This book is designed to meet the needs of nurse practitioners, other advanced practice nurses, and allied health professionals working in women's health, primary care, and other specialties. The multiple roles the clinician embraces in menopause management include that of direct caregiver, manager of therapeutics, educator, and interdisciplinary team member or leader. This book provides updated, evidence based information on the menopause transition from the late reproductive stage to post-menopause to optimize the interaction of the clinician and the individual woman in each of those roles.
Women's lived experiences of menopause and women's concerns regarding both the menopause transition and the choice of care options are included as critical components of shared therapy decisions. The review of natural menopause physiology and the variability of menopause symptoms are inclusive of diverse women and diverse trajectories. The impact of menopause on chronic disease, sleep, weight and nutrition, mood and cognition, urogenital health and sexuality, as well as vasomotor symptoms are each developed as individual topics by experts in those fields. Evidence based management using hormonal and non-hormonal options, and life-style and other complementary interventions are discussed with the most updated advantages and disadvantages of each treatment option. Consistent with advanced practice nursing theory, the approach is whole patient focused.
About the Author: Patricia Geraghty, MSN, FNP-BC, WHNP is the Director of Women's Health and Coordinator of the comprehensive Pelvic Pain Program in a multi-disciplinary practice, CARE Walnut Creek, in Walnut Creek, CA. She is a nurse practitioner with over 20 years of experience in women's health. She translates complex health information into practical and achievable plans that make women's lives better.
Ms. Geraghty attended the University of California, Davis for undergraduate studies in biological and behavioral development, and started her career as part of a neuropsychology research team at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda Maryland. She then did a MSN in Women's Health Nurse Practitioner followed by a post-masters Family Nurse Practitioner credential at the University of California, San Francisco.
Ms. Geraghty was the founding coordinator of the Family Nurse Practitioner program at Holy Names University in Oakland, California, where she continues as clinical faculty. She speaks and publishes nationally on topics pertinent to women's health across the lifespan. She is a member of the Medical Advisory Board for Sharecare, Inc., the North American Menopause Society, Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.
