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Our Practice

About Our Program

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The Endometriosis & Chronic Pelvic Pain (E&CPP) Program was established in 2021 and is the first interdisciplinary clinic dedicated to the treatment and management of endometriosis and CPP in the Atlantic Provinces. 

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) treatment guidelines support interdisciplinary care for managing CPP. Access to timely, interprofessional care for people with CPP is paramount to improve patients' quality of life. Additionally, providing this specialized service has been shown to reduce wait times for primary care and the need for emergency department visits. 

Our program offers comprehensive care and education for patients to support them in their pain management. Patients will also benefit from collaborative research programs of the highest scientific caliber dedicated to understanding the mechanisms and management of CPP. This work ensures the clinic is able to deliver care that is always evidence based and effective.

The E&CPP Program Includes:

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Gynecologists
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Pelvic Physiotherapist
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Anesthesiologist/Chronic Pain Specialist
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Social Worker
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Nurse Practitioner
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Nurses

As part of the program, we will ask you to complete a series of questionnaires that will provide valuable information to your clinical team regarding your symptoms and quality of life. This information is important to help the team individualize your care, but also provides information for our ongoing research on the mechanisms and management of pelvic pain. This information will be collected prior to your initial visit and at defined follow-up intervals. The information from these surveys will be housed within our Data Registry for Endometriosis & Pelvic Pain (DREPP), a database that informs the type of care we provide and where appropriate, the research we perform at the Centre. You can learn more about our data registry here

How to Make an Appointment

Referrals for pelvic pain are accepted for patients who:

  • are referred by a primary care physician, nurse practitioner, or gynecologist 

  • have been evaluated by a gynecologist within the past 5 years

  • have not responded to first and second-line treatments for endometriosis  or CPP

  • experience chronic pain (defined as pain present more days than not for a duration of 6 months or more).

A doctor or nurse practitioner referral is required to enter our program. If you do not have a primary care provider, you can join the Need a Family Practice Registry.  Nova Scotians on the registry can consult with a doctor online for free through VirtualCareNS by Maple.

Healthcare providers can download our referral form and fax it to us at 902-470-7061.

Your Visit

Once you have been referred to the clinic you will be asked to complete a health questionnaire and you will be booked to attend an initial team assessment. The program begins with a comprehensive gynecological and pain assessment. You will also receive a virtual pain education session led by health care providers in the clinic, where you will learn more about chronic pelvic pain and explore self-management strategies. You will be given a workbook you can use to track your appointments and work through some of the skills you will be introduced to in the pain education session. 

Accessing this Clinic, Program of Services

  • Enter the Women's building at IWK Health and locate the purple elevators at the entrance.

  • Proceed to registration on the 6th floor

Our Clinical Team

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Dr. Elizabeth Randle

Gynecologist

Dr. Randle is the Medical Co-Director of the E&CPP Program. She completed her undergraduate degree in Life Sciences at Queen's University, followed by medical school at the University of Western Ontario. She completed her residency program training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Dalhousie University. Dr. Randle went on to complete a fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery at the University of Saskatchewan. She has a Masters of Science in Healthcare Quality Improvement through Queen's University and is an Assistant Professor at Dalhousie University, working in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at IWK Health.

 

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Dr. Brigid Nee

Gynecologist

Dr. Nee completed her undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Acadia University. She completed medical school at Dalhousie University, followed by a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Queen’s University. Dr. Nee went on to complete a fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery at the University of Calgary. She was an Assistant Professor at Queen’s University in the division of Obstetrics and Gynecology from 2018 until 2023. She joined the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at the IWK Hospital in the fall of 2023 and is an Assistant Professor at Dalhousie University.

 

 

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Linda McEachern

Social Worker

Linda is a Social Worker in the IWK Women's Health Program. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (1994) at St. FX followed by a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Dalhousie in 1996 and a Master of Social Work from Carleton University in 1998. Most of Linda's career experience has been in mental health, particularly in the understanding of and treatment of trauma. Linda primarily uses Mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy approaches in supporting women who are coping with grief, and chronic pain. 

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Dr. Allana Munro

Anesthesiologist

Dr. Munro is the Medical Co-Director of the E&CPP Program. She has an undergraduate degree in pharmacy and completed medical school and Anesthesiology training at Dalhousie University. She went on to attain an IWK Health Women's and Obstetric Anesthesia Clinical/Research Fellowship in 2015

She joined the IWK Health Women's and Obstetric Department of Anesthesia as an anesthesiologist in 2016 and completed additional training in chronic pain. She is currently an Associate Professor at Dalhousie University and Associate Medical Director of Research in the Department of Anesthesia, Pain Management & Perioperative Medicine in Halifax, NS.

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Leah Pink

Nurse Practitioner 

Leah Pink is a Nurse Practitioner in the Women's Ambulatory Program at IWK Health. Leah completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing (2000, 2005) and the Post-Master's Nurse Practitioner program (2014) at the University of Toronto. She also completed the Opioid Dependence Treatment Certificate Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (2020). Prior to joining the IWK, she worked in the inpatient and ambulatory pain service at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto where she was involved in the department of the Pain in Pregnancy Program. Leah is cross-appointed as an Adjunct Lecturer at Da;housie University.

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Bree Bates

Physiotherapy

Bree has a Master's Degree in Physiotherapy and Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Dalhousie University. With specialization in pelvic floor physiotherapy, Bree provides patients with coordination exercises to help contract, hold, or relax the pelvic floor correctly to help women suffering from pelvic pain. She also assesses and provides treatments to correct muscle and joint function, posture, and body mechanics that may be contributing to pelvic pain. A combination of manual therapy, stretching, and coordination exercises are used to work towards muscle balance and good functioning. Pain education and emphasis on body mechanics for good posture and movement through, muscle balancing with stretches, coordination exercises, and relaxation/strengthening are provided. 

Our Research Team

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Dr. Fatemeh Baghbani-Naghadehi

Clinical Research Scientist

Dr. Fatemeh Baghbani-Naghadehi is the clinical research scientist of the E&CPP Program, leading an evidence-based research program alongside medical co-leads Dr. Munro and Dr. Randle. She has an undergraduate degree in Kinesiology and Master's degree in Exercise Physiology. Fatemeh completed her Ph.D. program in Rehabilitation Science from the University of Alberta, where she significantly contributed to the evidence-based knowledge on musculosketal diseases notably arthroplasty. With over a decade of research experience, she has excellent skills in managing multi-institutional clinical data and employing evidence-based approaches to address complex research questions. Additionally, Fatemeh has completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre for Research in Family Health at IWK Health developing and evaluating various eHealth applications (apps) meant to be utilized by Canadian family physicians for their parents.  

Tel: 902-470-7473

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