Tweet
I know there are some medical school students out there and thought I would share a chapter from my past.
Ten years ago while I was in law school my wife and I joked about a classified ad in the university paper, "Male models needed, $50/hour." Having waited tables, delivered pizza and appliances, washed dishes and much, much more for much, much less, I was intrigued by the ad and my wife encouraged me to at least call.
As it turns out, I got hired to role-play a medical patient to medical school students at Albert Einstein in the Bronx. Although the commute to Jacobi Hospital was not ideal, I was paid for a minimum of 2 hours even though the exams rarely lasted more than 1. Later, as word of my patient role playing talent spread through the boroughs, I also began working in the same capacity at Cornell in Manhattan.
Now, I had had a few years of clothesfree experience behind me when I began, but playing a patient is an altogether different kind of nudity than going to a beach or pool or hiking. First, similar to posing for art classes, I was the only one naked and the object of attention- people are encouraged to stare! (this takes some getting used to, especially when I was 26). However, it is much more interactive than art class where I basically have sat or stood motionless and quiet. In the med school program, I was constantly being handled, felt, probed, palpated, etc. and was talked to ("Have you experienced any tenderness here?) and so it was impossible to pretend you were doing anything other than what one was doing.
Although I could not prove it, I strongly believed that despite what we may think, there were in fact young adults who had not seen a naked man in person before and certainly many who have never touched one. At least one student each week (of the 6 or 7 who would practice on me) would have trembling hands and at least once every other week, there were red faces. The students came from many cultures and backgrounds.
However, just as I have asked myself what kind of people choose to pursue art if they have problems with nudity, I also wondered what kind of people wish to become doctors if the nude body makes them so nervous?
The two programs had very different approaches. In one, the students were led by a resident who stood guard as each student took a turn on me. In the other program, the students examined me individually. I think there were good and weak points about each approach, but I did feel the students were somewhat more relaxed in the individual sessions.
There aren't many of these jobs and I understand some medical school do not even offer these programs, but if you ever have a chance to do the work and you think of yourself as a veteran of social nudity, being a role playing patient getting your prostate checked and cords examined (by choice and not by necessity) will certainly bring you to a new level of body comfort. Sure doctors have seen me nude, but it has never been the same as the role-playing for many reasons.
PS. Everyone laughed about my job (and I had to add it to my job experiences on my application to the state bar), but I easily made enough for my wife and I to travel to Britain that year for spring break! Like they say, if you can find something you'd do for free and get paid, you can't go wrong.
Ten years ago while I was in law school my wife and I joked about a classified ad in the university paper, "Male models needed, $50/hour." Having waited tables, delivered pizza and appliances, washed dishes and much, much more for much, much less, I was intrigued by the ad and my wife encouraged me to at least call.
As it turns out, I got hired to role-play a medical patient to medical school students at Albert Einstein in the Bronx. Although the commute to Jacobi Hospital was not ideal, I was paid for a minimum of 2 hours even though the exams rarely lasted more than 1. Later, as word of my patient role playing talent spread through the boroughs, I also began working in the same capacity at Cornell in Manhattan.
Now, I had had a few years of clothesfree experience behind me when I began, but playing a patient is an altogether different kind of nudity than going to a beach or pool or hiking. First, similar to posing for art classes, I was the only one naked and the object of attention- people are encouraged to stare! (this takes some getting used to, especially when I was 26). However, it is much more interactive than art class where I basically have sat or stood motionless and quiet. In the med school program, I was constantly being handled, felt, probed, palpated, etc. and was talked to ("Have you experienced any tenderness here?) and so it was impossible to pretend you were doing anything other than what one was doing.
Although I could not prove it, I strongly believed that despite what we may think, there were in fact young adults who had not seen a naked man in person before and certainly many who have never touched one. At least one student each week (of the 6 or 7 who would practice on me) would have trembling hands and at least once every other week, there were red faces. The students came from many cultures and backgrounds.
However, just as I have asked myself what kind of people choose to pursue art if they have problems with nudity, I also wondered what kind of people wish to become doctors if the nude body makes them so nervous?
The two programs had very different approaches. In one, the students were led by a resident who stood guard as each student took a turn on me. In the other program, the students examined me individually. I think there were good and weak points about each approach, but I did feel the students were somewhat more relaxed in the individual sessions.
There aren't many of these jobs and I understand some medical school do not even offer these programs, but if you ever have a chance to do the work and you think of yourself as a veteran of social nudity, being a role playing patient getting your prostate checked and cords examined (by choice and not by necessity) will certainly bring you to a new level of body comfort. Sure doctors have seen me nude, but it has never been the same as the role-playing for many reasons.
PS. Everyone laughed about my job (and I had to add it to my job experiences on my application to the state bar), but I easily made enough for my wife and I to travel to Britain that year for spring break! Like they say, if you can find something you'd do for free and get paid, you can't go wrong.
Comment