When you walk into a clinic, you bring more than just your body. You bring your trust. You expect to be treated with compassion, respect, and professionalism. So when a video went viral showing staff at Pesetas Urgent Care mocking what appeared to be vaginal discharge left on the exam table paper after a pap smear, it felt like more than just an unprofessional moment. It was a breach of trust and a violation of patient dignity. As a nurse and someone who has worked in women’s health, I have to say this clearly: no one should ever be laughed at, judged, or disrespected in any part of their medical care.
What the Urgent Care Scandal Tells Us About Patient Dignity
This event was not an isolated lapse, it touched on deep anxieties many patients carry, especially women: being minimized, dismissed, or made to feel “less than” in spaces meant for healing.
- The trust between patient and healthcare provider is sacred. When that trust is broken, it doesn’t just hurt in the moment, it can deter people from seeking care.
- When medical staff treat samples or procedures with mockery, it isn’t just unprofessional, it also violates key ethical obligations.
According to the American Medical Association’s Code of Medical Ethics, physicians must be dedicated to providing competent care “with compassion and respect for human dignity and rights.” AMA Code
Also, the AMA opinion on Patient Rights clarifies that respecting patient privacy including personal space, personal data, and decisional privacy is essential to fostering trust. The same goes for nursing and the nursing code of ethics.
Why Patient Dignity Matters Especially in Women’s Healthcare
Visits related to reproductive health like Pap smears and pelvic exams are among the most intimate and vulnerable. A person shows up not only physically exposed but emotionally open. If dignity is undermined in those moments, the damage isn’t just emotional: it can ripple into long-term health behavior and outcomes.
Here are key facts:
- Research published in PMC shows that women experience significantly longer diagnostic delays compared to men for many conditions even when they present with the same symptoms.
- A 2024 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine highlights that women often face up to seven years’ delay in diagnosis for certain chronic conditions, especially when their symptoms are dismissed or attributed incorrectly.
- Women are underrepresented or improperly described in medical research: many studies fail to report outcomes by sex, which makes it harder to understand how diseases present differently in women vs. men.
Respect, listening, and trust aren’t just courtesies, they are critical determinants of women’s health outcomes.
Your Rights as a Patient
You are entitled to more than just “good enough” care. Here’s what dignity looks like in practice:
- Being treated as a human being, with empathy, without shame or humiliation.
- Clear, compassionate communication—asking you what you feel, listening deeply, explaining what is being done and why.
- Privacy and confidentiality, in every sense—physical privacy during exams, informational privacy in your records, decisional privacy in decisions about your body.
- Safe avenues to report misconduct, with assurance you won’t face retaliation.
Federal and institutional ethical standards support these rights. For example, AMA ethics opinions protect patient confidentiality and demand respect.
What You Can Do If You Feel Disrespected
You have options. Standing up for your dignity is not always easy—but it is important.
- Speak up in the moment: It’s okay to say something like, “I feel uncomfortable/mocked. Can we pause?”
- Document what happened: date, time, who was present, what was said or done.
- Use formal channels: patient advocate, clinic manager, state medical or nursing board, or hospital ethics committee.
- Seek alternative providers: If you feel unsafe or unable to trust your current provider, finding someone who honors dignity is valid and necessary.
Structural Problems That Enable Dignity Violations
To fix incidents like this, we need to look beyond individuals. There are systemic issues:
- Implicit bias, especially gender bias. Studies show women frequently report their symptoms being dismissed or attributed to emotional causes.
- Gaps in women’s health research and funding. Without adequate data, misdiagnoses and dismissiveness are more likely.
- Power dynamics and silence. Patients may not report what happens for fear of not being believed, or fear it will affect future care
Moving Forward: Protecting Patient Dignity Together
The story of Pesetas Urgent Care may fade from headlines but the issues it exposes should stay front and center.
As a nurse, here are what I believe need to happen:
- Providers must commit to training on implicit bias and patient-centered communication.
- Clinics must have clear, enforced policies around patient dignity and privacy.
- Patients need education about their rights and how to advocate for themselves.
- Health systems and researchers must prioritize women’s health issues not as niche topics but central to overall health equity.
Why This Matters
Respect is not optional, it is foundational to quality healthcare. Trust, dignity, compassion: these are not extras. They are essential.
If you or someone you love has been disrespected in healthcare, your voice matters. Be heard. Be believed. You deserve care that honors you fully, not just your body, but your humanity.