Learning How to Insert an IUD

I noticed I haven’t posted about med school in a while and what better time than after the most awaited activity from the Obstetrics and Gynecology Interest Group.

An interest group is a group formed by students to explore the different aspects of each specialty and even some subspecialties. Since 2012 I have felt completely obsessed and passionate about women’s health, fertility, and pregnancy. It was after I did a shadowing in labor room that this all flourished and I was able to get immersed in this world.

Well fast forward a couple of years, now in med school, of course I will continue to explore this passion of mine. And when elections for the board of the group came up, I flung towards the opportunity to be the President of the group.

Enough backstory, let us get into the deets of this post.

When I read of other groups in the US doing IUD insertion workshops I knew immediately I wanted to organize one. I got in contact with Bayer Pharmaceuticals in order to get more information and to see how we could organize this activity.

An IUD, or Intrauterine Device is a small silicone T shaped device that releases a progestin hormone locally to prevent pregnancy in women. Currently there are 2 on the market, Mirena and Skyla. Mirena is a higher dose and it is slightly bigger, and it also lasts for 5 years whereas Skyla lasts 3 years.

Many weeks back and forth with Corporate they finally found a team that could fly over and give us the training. Last semester we had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances on their part. And this semester timing was against us. All issues aside, we were able to organize it for March 29^th, 2016 at 6pm.

A week before all the equipment arrived at my apartment and I was super excited. It was 3 HUGE boxes of stuff. I had them locked in my car so as not to clutter our apartment more.

Let me be real, my car is like a gynecology storage unit. I have boxes of equipment and materials for when we do health fairs. I used to keep them in the apartment but I realized it is more convenient to have them in my car.

Finally, the day arrived. This past week was going to be a very busy and exhausting one but this workshop was so exciting it could get me through anything. Thank GOD hubby was free on Tuesday. He was a HUGE help that saved us and help us run as on time as possible with a million drawbacks that were out of my control.

The ladies from Bayer gave a short presentation on the pharmacological and pertinent medical information on the IUD’s and then we moved on the to good stuff. We had light up models of the vaginal canal with a speculum so we could have a better look at the cervix, tenaculums to hold everything in place and sounders (device we use to measure the size of the uterus). We also had the training kits which have:

1. Instructions
2. Small coaster model of the uterus to practice
3. Inserter wand for both Skyla and Mirena (it is the same only difference is size and color)

Then they explained the whole process and we got to practice!!

This experience was so much fun and incredible. I learned a lot and we got to keep a buch of the training kits for our group members and for ourselves to practice. We also got some goodies, like reloadable wands, and the cutest thing in THE WORLD: RETRACTABLE ID HOLDERS WITH AN IUD!!!!

Ok, you can clearly tell that was really exciting for me. But really it was amazing and I am happy that I stayed strong and went through with the activity. Even with all the delays and set backs.

I have a couple more med school posts coming soon and a giveaway so stay tuned!

What is the most exciting thing you have done recently?

Thanks for reading

XO

Jani