Rachel Bonnema

Helping Women Choose Appropriate Hormonal Contraception: Update on Risks, Benefits, and Indications

Primary care physicians frequently provide contraceptive counseling to women who are interested in family planning, have medical conditions that may be worsened by pregnancy, or have medical conditions that necessitate the use of potentially teratogenic medications. Effective counseling requires up-to-date knowledge about hormonal contraceptive methods that differ in hormone dosage, cycle length, and hormone-free intervals and are delivered by oral, transdermal, transvaginal, injectable, or implantable routes. Effective counseling also requires an understanding of a womans preferences and medical history as well as the risks, benefits, side effects, and contraindications of each contraceptive method. This article is designed to update physicians on this information.

Medical Family Therapy in Internal Medicine

Whether a puzzling diagnostic dilemma or multiple severe chronic illnesses, Internal Medicine providers are trained to manage both simple and complex medical conditions. Internists are equipped to handle the broad and comprehensive spectrum of illnesses that affect adults and are experts in diagnosis, treatment of chronic illness, and health promotion and disease prevention. They are not limited to one type of medical problem or organ system. This includes care across the continuum of outpatient (community-based) to inpatient (hospital) facilities, with particular attention paid to times of transition when risk for adverse outcomes from chronic medical conditions increases. Nearly one-fifth of Medicare patients discharged from a hospital have an acute medical problem within the subsequent 30 days that necessitates another hospitalization, and the majority of the time, it is for a different medical condition than the original hospitalization (Jencks, Williams, & Coleman, 2009). The transition from hospital to home is a high-risk time for most patients but particularly for patients who are elderly or those with more chronic medical conditions. Internists, by nature of their training in balancing multiple medical conditions in adults, are well-equipped to provide care to patients at any inpatient or outpatient site.

Behavioral Medicine Resident Education and Format for Curriculum Modification

Methods • Data collection spanned from September, 2014 until September, 2016 • Participants/Setting • Internal medicine residency with 76 residents Surveys • Residents completed surveys following didactic lectures and video reviews focused on behavioral medicine-related topics. • Surveys contained four questions which were designed to identify: 1. Strengths of the curriculum (Open ended question) 2. Areas that need improvement (Open ended question) 3. “Usefulness” (Likert Scale 1-10 with 10 being “very useful”) 4. Additional comments • Researchers utilized thematic analysis to develop themes and sub-themes • Descriptive statistics were used to identify the frequency of responses Introduction

Primary care management of chronic pelvic pain in women

Chronic pelvic pain in women can arise from many causes and often results in significant declines in function and quality of life. A systematic approach for evaluating patients and initiating a management plan are recommended in the primary care setting. Comprehensive management strategies may include medication, pelvic physical therapy, and behavioral interventions. While referral may eventually be indicated, primary care doctors can take steps to diagnose and manage the condition.