A menopause specialist is a healthcare professional who specialises in assessing and treating women with complex needs such as multiple therapy failures, POI, complex medical conditions, high risk cancer genes, or hormone-dependent cancer. They accept more complex patient referrals and assist colleagues in managing patients with greater risk factors or where various factors influence decision making.
BMS menopause specialist definition
A BMS menopause specialist is a healthcare professional who holds a recognised menopause educational qualification:
- BMS Advanced Certificate in the Principles and Practice of Menopause Care;
- RCOG/BMS Advanced Training Skills Module (ATSM) in menopause care;
- FSRH Advanced Certificate in Menopause Care;
- FSRH Community Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare (CSRH) curriculum, obtaining the Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT), or reaching the equivalent standard as assessed by the GMC and awarded a CESR in CSRH; or
- an equivalent qualification (e.g. menopause and POI module of the subspecialty training programme in reproductive medicine)
and who:
- is a member of the British Menopause Society;
- attends a national or international menopause society scientific conference at least once every three years (e.g. BMS, IMS, EMAS);
- provides a minimum of 100 menopause related consultations per year, of which at least 50 are new; and
- is responsible for ensuring that the specialism is documented in their job plan and is discussed and recorded at their annual appraisal in the UK or Ireland.
BMS menopause specialist responsibilities
Recognised BMS menopause specialists are expected to:
- follow national guidance, e.g. NICE Guideline: Diagnosis and Management of the Menopause (NG23);
- follow BMS recommendations and guidance for practice and prescribing, e.g. BMS and WHC’s 2020 recommendations on hormone replacement therapy in menopausal womenand the BMS consensus statement on Bioidentical HRT;
- provide menopause education and training; and
- engage with multidisciplinary teams across specialties to develop local pathways, formularies and guidelines.