Sarah shook hands with the recruiter.
"That's all for now. I imagine we'll be in touch next week."
"Oh that's so soon -- great, thank you!" Sarah smiled, she was relieved the interview had gone well and her practised answers came out with confidence.
"There's been a group of you here today as the company is looking for about seven people to build this new team. We're making sure they have the best candidates who will be able to start immediately and grow the division efficiently, we're hoping all seven places will go to candidates we put forward."
"That's good to know." Sarah was so pleased -- she had just left university and the graduate job market wasn't promising -- this job seemed like a perfect opportunity.
The recruiter stood up and Sarah did too, they started walking towards the door behind the recruiter's desk.
"As we've had to process everyone so rapidly, the company has agreed to reduce the standards of the pre-employment physical exam so that workers can get into their jobs promptly."
"Oh that's good news."
"So your medical exam will be much shorter than normal." Sarah was relieved -- she'd been a bit anxious about having an examination, the relief must have showed in her face. The recruiter opened the door. In the corridor behind was a bench with four other smartly dressed women sitting waiting. "We'll be examining you as a group to get all the paperwork done in time."
Sarah faltered. "Oh... I... uh...." The recruiter frowned.
"Each of you will be examined individually by a nurse but the whole process will be overseen by a single doctor -- it reduces the amount of time expensive doctors have to spend on this occupational health assessment but also ensures the nurses are properly supervised." That didn't seem so bad to Sarah so she smiled politely and nodded. The recruiter handed her a file and disappeared back into her office, Sarah took her seat at the end of the bench.
She felt too awkward to make eye contact with the other women and so she busied herself looking through the file which seemed to contain all of her medical records since birth. She marvelled at the modern technology that allowed the company to pull all the data, whilst feeling embarrassed that they were able to see all her private information.
A door at the end of the corridor opened and a brown haired nurse in blue scrubs walked towards the waiting women.
"Good afternoon, if you'd like to come this way please." She led them down the hallway to a changing room and handed them each a paper gown and a plastic re-sealable bag. "Please put your clothes including your bras and in a locker. Please put your underpants in the plastic bag and seal it. You should put on your gown, it ties at the back."
She left before anyone could ask a question. There were no curtains or cubicles and everyone stood still, frozen with embarrassment.
"Well this is a bit fucked up!" A blonde woman who looked in her late twenties laughed. The others snickered, Sarah was worried that the medical staff might overhear. The woman who had made the remark started unbuttoning her silk blouse and soon everyone got on with the business of undressing,: putting on their gowns first and sliding their panties off once afterwards on for modesty. They were all storing their clothes when the nurse returned.
"Hurry up and line up in front of me now, bring your plastic bags and medical files." She called, not aggressively but with clear authority. She pulled a marker out of her pocket and held out her hand expectantly. The blonde woman was first to hand her bag and file over, the nurse wrote a number "1" on her bag, her file and then leaned towards the blonde woman. Everyone gaped as the nurse wrote a large number "1" on the blonde's forehead as well. She moved onto the next woman, a black girl around Sarah's age and did the same with the number "2". "We have very little time so you'll be referred to by the number on your head. We really need you all to co-operate and be as responsive as possible if we're going to get the procedures done on time. The marker will come off easily with a wipe once we're done."
The other women's faces mirrored how Sarah felt -- this seemed very dehumanising. The marker felt cold on her skin, making her shudder.
"We don't have time to take extensive pelvic samples today so we'll be testing your underwear for discharge and bacteria." As embarrassing as this was, Sarah consoled herself that this probably meant the examination wouldn't be too intimate. "OK, follow me now."
She marched the women down the corridor to a room with a sign reading "Group Physical Stations" on the door. Sarah mused that this must be what a military entrance exam would be like -- luckily she was determined to get the job. The room was large with white walls and a beige tiled floor. There were five red lines duct taped onto the floor with a chair next to each line, and a series of tables with medical equipment and paperwork.
"Each of you stand on a line. Please wait facing the door with your feet shoulder-width apart." The nurse turned and left the room as the women shuffled towards the red lines; Sarah stood with her feet apart, as instructed, and fidgeted with her hands. Looking sideways, she saw that, in addition to the black girl (2) and the woman with blonde hair (1), there was another woman who seemed under thirty, she was quite tall and well built and had short brown hair (4). There was also a woman who seemed older, perhaps early forties, who was petite and had mousy, curly hair (5).
The door opened and in walked an older, grey haired woman in a white coat followed by three female nurses in blue scrubs and two male nurses in green scrubs. They were followed by the nurse the women had already met and a tall man in white trousers and a white tshirt, he was very muscular with a shaved head and a smirk on his face.
"Afternoon ladies." The doctor boomed. "My name is Professor Oliver and these are the nursing staff whom I am supervising whilst they examine you. Let's get started. Please bend forward, putting your hands on your knees. You, FOUR, you were told to have your feet shoulder width apart." The tall woman seemed to jump. "Any failure to comply and we shall have to dismiss you, we just don't have time for nonsense today." Sarah bit her lip and bent forward, clawing at her knees with anxiety. Glancing up she saw a nurse approach each of the women -- she felt silly but she inwardly groaned when a male nurse approached her. The nurse who had brought them to the room and the man who seemed to be some sort of orderly sat down in chairs next to the doctor on the other side of the tables. They seemed to be pulling files out to make notes.
Sarah battled not to shy away as the male nurse started raking through her hair.
"ONE!" Called the Doctor, "Negative" replied a female nurse.
"TWO" "Negative"
"THREE" "Negative" called Sarah's nurse
"FOUR" "Negative"
"FIVE" "Negative"
The nurses collectively took a step back. "Stand up girls" Called the doctor. Sarah didn't appreciate them being referred to as girls but was relieved to stand up straight.
"No lice here. Tie your hair back into a pony tail." The male nurse pressed an elastic band into her hand. Sarah blushed, she couldn't believe they'd just been examined for lice! They were clearly professional, hygienic women! What an embarrassment. The nurses fetched blood pressure cuffs and proceeded to monitor each woman's blood pressure.
"ANYONE'S BLOOD PRESSURE HIGH OR LOW?" The Doctor called. "NO" the nurses called back in unison.
"Very good. Next is temperatures. Turn around girls, put your hands and elbows on the seat of the chairs." The women turned and bent down. Sarah made the mistake of looking sideways and catching 2's eye. They both looked back down at their hands in embarrassment. Sarah's nurse came up behind her and pulled up her gown, Sarah was too shocked to move but she heard 1 say "HEY!"
"ONE this is your last warning, any further delays and you'll be dismissed." The doctor barked as Sarah shivered from the feeling of the cold air on her thighs and bottom -- the gown had been pulled right up at the waist, completely exposing her.
"THREE, spread your legs wider." She gulped, realising the doctor was speaking to her. She inched her feet further apart. The male nurse was now using his left hand to pull her left butt cheek to one side and was pressing a slimy, cold glass thermometer into her asshole. She couldn't help but resist -- he jabbed it in harder and she felt it slide past her sphincter. The male nurse stepped back.
The wait seemed interminable. Sarah wanted to squirm but was scared the thermometer would fall right out. What a sight for the staff behind -- five naked asses in the air, thermometers protruding from their anuses, a slight view of their vaginas underneath.
The nurses stepped forward again. Sarah's nurse rubbed his hand down her spine from her neck right to her tailbone. Suddenly, the thermometer was yanked out, roughly.
"ONE" "normal"
"TWO" "normal"
"THREE" "normal"
"FOUR" "normal"
"FIVE" "normal"
