Menopause is a condition that affects the vast majority of women in this country - yet we know that many feel that there’s inadequate support out there.
That’s why menopause expert Dr Louise Newson has teamed up with medical appraisal company FourteenFish to offer a new menopause education programme for all healthcare professionals.
Confidence in the Menopause is an educational package aimed at any healthcare professional who sees women and who would like to formalise and accredit their learning and consulting skills around menopause.
The remote programme aims to deliver training and information in a simple, modular package consisting of lectures and a series of different video-based e-consultations with MCQ assessment. It’s CPD accredited, with participants being awarded a certificate on completing each section.
As part of the course, healthcare professionals will be brought into the consultation room with a doctor or nurse and their patient. Through in-depth case studies - brought to life through video resources - the HCP will learn how to assess and manage women going through menopause and perimenopause.
It’s so important that women are given the care and they need during this time. As life expectancy continues to grow, we can look forward to spending around a third of our lives post-menopause.
A few months ago, talkhealth conducted some research looking into the care menopausal women received from GPs and the results were depressing to say the least.
We found that very few doctors (just 27%) were willing to refer women to see a consultant, and when asked about their experience dealing with healthcare providers, the overall reaction was negative. Women complained of being ‘fobbed off’ with website information, or being pushed towards chemical interventions despite openly asking for more holistic methods of dealing with symptoms. Others had only male doctors to confide in, which may have been a barrier both to opening up fully and to receiving insightful advice. It’s especially interesting that nearly 60% of those women who did speak with a healthcare professional didn’t find it helped them to better cope with their transition.
Dr Newson’s course, however, is going to provide HCPs with a decent information background to help them feel more confident in the care they’re able to provide. That in turn will empower women to take more affirmative action over their own health.
The course can be accessed here. Dr Newson also runs a menopause support app called Balance, which can be downloaded here.
(Picture: Edu Lauton/Unsplash)