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Going to the gynecologist can often be very scary. These appointments are very invasive, the procedures are not only painful and uncomfortable physically but they are also demanding emotionally. People who come there are choosing to be vulnerable and they are sensitive to every detail that surrounds them.

Dr. Ryan Stewart understands that, so he went to Twitter to ask people what they would like to see in a gynecologist's office before he opens his own practice. He asked, “How would you design/optimize a visit to the gynecologist’s office?” and over 3k people came to say their piece.

Image credits: National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences

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If there are any suggestions that weren’t mentioned in the thread under Dr. Stewart’s tweet, feel free to leave them in the comments. Also, don’t forget to upvote the suggestions that you agree with the most!

More info: Twitter | Midwest Center for Pelvic Health

Ryan Stewart is fellowship trained pelvic surgeon specializing in treatment of women with pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence, and pelvic floor dysfunction. He is now building his own medical practice from scratch. To do the best work he can, the doctor decided to go on Twitter and ask people who frequent gynecologists what they would like to have in their offices or how they would like to be treated there.

A lot of people had different suggestions and at the same time it’s sad that they didn’t have nice experiences with their appointments but it also gave a lot of insight in how others can improve and how Dr. Ryan Stewart can make his practice as welcoming as possible.

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Softball05
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree with this 100%... difficult to concentrate while naked

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Callie Dryer
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Blue damn it. But yes sometime I just want to throw up because of all the pink crap

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Dr. Stewart is planning to open his own pelvic health practice called Midwest Center for Public Health in Indianapolis sometime next year. It “will focus on female urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, pelvic floor dysfunction, and chronic pelvic pain” as described on his site where people can only join the waitlist to be notified when the clinic will be opening for now. The site should be fully functioning by January 1. 

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Bored Panda reached out to the urogynecologist and we got to know that before starting his own practice he “worked as one of three urogynecologists in a large hospital-owned multispecialty physician group” in Louisville, Kentucky while his wife completed her last 2 years of training.

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Ozacoter
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Indeed. Never insert a IUD without painkillers, it is a monstrosity. And do not dismiss complaints about periods being painful. Many women have menstruation realted issues but most doctors ignore them.

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Niffler_13
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My gynecologist's office has curtains that surround the door to prevent unexpected viewers

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Turns out, Dr. Stewart’s family had a business and he always had a desire to build things with his own hand so having his own practice was only a natural course of life. He added, “Starting a private practice may be one of the most difficult things I'll ever do, but I don't want to wake up 20 years from now and wonder if I could have done it.”

The physical office will be in Indianapolis as the doctor’s wife accepted a new job there and the family returned there for their new stage of their lives.

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Ozacoter
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And stop asking for the mans permission. A man has nothing to say about his partners fertility. Or to deny sterilisation to women who need it for medical reasons. Women are not cattle to breed.

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LH25
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One clinic I go to does this. There is a sign inside saying to put a dot on the label if you need help. Yes, the abuser could use the bathroom and see the sign, but not the sample cup. That is passed through a little door in the wall before you leave.

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From the doctor’s answers you can really tell that he is passionate about his profession. This is evidence from the tweet in which he asked for advice so every patient that would come to seek help would be welcomed. 

We asked which of the suggestions he was expecting to hear and it was "warm rooms and speculums" and "ditch the paper gowns and table covers" which were among the things that were pointed out most frequently in the thread.

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Steffen Rehm
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My wife got a mild narcosis as a standard procedure. Because of the pain they told me, so this is not normal in other countries? O.o

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LittleLiz
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One of my biggest fears is being told that I need a biopsy done and can't get pain relief.

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The things that Dr. Stewart didn’t expect was people sharing their own personal stories about how their visits to the doctor upset them. He said, “I really appreciate that they put themselves out there, in such a public forum, so that others may benefit. I was also happy to see that so many folks spoke out for accessibility and inclusiveness. We're all traveling through this world together, so when I see people looking out for one another, advocating one another, and trying to take care of one another I feel good. I get hopeful, excited, and energized.”

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LittleLiz
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's not great that "provide tissues for your miserable, crying patients" is legitimate advice. Obviously you KNOW it's traumatic. I hope this advice was taken along with suggestions to make it less horrifying.

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Pheebs
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I like my doc, dislike the staff. They bad mouth so many patients while others are sitting there listening. Plus being on personal phone calls while dealing with a patient.

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What do you think of Dr. Ryan Stewart’s approach to his future practice? We would like to hear your thoughts and reactions in the comments!

