Skilled Doctors Playing an Important Role

At Saint Vincent Hospital, we’re dedicated to providing comprehensive, compassionate care to those in our community. As part of our ongoing commitment to excellence, our Hospitalist Program plays a critical part in providing you with support in getting the care you need. Hospitalists are doctors whose primary focus is providing general medical care for anyone admitted to our hospital.

What Do Saint Vincent Hospitalists Do?

Hospitalists are responsible for many important tasks, including:

Working in partnership with your primary care doctor to coordinate inpatient care
Working closely with nurses, ancillary staff and other specialists involved in your care
Being familiar with the hospital’s systems for ordering tests, analyzing results and arranging for treatment
Being trained to quickly recognize and respond to changes in the patient’s condition
Being available at the hospital 24 hours a day, so they can see patients as frequently as their medical conditions require
Promptly providing your doctor with a written report of your hospital visit to facilitate any follow-up care you may need

If you do not have a primary care doctor, the Hospitalist team will provide you with a list and arrange your follow-up care.

How Hospitalists Help Primary Care Doctors

Hospitalists practice full-time in the hospital, so they are readily available to help your doctor. When you enter the hospital, a Saint Vincent Hospitalist will immediately begin acting as attending doctor for the length of the hospital stay.

Hospitalists will:

Provide prompt admission and treatment
Oversee your entire hospital stay to provide quality care
Communicate ongoing patient status to your primary care doctor on a timely basis

Daily activities include:

Coordinating hospital admissions
Arranging diagnostic testing and specialty consultations
Explaining findings and discussing recommendations with patients
Orchestrating all patient care
Providing medical care for patients who need surgical treatment
Managing urgent situations that may arise during the hospitalization
Reviewing hospital treatment with insurance companies and payers

Career Opportunities

If you’re interested in a career as a Hospitalist at Saint Vincent Hospital, call (508) 363-6849 to learn more.

What Does A Gynecologist Do for Menopause?

The hormonal changes associated with menopause can affect many aspects of a woman's life, including her physical, emotional, mental and social well-being. However, menopause symptoms vary substantially from person to person. A gynecologist can help you diagnose menopause and cope with the changes as you transition.

What Is Menopause?

Menopause is not a disease or disorder. It is a biological stage when a woman stops having a monthly period that marks the end of her reproductive years. Menopause occurs when the ovaries stop making estrogen, a hormone that helps control the menstrual cycle. The average age of menopause is between the ages of 45 and 55. Women can have premature menopause or induced menopause as a consequence of a surgical or medical procedure, such as a hysterectomy.

When Does Menopause Start?

Natural menopause officially begins when a woman has not had a period for 12 consecutive months. But hormonal changes and symptoms can start several years leading up to menopause, which is called perimenopause. Perimenopause and menopause symptoms can profoundly impact a woman’s life, including relationships and work.

What Are the Symptoms of Menopause?

As estrogen levels decrease starting perimenopause, many women experience mild symptoms or do not require any treatment. Others may have more severe symptoms. Some of the most common menopause symptoms include:

Hot flashes or a sudden feeling of heat in the face, neck and chest, often accompanied by flushing of the skin, sweating, palpitations and acute feelings of physical discomfort, which can last several minutes
Night sweats
Changes in the regularity and flow of the menstrual cycle
Vaginal dryness, pain during sexual intercourse and incontinence
Difficulty sleeping or insomnia
Changes in mood, depression and/or anxiety

What Can A Doctor Do for Menopause Symptoms?

Many women benefit from seeing a gynecologist to manage perimenopause and menopause symptoms. Your gynecologist can order tests to check your hormone levels and analyze your blood and urine to rule out other health conditions unrelated to menopause. Your gynecologist may recommend one or more of the following treatments to treat your symptoms:

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) – is a type of treatment that can help relieve symptoms of perimenopause and menopause by providing supplemental estrogen and progestin to balance your hormones. HRT can be given in several forms, including pills, skin patches, gels and sprays applied to the skin. However, hormone replacement therapy may increase your risk of developing certain types of cancer and other health conditions.
Other treatments – medications, such as antidepressants, gabapentin (an antiseizure drug) and clonidine (a blood pressure medication) can help reduce hot flashes and ease sleep problems. Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) can also relieve hot flashes and pain during intercourse caused by vaginal dryness.

Going through menopause can be overwhelming. Whether you want to treat your symptoms or not is a complicated and personal decision. No matter what you decide, see your gynecologist every year to help you have a better quality of life throughout menopause and the years after. We’re here for you, always.

Sources:

National Health Services UK
NIH National Institute on Aging
Medical News Today
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
World Health Organization

Hospitalist Program