If you’re a women’s health nurse practitioner, or an NP that sees patients for issues related to reproductive health, you’re in luck. There are a number of online resources out there to make your job easier. Whether you’re looking to keep up with the latest treatment guidelines, or stash a few quality handouts for your patients, there’s a website to help. Here are a few of our favorites.
1. Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
The Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP) is hands down one of the best resources for women’s health nurse practitioners, and other NPs treating patients for reproductive issues. The site features videos, live webinars, and written presentations on various topics such as ‘Talking with Patients About Alcohol in Pregnancy’ and ‘Post-Menopausal Osteoporosis in the Female Patient’. The most helpful area of the ARHC website is a tool called CORE, which contains additional presentations, slides, videos, helpful images, and even patient handouts. To access CORE, you must register on the ARHC site. Access to the materials is free of charge.
2. Family Planning National Training Centers
Family Planning National Training Centers posts up to date information for healthcare providers when it comes to all things reproductive health. Information on the site ranges from billing and coding for reproductive services and the patient experience to fertility and contraception. The most helpful aspect of the site is that many resources can be downloaded as serve as simple guides for patient care. For example, nurse practitioners may download the ‘Basic Infertility Protocol Aid’, which guides the assessment of and plan of care for couples trying to conceive in a step-by-step process.
3. Reproductive Health Access Project
The Reproductive Health Access Project trains clinicians in three main areas; abortion, contraception, and miscarriage. While the site appears to be backed by reproductive advocacy groups, it does contain links to useful, evidence-based resources nurse practitioners may find helpful in their practices. Resources posted on the site include clinical protocols and patient handouts.
4. American Sexual Health Association
The American Sexual Health Association (ASHA) has a number of resource posted both for patients and providers. While these resources tend not to be as strong as the others on our list, the ASHA does have excellent materials related to testing, diagnosis, treatment, counseling, and management of patients with herpes and HPV.
5. The Centers for Disease Control
If you’re looking for information about sexually transmitted infections, the CDC is the place to go. From webinars and videos to research publications and handouts, the Centers for Disease Control website has it all. Better yet, nurse practitioners can be certain that information published on the site is up to date and reflects the latest clinical guidelines.
Which online resources do you use to keep up with reproductive health guidelines in your practice?