Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1043624
HADlE Y NARINS, MD, UROlOGIST AT CROUSE HE AlTH, BRINGS E XPERTISE TO WOMEN'S PElVIC HE AlTH THAT SPANS A WIDE R ANGE OF TRE ATMENTS — FROM ROBOTIC SACROCOlPOPE X Y TO PHYSICAl THER APY TO MEDICATION — IN A SUBSPECIAlT Y THAT ADDS TO THE HE AlTH SYSTEM'S REPUTATION A S A MAGNE T FOR WOMEN'S HE AlTH ISSUES AND OFFERS PATIENTS CONTROl OVER THEIR OWN CARE. FELLOWSHIP-TRAINED PHYSICIAN Developing Female Urology and Pelvic Reconstruction Program for Crouse Health BY SHERI LEVISAY I N M O R E T H A N o n e w a y, b u i l d - i n g t he Fema le Urolog y a nd Pelv ic Reconstr uction Prog ra m at Crouse Health is a homecoming for Dr. Narins. Not on ly did she g row up in nea rby Buf fa lo, but she a lso completed her residency at the State University of New York — and so did a number of the physi- cians at her new practice, Associated Medical Professionals of NY. CROUSE HEALTH Dr. Narins also feels at home in her new job, which was practically tailor-made for her after a year of intensive learning and practicing medicine at Minnesota Urolog y 's Fema le Urolog y and Pelvic Reconstr uction Fel lowship. Crouse Hea lth's focus on women's hea lth in general and the system's desire to design a program for urology and pelvic health was very appealing to Dr. Narins. "Hearing that there was a need in this particular community, that they had been looking for someone with this interest and skill set to help them take care of their patients was ideal," she says. SWITCHING GEARS At the same time, Dr. Narins did not follow the traditional route to becoming a physi- cian. Her undergraduate degree from Yale is in English literature. But after completing a few internships in the publishing world during college, she realized the industry was not for her. Growing up, she had spent time working in the office of her uncle, a dermatologist, and she has several other physicians in her family, so she switched gears and decided to pursue medicine as her career choice. After Yale, Dr. Narins earned a post-baccalaureate certificate at Bryn Mawr College and then her medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. UROLOGY TRAINING Although Dr. Narins has always been interested in women's health, she did not know from the beginning the direction she would turn. "In medical school, I realized that I loved urology. I really liked performing surgery; I liked being in a surgical subspecialty," she says. She started at SUNY–Buffalo in a general surgery internship, then moved on to a formal urology residency. "Urology is traditionally pretty male- dominated, and there's a lot of focus on men's health, oncology and infertility," she says. But following in the footsteps of a mentor who had done the same fellow- ship she pursued at Minnesota Urology, Dr. Narins turned back toward her interest in women's health. "There are not many female providers who specia lize in urolog y," Dr. Narins says."Yet, female patients with urologic concerns, more often than not, want to be treated by a fema le." PATIENTS' NEEDS There's a n i ncrea si ng awa reness of women's pelvic health needs. According to the NIH, more than one third of U.S. women have a pelv ic f loor disorder, which occurs more often as women age. In 2010, 377,000 women had surger y for pelvic organ prolapse or to correct a bladder control problem. To women, who often are more stoic about health problems after a lifetime of menstruation and childbirth, Dr. Narins communicates two key concepts. " Pelv ic orga n prolapse or urina r y incontinence, while it 's common with a g ing, doesn't have to be considered a nor m a l pa r t of a g i n g . T her e a r e many treatment options, so that 's my No. 1 message," she says. "My No. 2 mes- sage is, if it doesn't bother you, you don't have to do any thing. Because these are considered benign quality-of-life condi- tions, any treatment is completely driven by the patient." W hile ma ny pelvic orga n prolapse pat ient s a re older, D r. Na r i n s see s women as young as age 18, as well as women in their 20s or 30s, who may have issues related to childbirth, for example. " The treatment I of fer t hem isn't fundamenta lly very different from the treatment I would offer someone a little bit older," Dr. Narins says. OPTIONS FOR TREATMENT While developing a robust surgical team is impor ta nt , Dr. Na rins empha sizes 1 4