The journey from question to field shifting change.
Innovations in Care
There is a reoccurring theme in this issue of Emory Gynecology and Obstetrics Department magazine, the ongoing pursuit of knowledge and its integral part of pushing academic medicine forward. Whether snippets of our signature CONVERSATIONS video series or the research produced within the department, the field of women’s health benefits from the spirit of inquiry deeply embedded in the culture of the department. The article Transwomen and Breastfeeding highlights the power of questions posed and pursued. Emily Trautner, a student in Dr. Andrea Joyner’s lecture, asked a question after class that led her and Dr. Joyner to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) conference in Buenos Aires to delve deeper into the need for evidence-based transgender healthcare. In the article, then medical student, Emily Trautner states, “…it (breastfeeding) seemed like it would be a near-impossible task for a transgender woman. Thus, I was curious if it had been done before and how.”
The data compiled during this trip has become the basis for work that is supporting the continued mission to innovate in the areas of women’s health. “Healthcare providers are always thirsty for more knowledge.” Dr. Andrea Joyner states in response, “It is our job to ask these types of questions, knock down barriers, and push healthcare even further.” This kind of passion for progress in the area of women’s health has created a focused attempt to fill in the gaps of predominantly anecdotal information surrounding transgender healthcare. As Dr. McCool-Myers states, “…clearly when it comes to health, we should be working off of evidence.” You can read more about this work in the article, Transwomen and Breastfeeding: Removing Barriers to Care.
New Methods of Education
During one of our CONVERSATIONS video installments for Moving the Field Forward, Dr. Marie Shockley and Dr. Krista Childress discussed the constant pursuit of knowledge, specifically in academic medicine and how this is ever-present in the dynamic between trainees, residents, and patients. In the video, which aired April 2019, Dr. Childress, a pediatric gynecologist working with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) shares, “I always say I learn something new every day. Either something my patients teach me, a new diagnosis, or even what my residents teach me. That is why academic medicine is so fun.”
As a result of the growth and expansion of the department’s gynecologic specialties scope, Dr. Shockley, a fellowship-trained Minimally Invasive Gynecologic surgeon at Emory Healthcare, discusses her expertise in robotics, laparoscopy and hysteroscopy surgery. “Surgery is always advancing. There is always a new device or a new technique, and I feel with minimally invasive surgery, we are really up on the newest technology, which is always great for our patients.”
In a similar vein, Professor Lisa Flowers, Division of Gynecologic Specialties, discussed her first of its kind Lower Anogenital Screening and Treatment Fellowship in a CONVERSATIONS: Moving the Field Forward video installment, which aired January 2019. In the video Dr. Flowers shares, “I really want to make a difference in the field of HPV related disease, and I feel that developing this Lower Anogenital Screening and Treatment Fellowship is going to open up an area for gynecologists to be able to find the answers by which we can reduce HPV related diseases in our female population.”
You can read more about this video series and the areas that have been highlighted in the article, CONVERSATIONS: A video series created to address women’s health openly. You can also follow Emory Gynecology and Obstetrics on YouTube to watch the entire CONVERSATIONS series.
Growing Fields in Women's Health
In a field that may be relatively unknown, there is much happening in the way of innovations as it relates to treatments for issues such as incontinence, overactive bladder, and pelvic pain. From Botox injections to implantable devices; physical therapy to prescription medicine urogynecologists, like Dr. Kelley and his colleagues in FPMRS, are always looking for new and better methods of treatment.
In our article, Finding Answers for Incontinence, we are sharing the work that has Dr. Robert Kelley of our Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery (FPMRS) division partnering with Michael Lloyd, MD, an Emory cardiac electrophysiologist to find the heart of the matter behind incontinence and deliver new and effective treatments, “We know that there is electrical activity that helps control the heart rate. Our research is looking for the electrical activity that may be telling the bladder when and how to move urine through the bladder.” Dr. Kelley.
Represented by the cover image of a student captured mid-question, hand raised and leaned forward in inquiry, this issue is shining a light on the complex issues present in women’s health and the individuals, students, teachers, physicians, and researchers, taking the lead in finding answers. Whether creating new protocols like Dr. Andrea Joyner or new methods of treatment like Dr. Robert Kelley or even new ways to spotlight the narrative surrounding women’s health CONVERSATIONS we hope you are inspired to discover what drives the innovation housed within Emory Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics.
