One final question before I share your collective pearls of wisdom on talking to your doctor about sex with the American Medical Student Association members gathered at the Disneyland Resort.  I’ll let you know how the panel goes, but rest assured you have just made a tremendous impact on the future of sexual medicine and made the world a safer place for patients to discuss sexual health with doctors.

Today’s question:  If you could give your doctor one piece of advice on discussing sexual health concerns, what would it be?

If you can’t be honest with me, I can’t help you.  I tell all my clients that at the beginning of the very first session.  I strive to create a non-judgmental environment where people will feel comfortable sharing extremely private information.  Likewise, it is your doctor’s responsibility to make sure that you are treated with respect and to take your sexual health concerns seriously.  The doctor-patient relationship is a two-way street though.  You are responsible for being honest about your sexuality so that your doctor can do his/her job and make important decisions about your health care.

The students gathered at the annual conference of the American Medical Student Association want to know what they need to do to make you feel safe and as comfortable as possible talking about your sexual concerns and what mistakes they need to avoid that might jeopardize your willingness to give them all the information they need to help you.  I’ll tell them, if you tell me.

Today’s question:  Have you ever withheld information about your sexual behavior from your doctor?  What kept you from being completely honest?

Medical education relies heavily on the concept of preceptorships where each student shadows a physician observing the day-to-day practice of various medical specialties.  Experienced doctors can serve as models of professional, compassionate care, but they can also pass on bad habits.

When I speak to the “baby” docs at the American Medical Student Association’s 60th Annual Convention, I want to be able to them give examples of what works and what doesn’t work, when it comes to addressing sexual health, from a patient’s perspective.  Your voice has been the missing puzzle piece in training the next generation of doctors, until now.

Today’s question:  Have you had any positive interactions with a doctor around sexuality?  If so, what made it a good experience?  Describe a negative experience and how it could have been improved.

What do all the Viagra and Cialis ads tell you to do?  Talk to your doctor.  Sexuality is increasingly viewed through the lens of medicine.  Unhappy with an aspect of your sexual anatomy or performance?  There’s a pill, injection, or surgery for that.  But what if you don’t feel comfortable talking to your doctor about your sexual health concerns?

This Friday, 3/12, I will be traveling to the Disneyland Hotel to speak to the future of medicine at the annual conference of the American Medical Student Association.  I’ll be joined on the panel entitled, “Everything Doctors Want to Know About Sex, But Never Asked,” by cultural sexologist, Carol Queen, certified sexuality educator, Megan Andelloux, and Kat Wentworth director of Project Prepare.

I want to give you the opportunity to “speak” to these students and tell them what they need to know about providing sexual health care.  Today through Thursday I will pose a different question about sexual health and the role of your doctor in ensuring you have a happy, healthy sex life.  Tell me what you think and I’ll pass it on to the budding doctors who desperately want to learn how to make the doctor’s office a more sex positive environment.

Today’s question:  Do you think the doctor’s office is an appropriate place to seek help for sexual health concerns?

Have you checked out the links section of Phoenix Rising?  It’s an ever growing list of great sites with reliable info on sex and cancer related topics.  Don’t surf around wondering if a site is legit, let me vet it for you.  Feel free to comment or send me an e-mail with the kind of information you are looking for and I’ll add it.

Today I am proud to share with you the blog of one of my students, Bat Sheva Marcus, contributor to the Better Sex Blog (http://bettersexblog.net).  I served on Bat Sheva’s dissertation committee as she conducted research on women’s attitudes toward vibrator use. Her dissertation is a valuable addition to the sexological literature and I trust you will find her blog entries to be another valuable resource on your path toward a happy sex life!