April 2009

SEMINAR TRAINING FOR CONTRACEPTIVE CARE – THE PHYSICAL EXAMINATION (INTRODUCTION)

Doctors, nurses and some other health professionals such as physiotherapists are in the unique position of having licence to examine the most intimate parts of the body; indeed, they are expected and required to do so. The vulnerable moment of examination may provide an opportunity for the patient to get in touch with feelings. Sometimes [...]

ANALYSIS OF THE FAMILY PLANNING CONSULTATION – MODELS OF THE CONSULTATION (CATEGORIZING)

Over the last two decades, doctors and psychologists have attempted to construct models of the consultation which give insight into the complex interactions between doctors and patients.1 Even earlier, methods of effective counselling had been developed which greatly enhanced communication within a consultation. The first attempt to categorize consultations grew out of good counselling practice [...]

PSYCHOSEXUAL PROBLEMS IN THE CONTRACEPTIVE CONSULTATION – EXAMINING THE WHOLE PATIENT (AVOIDING THE PHYSICAL EXAMINATION)

Doctors who notice that they are avoiding the physical examination of a patient need to understand the reasons. Perhaps the patient behaves in a sexual way, so that the doctor feels not like a doctor, but more like a potential sexual partner. Although more common between a male doctor and a female patient, awareness of [...]

SEXUALITY WITHOUT FERTILITY – SEXUAL FEELINGS

The problem of separating sexual feelings from emotions connected with babies in relation to the advantages, for some people, of the slight failure rate of the IUCD. Some women find, often at an unconscious level, that they can only allow themselves the loss of control and joy of sex only if it is somehow legitimized [...]

POLITICAL/DEMOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS IN THE UK

People from ethnic minorities account for a small proportion of the UK population. They are, however, concentrated in a few localities where they provide a disproportionate workload in the field of reproductive medicine. The 1981 census data showed that 3.2% of the heads of households of England and Wales were born in new Commonwealth countries [...]