What Does A Fertility Nurse Do?

In this video:

• The Role of a Fertility Nurse
• Your Nurse is Your "Person"
• What education or training do fertility nurses get?
• What can my fertility nurse help with?
• Communicating With Your Fertility Nurse
• Your Nurses Are Here for You

The Role of a Fertility Nurse

Learn about how your nurse is the "go-to person" who helps guide you through the fertility treatment process, breaks down their typical responsibilities, and how fertility nurses play an essential role in your overall success.

Monica Moore:

Hi, everyone, Monica Moore here. I'm a nurse practitioner and a health coach at Illume Fertility. This edition of Ask Monica I'm super excited about. It's one of my favorite topics, which is "What do fertility nurses do?"

How this came up was that I did a podcast about what fertility nurses do and how we can assist patients on infertility journeys. A couple of my patients heard the episode and said, "I didn't know you could do that," or, "I didn't realize until I came to Illume, all the stuff that the nurses can do." So, I thought we could talk about what that stuff is!

Your Nurse is Your "Person"

If I had to use one word to describe what we do, who we are to our patients, I would say we are your main person. We are your advocate.

We inform you and give you any information that you need. We're your support person. We're the liaison between you and the physician, between you and the embryology lab, between you and the finance department or nonclinical departments.

What education or training do fertility nurses get?

We are specially trained, so when we go to nursing school, even when we get a master's in women's health, which I have, we don't really have reproductive endocrinology classes. We are specially trained on the job. We all chose this particular niche and we get advanced education and up-to-date training in it.

We have regular research lunches, go to conferences, take continuing education courses. I'm actually one of the nurses in charge of coordinating continuing education for nurses at Illume Fertility. We feel really strongly that it's critical to stay up-to-date on any of the relevant research.

What can my fertility nurse help with?

In addition to working closely each day with your reproductive endocrinologist and other clinical and administrative teams at your fertility clinic, your nurse can provide a wealth of support and clarity throughout your journey.

Here are a few ways they can do this:

• Treatment Protocol Support: We can answer medication questions and we can answer your treatment protocol questions.
• Clarify Your Options: When you come in for an appointment or have a consult with your physician, you'll be given a stepwise approach: "Here's what we see with your test results, and here are your best treatment options." If you need a little clarity or want to discuss those options, we can do that!
• Provide Personalized Guidance: We can use your personal and individual views, maybe where your insurance coverage is, what your financial situation is, if you have any ethical constraints, and help you figure out what the best options are for you on this journey. We can map out your journey with you.
• Tell You What's Next: We can go over what your steps are, and what typical steps are for your diagnosis or treatment pathway. We can also tell you what to anticipate at your office visits.
• Help You Feel More Prepared: When you come in for a visit, it can be difficult to remember what questions to ask your team. Being able to have your nurse write some key questions down and say, "Here's what you should ask, and here's what you can expect at your next appointment!" can be a big help.
• Offer Ongoing Care: We can also set up time to talk with you whenever you need a little extra support, so don't hesitate to reach out to us.

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Communicating With Your Fertility Nurse

I always tell patients that there may be a sense of reactivity or helplessness during a fertility treatment cycle. It can feel like you're at the mercy of what we're telling you to do or when to come in. One thing you DO have control over is how these things are communicated to you.

You and your nurse can make a plan together - they can call you at a certain time or give you information in your preferred way. For example, some patients prefer email communication, so it's written down, while others prefer phone calls. We can work with that!

We see a lot of teachers who may only have a certain timeframe where they can talk [during the day], and we can accommodate that. There are various ways that we can communicate with you so you feel like you have some semblance of control or agency during a cycle.

Your Nurses Are Here for You

I really want to get across that nurses are so much more than somebody that accompanies you in your ultrasound appointment!

Fertility nurses are probably able to do a lot more than nurses you might see in another freestanding medical office. We have a lot more autonomy and a lot more information, which makes us really confident in what we do and how we answer your questions.

We will link to the podcast mentioned in this episode (Fertility Now with Dr. Spencer Richlin) so that you can hear about all the other great stuff that nurses do.

Feel free as always, to reach out to us with your questions, concerns, and also - challenge your nurse! Ask them a question too. I bet you they'll know the answer to it.

Thanks again for tuning in.

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