SUMMARY POINTS
Skills
- Integrating services into your practice setting and community will help to normalize abortion and early pregnancy loss (EPL) management as a part of each person’s regular health care, increasing access and minimizing stigma.
- Providing medication abortion via telehealth is safe and effective, and will improve access for your patients.
- Involving various stakeholders is critical to the service’s success and sustainability. Finding, cultivating, and working with other champions in your organization and community will help maximize your efforts.
- Providing a safe, respectful opportunity for staff to voice a range of feelings about participating in abortion care will help support their involvement.
- Incorporating conversations about implicit bias and racial justice will help build a workplace that prioritizes equity and inclusion.
- Using gender inclusive and trauma responsive language in all aspects of care will help more people feel welcomed into your practice.
Safety
- Reviewing protocols and offering periodic drills for medical and security-related emergencies, while rarely needed, is important.
- Maintaining necessary equipment, medications, and back-up arrangements will help in rare abortion-related emergencies.
- Ensuring your clinic utilizes readily accessible health care practices for people with disabilities (PWD), obtains accessible medical equipment such as adjustable height exam tables, and provides staff training in safe transfers and alternative exam positions will help ensure equal access to all.
Role
- Being patient and persistent, as changing practice means shifting both culture and systems. Your role is to advocate for both.
- Being familiar with practice improvement methodologies used in other parts of your practice, such as new person-centered measures or small tests of change, will be important for applying those skills to this work.
- Using local and national networks will build a collaborative community, help answer medical and administrative questions, and challenge you to learn best practices. (See Ch 9: Becoming a Provider for additional Organization Resources)