A 1993 University of Massachusetts study of family practitioners found that nearly 45 percent of the 69 doctors and nurse practitioners surveyed said their ability to do the exam was at least slightly impaired by a lack of confidence in their skills.
Gender appears to be a factor too.
Earlier this year, researchers at Boston University Medical Center Hospital found that 95 percent of patients who'd been sent by a female primary-care doctor for a mammogram also received a CBE, compared with only 67 percent of those who'd seen a male doctor. A 1993 University of Minnesota study found that women who go to female doctors are more likely to receive mammograms and pap smears than those who see male doctors. All rights reserved.