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“Oftentimes, [during] the very first visit, we are talking a lot. I am learning what's going on with them," says Anna Myers, CNP.
When communicating her patients, Anna Myers, CNP, places great emphasis on the privacy and confidentiality of their conversation.
“Our first conversation is, whatever they have to stay is going to stay here in this room; sensitive topics—and we are going to talk about some sensitive issues—are not going to be written in charts where family members can see them, that kind of thing. They have to feel very comfortable with what they tell me.”
Myers, a certified nurse practitioner with University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, says she is also very trauma sensitive when it comes to examining patients, “even to the point [where I ask] is it okay for me to touch you with the Q tip? Is it okay for me to insert a speculum?”
“Oftentimes, the very first visit, we are talking a lot. I am learning what's going on with them. We’re coming up with a treatment plan, and oftentimes I will do my exam on the second visit so they can prepare mentally for it [and] they're not caught off guard,” Myers added.
When a patient experiences pain with an exam, Myers said, “I stop. I don't proceed further. We just hold off…We get to the point where we can do an exam a lot of times. Some of the conditions we treat, like vaginismus, that's a condition where the vagina locks down, and that you can't insert anything, and it's all related to fear in their brain. A lot of times, we have to kind of work through that, and they may have to work with a therapist or a counselor, one of our psychologists, before we can even get to the point of an exam. And that's okay. We'll get there.”