully, need someone to see me through a pregnancy. Otherwise, though, I was seeing a generalist to get the annual lady-bits routine taken care of, and I was perfectly happy with that.
ETA: It wasn’t part of my annual physical, though - it was always a separate appointment because of insurance coding, or something.
Nobody said you said that, so I don’t know why you feel the need to disavow it. A message board thread is a group conversation, not a series of two-way conversations.
Because you quoted me in your reply some people might have interpreted that to mean you were rebutting my post throughout your post, rather than moving to more general statements. I wanted to clarify my position so two pages from now I’m not having to deny that I suggested a GP for vasectomy or be accused of lying when I make such a denial. Such things have happened recently on the SD to posters.
Never heard that among any of my friends with daughters. Most people I know take their daughters when they go on BC or just before college, or earlier if there is a problem.
Interesting, but really not my experience. I’ve never heard of someone taking a 10-13 year old (when menstruation can begin) to an Gyn, and we talk about this stuff among my friends!
The only time I’ve heard of a young girl being taken to an OB/GYN is when there is an obvious problem, such as a menstruating 6 year old or a 17 year old who isn’t menstruating. Such situations should be investigated and may well warrant an expert.
There’s an old story about this elderly lady who had never seen an ob/gyn and had given birth at home, and was finally convinced to see a gynecologist by one of her grandchildren. She ends up relenting and seeing one, and it happens to be a guy. After the exam, the doctor asks the grandma if she has any questions. Her question was
Thank goodness you nipped Vasectomy-gate in the bud. God knows how many pages of arguments we would have had to endure about whether or not you endorsed vasectomies performed in unusual places. Now I can confidently declare that Broomstick uses and approves Vast Difference: the Do-It-Yourself Nip and Tie Home Vasectomy Kit, available at CVS, RiteAid, and better retailers everywhere.
The more common US meaning, “operation”, is not frequently used in the UK. You’d say “operation”. “Surgery” as a noun generally refers only to the practice or the place/time.
Usually the first time or couple of times you have one, you want a proper diagnosis to rule out other causes of genital itching/burning/unusual discharge. If you get them regularly to the point where the symptoms are familiar and consistent, you don’t necessarily need a diagnosis every time – and there are highly effective OTC treatments.
I am lucky enough to have never had a yeast infection, but I do know people in the latter category, they don’t see a doctor unless something is different from the last 10 times they had one.
I thought that my response made it clear I was familiar with this definition. But actually, this quotation doesn’t seem complete to me, because the British media references that I encounter most often have nothing to do with health care or medicine at all. It seems that everyone in Britain holds “surgery,” particularly politicians. It seems to have lost its metaphorical nature and simply has become a synonym for “open office hours” or something like that.
And, yeah, while I’m familiar with this usage, I still find it bizarre.
Oh man, I remember the days when you had to get a prescription for Monistat (and its sister meds). Now that you don’t need a prescription anymore, I never get them.