SUMMARY POINTS
SKILL
- Continue building your knowledge about all aspects of reproductive health care—including clinical care, new evidence, and patient advocacy.
- Attain clinical experience during professional training, when your credentialing and malpractice are generally covered by interagency agreements.
- Take advantage of additional abortion training and mentorship opportunities to increase your success with future provision.
SAFETY
- Build relationships and consult often with other reproductive health providers.
- Know when to refer for medical conditions that preclude outpatient care.
- Make arrangements for hospital back up that you may occasionally need.
ROLE
- Value your impact as a provider of pregnancy options counseling, evidence-based contraceptive information, services or timely referrals, and handling of follow-up issues to the patients you serve.
- Use established local and national networks to build a collaborative community, find answers to medical and administrative questions, and learn best practices.
- Overcome commonly reported barriers, including lack of authority to implement services, liability coverage, and staff resistance, by building relationships with key stakeholders and involving staff early in the process.
- Be patient and persistent as the process of integrating care may take time.