Taking a Multidisciplinary Approach to Menopause
In This Video
- Midlife Women's Health Center's multidisciplinary approach includes reproductive endocrinologists, gynecologists, primary care physicians, cardiologists, rheumatologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nutritionists and mind-body experts
- The Center looks beyond typical symptoms to incorporate other health concerns like screening for long-term health and the complex biopsychosocial events that are happening in women's lives at this time
- To provide good care, they don't just treat the symptoms but look at the woman as a whole person and all that's going on at this complex time of life
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Jan Shifren, MD, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Midlife Women's Health Center, discusses the multidisciplinary approach to caring for women at midlife, and promoting research and education to improve women's health at this complex stage of life.
Transcript
What's very exciting about the Massachusetts General Hospital Midlife Women's Health Center is that we bring together a group of clinicians and practitioners from across the institution, from so many different disciplines—all of which are important to providing very good care for women at midlife—and promoting research and education. So we have medical and reproductive endocrinologists, gynecologists, primary care physicians and internal medicine specialists, cardiologists, rheumatologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nutritionists and experts in mind-body medicine. And the goal is for all of these different practitioners to put their expertise together to improve women's health at this complex stage of life.
We believe it's really important to have a Center devoted to midlife women's health because this is a very complex time in women's lives. So not only do we help care for the typical symptoms, but we really also try to incorporate other health concerns, screening for long-term health and try to take into account the really complex biopsychosocial events that are happening in women's lives at this time.
For women at midlife, not only do they have a lot of symptoms secondary to all the hormonal fluctuations, but also this is a time when their young adult children are leaving the house. This is a time when partners may have specific health concerns or life issues, women often have their own career changes at this time, and then add to all that, typically women are also caring for aging parents. So it's a very complex time, and to really provide good care, we can't just treat the symptoms but we really have to look at the woman as a whole person and all that's going on at this time of life.
Learn more about the Midlife Women's Health Center
Refer a patient to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology