‘Step-by-Step’ resource aims to improve menopause education for clinicians, students

Key takeaways:

• The Menopause Society launched a new monthly series to address gaps in menopause education.
• The content is designed for students and health care providers across all specialties.

A lack of menopause education for health care professionals has had a direct impact on midlife women seeking care, and a new initiative from The Menopause Society aims to bridge a wide gap in knowledge and training.

The monthly series, Menopause Step-by-Step, published in Menopause, will feature articles written by recognized content experts at a suitable level for education of interested students, residents and fellows across medical specialties. The series can also serve as a resource for practicing clinicians of all types, including dietitians, physical therapists and psychologists, whose patients include midlife or older women, according to Cynthia A. Stuenkel, MD, MSCP, clinical professor in the department of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, and a past-president of The Menopause Society. Stuenkel, along with Isaac Schiff, MD, editor-in-chief of Menopause, and Cheryl Cox Kinney, MD, FACOG, MSCP, current member of The Menopause Society Board of Trustees, worked together to create the new series.

“We recognize that people are aware of this menopause educational gap,” Stuenkel told Healio. “What we wanted to do is say: ‘Let us help your institution, your residency program. Here are evidence-based building blocks, written by the experts, carefully reviewed with high editorial standards from The Menopause Society.’”

Healio spoke with Stuenkel, who authored the first article of the series, titled, “What is menopause?” about future topics and the importance of menopause education for everyone.

Menopause Step-by-Step will be a regular monthly segment of Menopause starting with the September 2024 issue and will be promoted at the Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society.

Healio: How would you describe the state of menopause education today for medical students and trainees?

Stuenkel: The state of menopause education is abysmal and depressing. I have worked very hard throughout my career to educate both women and clinicians. Recent surveys reveal up to 1 in 5 residents do not receive any menopause lectures during their residency and only 7% felt they were prepared to manage women experiencing menopause. This is for a phase of life universally experienced by 50% of the population who start out reproductively competent and live long enough. This, to me, is a compelling issue. Some institutions are doing a great job and I do not want to in any way disparage those institutions. Usually, those that do a great job have leaders with The Menopause Society on their faculty who put together a lecture and then ensure that gets on the program. It takes effort.

Healio: What can readers expect with this new resource?

Stuenkel: This idea began with an editorial meeting last year, when I suggested a “resident’s corner” for our Menopause journal to provide basic education. This idea has evolved to be a tool to use with students and trainees, perhaps even with journalists or people in industry. We also know we have a decade or two — or more — of practicing clinicians who did not receive menopause education because everyone pulled back on education about hormone therapy after the Women’s Health Initiative. We made a list of important topics to highlight, starting with “What is menopause?” We need to start there. These articles are short, about 1,000 words, in a Q&A format, with three to five summary statements and three to five clinical recommendation statements. Our contributing authors have been enthusiastic and gracious. We want people to read these articles, and perhaps include them as part of a syllabus.

Healio: What are some of the topics this series will touch on?

Stuenkel: The next few months have been written, vetted and edited. Our next article will discuss the clinical aspects of perimenopause, including evidence-based symptom management, contraceptive options and transitioning to menopause. The third article will explore the symptoms of menopause. Many people have never heard of a hot flash other than seeing a woman fanning herself.

Then, we want to provide a deep dive into the physiology of vasomotor symptoms. So, before we even begin to talk about hormone therapy and other treatments for symptoms, we want people to understand what hot flashes are, where are they originate and what do they mean for women’s health? Then, we get into treatment options, including HT and nonhormonal options. We will link to The Menopause Society position statements, which are open-access documents. We would love for other professional societies to link to our articles also. Why should everyone reinvent the wheel?

Healio: What do you hope people take away from this educational series?

Stuenkel: We tried to be logical in putting this together and think about what topics to prioritize . The Menopause Society will also be offering a webinar series to highlight these articles. Hopefully, the combination of written articles and online webinars will provide a spectrum of offerings. We want this to be embraced in a positive way. It was fun to do and the timing could not be better. Menopause is having its moment, with media coverage, new menopause at work initiatives and the NIH reviewing the menopause research agenda. People are paying attention. Embrace this moment and provide readers with a valuable and useful educational resource.

References:

• Stuenkel CA, et al. Menopause. 2024;doi:10.1097/GME.0000000000002417.
• Stuenkel CA. Menopause. 2024;doi:10.1097/GME.0000000000002416.

For more information:

Cynthia A. Stuenkel, MD, MSCP, can be reached at castuenkel@health.ucsd.edu.