“It’s been TWO YEARS already? Ugh.” – Me, every time I need to get a pap smear.
There are certain things in life you just want to put off for as long as possible. Necessary evils like doing the dishes, brushing your hair or, you know, getting a pap smear.
But like a slowly moulding pile of plates, you can’t ignore that little reminder note forever and you’ll feel better for sorting it out.
The Thinkergirls, Stacey June and Kristie Mercer, specialise in articulating things that many young women are too afraid to say out loud, like ‘Christ, do I really need to get a pap smear already?’
In their latest video, Kristie realises she can’t remember the last time she had a pap test and so embarks on, let’s face it, a relatively straight forward mission to get one.
Her lovely, and very unscary GP explains the process for her (and you) and removes some of the stigma by showing exactly what goes down when that sheet goes over.
“The key message here is that it’s maintenance,” the doctor says.
“It’s not something that’s going to tell you whether you have cancer or not, it’s about staying on top of it.”
Watch the video here:
You can follow all the Thinkergirls’ adventures on their Facebook page or grab a ticket to see them live at their special 100th episode celebration in Melbourne tonight.
Top Comments
Weird and off-base generalisation there by Tink. Most women prefer to have their pap test done by a female GP, who do them every single day and are extremely competent. Some older male GPs may rarely do them, while some still do them regularly but likely not as often as the female GPs. Sarah - all female GPs will be ready to do your pap test anytime, it is part of their everyday job. If you have a male GP, I would suggest just asking them if they regularly take care of their female patient's pap tests. If they don't, they will be quick to gently encourage you to see one of their female colleagues.
Hi, I guess I was a bit sensitive there, probably because I'm a female GP :) Also in bed with the flu and a bit grumpy ;) You are clearly lucky to have a great local GP! I once worked in a tiny remote central Qld town where the solo male GP told female patients to wait for the female GP to visit ... once every 3 months! But most rural GPs are amazing. Of course you can ask the GP of your choice perform the test but just out of interest, generally the females do at least double or triple the number that the men do (in urban practice particularly). A lot of my patients have had a bad experience getting a pap test at some time unfortunately, from male and female GPs, gynaecologists or pap smear nurses. It's great that you have an awesome local male GP but to generalise that female GPs aren't as good at it based on your personal bad experience is a bit unfair. This is preventative health, it is what we do every day, my patients always survive, are never in any more discomfort than we can avoid, are appreciative of the job I do and of course are happy to have it over and done with for another 2 years! Thanks for your reply :)
Last time I asked to have a Pap smear the GP told me I needed to book an appointment with a female doctor next time. I'm now too embarrassed to ask for one in case the doctor doesn't feel comfortable doing one.
Hi Sarah, I understand how you feel. However I work with GPs and many male GPs do not do Pap tests these days or they require a nurse to be in the room with them. It is very common for patients to make complaints about GPs being 'inappropriate'. Now this is hard to say on this site, but very often these are false accusations made by people looking to gain compensation from the doctor or to stain the reputation of the GP. Now obviously patients should always report inappropriate behaving of a GP, I'm just trying to explain the background as to why male GPs often refuse to do these tests, especially with new patients.
Many male GPs do not perform Pap tests or require a nurse also be in the room. This is due to high rates of patients making medico legal complaints about male GPs. It should not be the case but unfortunately it is.