A Practical Guide to Female Sexual Medicine: The Course

Accreditation Information

Target Audience This activity is intended for physicians, physician assistants/associates, nurse practitioners, and other healthcare providers who care for female sexual health. Educational Objectives Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to: Chapter 1 • Apply principles of patient autonomy and informed consent when evaluating patients with sexual health concerns. • Implement trauma-informed communication strategies to improve patient comfort and engagement during sexual health evaluations. • Differentiate key components of the Standardized Sexual Medicine Examination from a routine pelvic examination. • Integrate privacy, confidentiality, and inclusive care practices into the assessment of diverse sexual medicine patients. Chapter 2 • Identify the major anatomic structures involved in female sexual function and describe their clinical significance. • Explain the physiologic processes that occur during the excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution phases of the sexual response cycle. • Describe the role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis and key sex hormones in female sexual health. • Integrate anatomic, physiologic, and endocrine principles into the evaluation of female sexual concerns. Chapter 3 • Describe the neurobiological and biopsychosocial mechanisms that contribute to female sexual desire. • Differentiate normal variations in sexual desire from clinically significant sexual desire disorders. • Distinguish among Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder, Sexual Aversion Disorder, and Compulsive Sexual Behavior using patient history and symptom patterns. • Develop an evidence-informed diagnostic and treatment approach for patients presenting with concerns related to sexual desire. Chapter 4 • Differentiate sexual desire from sexual arousal in clinical assessment. • Identify physiologic, hormonal, neurovascular, and psychosocial contributors to arousal dysfunction. • Apply diagnostic reasoning to distinguish FSAD from PGAD/GPD. • Select treatment approaches based on the suspected mechanism or region of origin. Chapter 5 • Differentiate common sexual pain disorders based on symptom location, pain characteristics, and associated clinical findings. • Apply a structured pain narrative to evaluate patients presenting with dyspareunia and other sexual pain complaints. • Distinguish the clinical features of vulvodynia, vaginismus, and pelvic floor dysfunction during patient assessment. • Develop individualized, multimodal management strategies for patients with sexual pain disorders. Chapter 6 • Describe the physiologic mechanisms involved in female orgasm, including autonomic and pelvic floor contributions. • Differentiate between Female Orgasmic Disorder, Dysorgasmia, and Pleasure Dissociative Orgasmic Disorder based on clinical presentation. • Perform an appropriate diagnostic evaluation of patients presenting with orgasmic concerns, including assessment of hormonal, neurologic, psychological, and relationship factors. • Develop evidence-based management plans for orgasmic disorders utilizing counseling, behavioral interventions, hormonal therapies, and multidisciplinary referral when appropriate. Chapter 7 • Select appropriate laboratory studies when evaluating patients with sexual dysfunction and interpret results within the context of the individual patient. • Differentiate imaging modalities used in female sexual medicine and identify clinical scenarios in which each study may provide diagnostic value. • Apply specialized diagnostic tests to evaluate sexual pain, neurogenital dysfunction, and other complex sexual medicine presentations. • Interpret commonly used sexual function questionnaires and incorporate validated metrics into clinical assessment and research interpretation. Chapter 8 • Differentiate between hormonal, non-hormonal, and procedural treatment approaches for female sexual dysfunction. • Select appropriate pharmacologic therapies based on the underlying sexual dysfunction domain and patient-specific clinical factors. • Evaluate contraindications, monitoring requirements, and adverse effect profiles associated with commonly used sexual medicine therapies. • Apply evidence-based treatment strategies to patients presenting with disorders of desire, arousal, orgasm, and sexual pain. Chapter 9 • Identify lifestyle factors that may contribute to disorders of desire, arousal, pain, and orgasm. • Differentiate the sexual effects of nutrition, exercise, sleep disruption, and stress in clinical presentations. • Assess the role of emotional wellbeing, trauma history, and body image in patients presenting with sexual dysfunction. • Integrate lifestyle and psychosocial counseling into a comprehensive sexual medicine treatment plan. Chapter 10 • Integrate physiologic, hormonal, psychosocial, and relational factors when evaluating patients with sexual concerns. • Develop comprehensive differential diagnoses for patients presenting with multifactorial sexual dysfunction. • Formulate individualized management plans that incorporate diagnostic findings, patient goals, and evidence-based treatment strategies. • Apply a structured clinical framework to complex female sexual medicine cases. Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest Partners for Advancing Clinical Education (Partners) requires every individual in a position to control educational content to disclose all financial relationships with ineligible companies that have occurred within the past 24 months. Ineligible companies are organizations whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. All relevant financial relationships are mitigated according to Partners policies. Joint Accreditation Statement In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Partners for Advancing Clinical Education (Partners) and Haven Center, LLC. Partners is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team. Physician Continuing Education Partners designates this enduring material for a maximum of 8 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Computer system hardware/software requirements Participation requires a computer, tablet, or smartphone with a reliable internet connection and a current web browser. Speakers or headphones are required to hear the recorded presentations. A PDF-compatible browser or reader is needed to view downloadable resources. No specialized hardware or paid software is required