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Jaekry
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This. My male general physician (!) Is awesome. Just a pinch while inserting the UID at the right time in the mensuration cycle. And I don't have children. I can't believe that ppl need anesthesia for what can and should be oncomfortabel at best. Certainly when it's done by a specialist.

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Ozacoter
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And be careful if the patient tells you that the examination hurts. Most of the gyns I visited couldnt care less about my pain.

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Ozacoter
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not of black women, of women of at least the main ethnicities of the country. Often people advocate for themselves and forget about other groups.

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Ozacoter
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And stop denying painkillers to women. A pain so hard that you pass out wont be cured with one ibuprofen. I went to a doctor after being diagnosed with endometriosis for medication and not only she refused to refill the prescription that my gyn gave me but told me "one paracetamol should be enough". F*****g monster i never went back

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Toni Alabakovski
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

YES! and teach office staff to ask if the patient will need extra help, different medical equipment, etc. my Mom was mortified when she went to the gyno for the first time recently after having a stroke and being disabled. She now knows she has to mention it, but she never thought of it before. Linda, her left arm is useless, Larry , her left leg is not 100% (yes, she named her arm & leg way after recovering to try to make it easier on her. (Youtube Listen Linda & Impractical Jokers, Larry)

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Ozacoter
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And stop unnecessary inspections. Every single time I go to the gyn I get it, even if the doxtor saw me a frw months ago and the appointment is about something like sterilisation that has nothing to do with how my genitals look. They are really invasive and for some women like me very painful.

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Moezzzz
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ahaha, this reminds me of one time when I was about 36 weeks pregnant and I was sooo huge, I couldn't do much more than waddle. Had to come in for a cervical check and I had opened just a little, so they wanted to do a more thorough check. Asked me this same thing "scoot down a little more... more... little more..." I finally just said "look, I can't get my ass down any further; either someone help me or grab my legs and pull!"... slightly embarrassing for me, husband is laughing his ass off. Tension was suddenly GONE lol

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Mad Dragon
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I suffered anorexia for years. My doctor has a note in my chart that says I only get weighed once a year, my back is to the scale, and I am not to be told my weight even if I ask. When I am given the paperwork summarizing my visit, she makes sure she takes the sheet with my weight on it, crumples it up, and puts it in her pocket.

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Ozacoter
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also call the patient if the appointment gets cancelled. I had it two times that I went there and nobody informed jt that my appointment was not available anymore.

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My O My
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I started on the birt hcontrol pills as a teen I told my gyn at the next check-up that I was feeling depressed and couldn't sleep properly. She dismissed it, said it can't possibly have anything to do with the pills I was taking. Teenage me believed her. 12 years later I stopped the birth control because I wanted a baby. Guess who can sleep better now

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Nikki Sevven
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No medical office can be "weight neutral." Your weight affects more than you realize. Your medication dosage may need to be different. Some medications won't work for you at all over a certain weight, including hormonal birth control. You will be more susceptible to certain medical conditions if obese, regardless of your age. Being overweight, and especially obese, is always part of the clinical picture.

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Pheebs
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Hell, just recognizing not every married couple goes at it like rabbits in heat would be nice. I shouldn’t have to explain why my husband and I haven’t had sex recently.

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Karis Ravenhill
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

While it would be helpful at the doctors office, this is also down to the patient having no knowledge/doing no research on the names of their own body parts. Not everything can be left up to the doctor.

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Brandy Grote
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yessssss! And talk through the motions. "Just my fingers", "this lube", "now the speculum, take a breath and relax".

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Karis Ravenhill
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For parties at my house, I put on a 10hr video of jellyfish in fluorescent lights, then put on the 'Caribbean Rhythms' on Accuradio for music. Always gets people in a very relaxed cheerful mood. Relaxing visuals and not over-the-top happy music, works a charm.

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M O'Connell
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My ex complained about brochures for "vaginal rejuvenation procedures" in the office of her GYN.

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Queenie-Poo
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As a 39yo, I'd amend this only to say that education about perimenopause should probably start at the mid-30s, not 40s. A patient might have a family history or a medical condition that might cause early menopause.

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Carol Emory
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

IKR. Cleaning up afterward, not even with anyone else in the room, you feel like you've been assaulted and told to get dressed and go...like some sort of lab rat experiment. It's very degrading and undignified. Please give women their dignity back.

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Ozacoter
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also for miscarriage patients. Imagine needing to go to a place filled with baby pictures after that.

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