Menopause

In July 2022, the first ever Women's Health Strategy for England was published with the aim of tackling systemic issues within the health and care systems. It looks at improving the health and wellbeing of women, with one of its focuses being on menopause care. The UK Menopause Taskforce has been established to drive the strategy forward, raising awareness of menopause among healthcare professionals, encouraging workplace support and considering further research on the topic. 

There is a need to provide training to help pharmacy professionals to support women experiencing menopausal symptoms by equipping them with evidence-based information that allows them to make decisions about their own management.

Throughout this e-learning programme, we use the term women when describing people who experience these symptoms. However, we acknowledge that not only those who identify as women require access to menopause care and information. For example, some trans men, non-binary people and intersex people, or people with variations in sex characteristics, may also experience menopausal symptoms.

This e-learning programme aims to support pharmacy professionals to increase their knowledge and awareness of menopause and perimenopause to enable them to have initial conversations with those who need support. 

As you work through this e-learning, you will begin to formulate a toolkit of useful resources and references that will help support your menopause consultations. You will collate these resources during Section 5 of this e-learning, creating your own personal toolkit.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:

• define menopause and perimenopause and issues related to post-reproductive health and explain the range of people who may be affected by menopause symptoms
• recognise the signs and symptoms of menopause and perimenopause, ensuring that this is always considered during consultations
• identify the risks and benefits of treatment options and confidently dispel the common myths in menopause care
• take a person-centred approach in menopause consultations to enable shared decision making and provide individualised treatment options
• apply current guidelines and standards to support evidence-based decisions around the management of menopause symptoms
• evaluate safe and appropriate treatment options for the management of menopause symptoms
• develop an action plan and toolkit to help you support people who access your services during their menopause transition

The aim of this programme is to enable you to provide evidence-based medical advice to women experiencing the menopause.

Please note: this e-learning programme has been developed and provided by the Northern Ireland Centre for Pharmacy Learning and Development (NICPLD). Users should recognise that this programme will refer to Northern Ireland's policies and organisations. After ordering this programme, you will be redirected to their website where the resource is hosted. Please be aware that CPPE does not maintain control over the accuracy and currency of this programme.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:

• recognise the symptoms experienced by women around the time of the menopause
• identify patients who may benefit from hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
• recognise the different types of HRT available and their appropriateness for individual patients
• provide advice to patients on the risks and contra-indications to HRT
• raise awareness of alternatives to HRT therapy and self-help techniques for managing menopausal symptoms.

The IMS works globally to promote and support access to healthcare for people going through their menopause transition and post reproductive years. They work to enable these people to achieve optimal health and wellbeing. Various resources are available to support healthcare practitioners.

NHS website containing a summary of the menopause, symptoms, treatment options and further signposting.

This consists of four elfh modules covering topics including: What is the menopause, Managing the menopause, Hormone replace therapy (HRT) and Premature menopause. There are also associated self-assessments.

The specialist authority for menopause and post reproductive health in the UK. The BMS informs and guides healthcare professionals working in both primary and secondary care on menopause and all aspects of post reproductive health. There are a wealth of resources available for healthcare practitioners on their website.

Red Whale have a variety of menopause-related resources, including online sessions and their Pearl bite-size updates to support health care practitioners working in primary care.

This e-assessment is linked with the CPPE Menopause - an introduction for pharmacy professionals e-learning programme and assesses you on the learning outcomes in that programme.  

Why should I do this assessment?

This e-assessment completes the learning you began with the Menopause: an introduction for pharmacy professionals e-learning programme. The access and successful completion of this e-assessment will contribute to your own personal development plan, be recorded in your My CPPE record and will enable you to complete a revalidation record on the learning. It may also provide evidence for achieving competencies in the different competency frameworks that apply across your career. 

Comprises a comprehensive range of resources together with progressive theory courses and practical training components designed to reflect modern NHS practice and meet the ever-increasing requirement for quality menopause education.

An online learning programme which provides comprehensive training in managing menopausal symptoms and the long term consequences of the changes that occur at the menopause.

This course is aimed specifically at those providing menopause care in primary care settings. It is an interactive course spanning half a day that includes scenario-based learning, quizzes, presentations, and time for discussion and questions.

This online course delivers practical learning on a case-by-case basis, supported by assessments and presentations by menopause experts from a range of disciplines.

The BMS has developed a range of resources for healthcare professionals. These include summarising the NICE guidance, providing guidance on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescribing and other treatment options and clarifying some of the most common myths and misconceptions of the menopause.

The IMS have developed several professional resources to support practice, including a practitioner toolkit.

The Balance website provides medical evidenced-based perimenopause and menopause information to help people to become better informed and better prepared for the menopause.

This guideline covers the diagnosis and management of menopause, including in people who have premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). The guideline aims to improve the consistency of support and information provided to people in menopause. Note: this guideline is currently under review.

This details the government’s 10-year ambitions and the actions being taken now to improve the health and wellbeing of women and girls in England.