what goes on during a pap test am due for one and don't know what to expect?

The actual pap test takes about 3 seconds. The doctor or clinician will use a small swab to take samples of cells from your cervix. (It's painless, though you may have some spotting afterwards.)

But a pap smear is only one small part of a general physical exam, and without knowing more details, nobody here can know what other body parts will be examined and in how much detail.

(If it's a general annual exam, you can expect to have a pelvic and breast exam. (She will use her hands to feel your breasts for lumps, and use a speculum and her hands to check the inside of your vagina and your ovaries and uterus. She will listen to your heart and lungs, take your blood pressure, have you swallow while she feels your thyroid, feel your belly, etc. She will probably also talk with your about your health and sexual history and any concerns you might have. If you are sexually active, she will offer an STI screening.

The doctor will talk to you about your health history (how are your periods? do you feel any pain? are you sexually active). Then the doctor will examine you. You won't be wearing your clothes but will be wearing a little cloth garment that's easy to move around. The doctor will show you how to do a breast exam to check for lumps.

For the pap smear, it's a cotton swab on a long stick. The doctor will show you what a speculum is -- it helps keep the walls of your vagina open so the doctor can use the swab to reach your cervix. Then it just takes a few seconds for the swab to touch your cervix, which is at the top of your vagina. It will feel uncomfortable but it won't hurt.

The doctor will explain everything that's going on.