- CDC
- Heart Failure
- Cardiovascular Clinical Consult
- Adult Immunization
- Hepatic Disease
- Rare Disorders
- Pediatric Immunization
- Implementing The Topcon Ocular Telehealth Platform
- Weight Management
- Monkeypox
- Guidelines
- Men's Health
- Psychiatry
- Allergy
- Nutrition
- Women's Health
- Cardiology
- Substance Use
- Pediatrics
- Kidney Disease
- Genetics
- Complimentary & Alternative Medicine
- Dermatology
- Endocrinology
- Oral Medicine
- Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases
- Pain
- Gastrointestinal Disorders
- Geriatrics
- Infection
- Musculoskeletal Disorders
- Obesity
- Rheumatology
- Technology
- Cancer
- Nephrology
- Anemia
- Neurology
- Pulmonology
More Effective Way to Ask a Delicate Question
When taking a patient’s sexual history, I find that the question “How many partners do you have?” rarely elicits a complete picture. Instead, I ask, “How many partners have you had in the past 6 months?” This usually reveals when patients have engaged in serial monogamy and creates an environment in which they feel they can disclose one-night stands and sexual activity outside their marriage. The stage is then set for delivering appropriate safe sex messages and screening for sexually transmitted infections.
When taking a patient’s sexual history, I find that the question “How many partners do you have?” rarely elicits a complete picture. Instead, I ask, “How many partners have you had in the past 6 months?” This usually reveals when patients have engaged in serial monogamy and creates an environment in which they feel they can disclose one-night stands and sexual activity outside their marriage. The stage is then set for delivering appropriate safe sex messages and screening for sexually transmitted infections.
-- Sayaka Ogata, NP-BC
New Haven, Conn
Would you find this Pointer helpful in your practice? Please e-mail your comment to us.
