288: You Don't Know What You Don't Know: Expanding Awareness to Restore Autonomy and Access

Sunday, November 15, 2026
4:45 pm - 5:45 pm

Room: BALLRM-ABC

Chairs: Gabrielle T. Whitmore

Faculty:

Description: Despite advances in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, patients with endometriosis and uterine fibroids continue to face prolonged diagnostic delays, fragmented care, and limited autonomy in treatment decision-making. A major contributor is not a lack of surgical innovation—but a lack of awareness. As clinicians, we often underestimate how much patients, referring providers, and even colleagues do not know they do not know. This talk reframes awareness as a clinical intervention. Using real-world examples, the session explores how MIGS surgeons can move beyond the exam room to become catalysts for education, advocacy, and access. Attendees will learn how to engage their local communities through patient-centered educational forums, leverage social media responsibly for evidence-based education, and build intentional partnerships with PCPs, APPs, and midwives to bridge gaps between symptom recognition and specialty care. The presentation emphasizes scalable, time-efficient approaches that are feasible for both early-career and senior faculty—whether practicing in academic centers or community settings. By improving awareness upstream, surgeons can help restore patient autonomy, shorten time to diagnosis, and ensure equitable access to high-quality gynecologic care.

Objective #1: Review key gaps in awareness that delay diagnosis and limit patient autonomy in endometriosis and fibroid care.
Objective #2: Apply practical strategies to engage communities through educational forums and digital platforms to improve public understanding of gynecologic disease.
Objective #3: Strengthen referral pathways by collaborating with primary care providers (PCPs), advanced practice providers (APPs), and midwives to improve timely access to specialty care.
Medtalk Presenter: Gabrielle Whitmore

Learning Objectives: At the end of this course, the participant will be able to:

1. Review key gaps in awareness that delay diagnosis and limit patient autonomy in endometriosis and fibroid care.
2. Apply practical strategies to engage communities through educational forums and digital platforms to improve public understanding of gynecologic disease.
3. Strengthen referral pathways by collaborating with primary care providers (PCPs), advanced practice providers (APPs), and midwives to improve timely access to specialty care.