CHICAGO – "We’re often not very well educated in medical school or in our residencies about how to talk to patients about sexual functioning and dysfunction," according to Dr. Anita H. Clayton, the interim chair of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences, and David C. Wilson Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
"Very often we feel we don’t have time to talk about it [with patients]," Dr. Clayton adds in this video recorded during the 2014 Psychiatry Update sponsored by Current Psychiatry and the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists, where Dr. Clayton was a presenter.
Patients might schedule an appointment with a doctor to talk about one thing, but what they really hope to discuss is their sexual dysfunction, despite not quite knowing how to go about it. When a provider can overcome his or her own embarrassment about the topic, "Patients often open up very easily, and they really do want to talk," says Dr. Clayton, also professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at the university.
Hear how Dr. Clayton suggests providers approach the sensitive topic of sexual dysfunction to help their patients return to having a healthy sex life.
Current Psychiatry and this news organization are owned by the same parent company.
The video associated with this article is no longer available on this site. Please view all of our videos on the MDedge YouTube channel.
On Twitter @whitneymcknight