Our Greatest Wealth Is Health

Andrew Siegel, M.D.  4/28/18

The S.H.I.M. test is the “Sexual Health Inventory for Men.”  It is a simple 5 question test that urologists use to subjectively test for the presence and extent of erectile dysfunction (ED).  It is commonly used metric for screening, diagnosing and determining the severity of ED in clinical practice and research.  It is very useful before prostate cancer surgery to obtain a baseline appraisal of the presence, rigidity, durability and functionality of one’s erection.

Go ahead and test your own erection quotient.  For each question, note your answer by circling the number that best describes your function.
 Add the numbers together and refer to the table below to see what your score may mean.

Over the past 6 months:

How do you rate your confidence that you could get and keep an erection?

1. Very low
2. Low
3. Moderate
4. High
5. Very high

When you had erections with sexual stimulation, how often were your erections hard enough for penetration?

1. Almost never/never
2. A few times (less than half)
3. Sometimes (about half)
4. Most times (much more than half)
5. Almost always

During sexual intercourse, how often were you able to maintain your erection after you had penetrated (entered) your partner?

1. Almost never/never
2. A few times (less than half)
3. Sometimes (about half)
4. Most times (much more than half)
5. Almost always

During sexual intercourse, how difficult was it to maintain your erection to completion of intercourse?

 When you attempted sexual intercourse, how often was it satisfactory for you?

1. Almost never/never
2. A few times (less than half)
3. Sometimes (about half)
4. Most times (much more than half)
5. Almost always