DOI: 10.1097/01.NPR.0000335567.34025.b6

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Issn Print: 0361-1817

Publication Date: 2008/09/01


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Save the Date: Screening Tips and New Vaccines for Female HPV

Maureen L. Bruce; Claudette Baril

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Author Information: is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, Orrington, Conn.

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Excerpt

An annual gynecological (GYN) examination, whether performed by an obstetric/gynecology (OB/GYN) practitioner or a primary care provider, is an important aspect of women's healthcare maintenance. Historically, annual preventive exams were linked to the provision of birth control; women could only get a prescription for oral contraception at an annual exam. Presently, many reproductive health clinics have ceased requiring genital tract cancer screening to acquire contraception, as screening tests should be based on their own merit and recommendations for such tests should not create a barrier to receiving contraception.
Until recently, most providers adhered to the 1987 Pap Smear Consensus Guidelines, which included Pap testing and pelvic examination annually for all sexually active women or women 18 or older. For women who had three or more consecutive normal exams, the Pap test was performed less frequently. Decisions were primarily made by the healthcare provider and the patient.

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