Under leadership of Grace Shih, MD, MAS, Program Director of Vasectomy Services, PPGNHAIK, we have prioritized educating on all contraceptive options including vasectomy and making vasectomy more accessible across our affiliate. Vasectomy is available at multiple health centers in Alaska, Idaho, Indiana, and Washington.
Grace is originally from Florida and went to undergraduate school at Emory University, studying music and physics and went to medical school at University of Florida. During medical school, on her OBGYN rotation, Grace remembers a male attending saying “as a man, it pains me to tell patients about vasectomy even though it is just as safe and effective as female sterilization.” This sparked her interest in vasectomy, and she vowed to become a vasectomy provider – one who would counsel patients on all contraceptive options, without judgement or bias.
Grace got her vasectomy training when she was a family planning fellow at the University of California, San Francisco. During fellowship, she conducted a study on heterosexual cisgender couples who had completed childbearing to understand how they decided what contraception to use. She found that most couples had not considered vasectomy, and many had not received any information on vasectomy.
For that reason, much of Grace’s professional work has been on vasectomy training and advocacy for healthcare providers and the general public. Recently, she presented a hands-on vasectomy workshop for Planned Parenthood Medical Directors and Clinicians. Affiliate vasectomy providers Shawna Cooke, APRN from Alaska, JoLynn Montgomery PAC from Idaho, Mandy Gittler MD from Illinois, and Michelle Shelly MD from Indiana assisted in the training.
Learn more about vasectomy services at ppgnhaik.org/vasectomy.
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