Contraceptive Counseling For Primary Care NPs
Mar 23, 2021
Some people feel really uncomfortable talking about anything that has to do with reproductive health. Some of these people are patients, and some of them are healthcare professionals. Are you one of them? If we are not comfortable talking about reproductive health, we really can’t expect our patients to be comfortable, either.
Contraception counseling is important in primary care.
If you thought that you might be off the hook because you work in primary care - you’re not. Contraception is as important as smoking, cholesterol, diet, or family history - all the things that we talk with our patients about all the time. It’s a part of taking care of the entire patient. When you know and understand your patients’ goals for family planning - whether that is to never have children, to have children at some point in the future, or to be open to whatever happens - a lot of other pieces of the clinical picture can become more clear.
Having a plan for the conversation is a good way to get more comfortable. If you get stuck just trying to think of where to start, there are tips in this week’s video that will help with the conversation. Imagine having just three questions to ask that not only guide the whole conversation, but that makes the whole thing easier and less awkward for both you and the patient.
In this video, we will cover easy-to-use strategies for contraceptive counseling in primary care. Including:
- How to actually talk with primary care patients about contraceptives
- Questions to ask the patient about contraceptive methods
- How to match contraceptive options with the patient’s preferences
- How having this conversation actually empowers patients
You don’t have to know the perfect thing to say when it comes to contraceptive counseling. But having a roadmap for the conversation will make a big difference for you and your patients.
(FYI: to slow down the audio speed, hit the gear symbol in the bottom right corner and change it to .75x or .5x. Closed captions are also located at the bottom R hand corner of the video.)
Resources mentioned in this episode:
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