Treating Women and Their Partners Expands Clinical Scope

Abstract

Women’s health nurse practitioners (WHNPs) are now finding that their practices may include men, who present for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Male partners of female family planning patients increasingly are being treated by the same health care provider. As more WHNPs find that their practice includes men, they must broaden their assessment skills. Gaining these skills may require participation in workshops to learn physical assessment of male organs, as well as the psychosocial aspects of male sexuality, counseling, and education. The ability to care for the sexual health care needs of male partners allows WHNPs to gain more insight into the multifactorial aspects of sexual relationships, and to expand their scope of clinical practice. Ultimately, by treating both women and their male partners, it may also mean better health care and health practices for women, as well. The following explores the practices of one program in North Philadelphia, in which male patients are treated by WHNPs.