BENGALURU: Karnataka is planning to introduce a one-year menopause fellowship to train medical practitioners, a first-of-its-kind initiative that aims to build a specialised workforce to care for women during perimenopause and menopause.The programme, to be offered through Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), is part of the state govt’s broader effort to integrate menopause care into the public health system, alongside its proposed women’s health policy and the recently launched Rututhaare awareness initiative, aimed at early identification and support for women going through menopause.Medical education minister Sharan Prakash Patil said the fellowship is being designed primarily for PG doctors, particularly those specialising in obstetrics and gynaecology. Applications are expected to be invited in about three months.RGUHS vice-chancellor Dr Bhagavan B C said the fellowship would adopt a multidisciplinary approach, with a committee deciding which medical specialties would be eligible to enrol.The committee will frame curriculum and prescribe minimum standards for institutions seeking to offer the programme. Larger gynaecology centres, medical colleges and multispecialty hospitals in public and private sectors are expected to qualify.“Menopause comes with challenges physically, mentally and hormonally. Women might experience disinterest in daily activities, go into depression, experience fatigue or hot flashes, and problems like intermittent bleeding post-menopause. We will form a committee which will decide the criteria of which specialty doctors can apply,” he said.Kannada actor and former MP Ramya, ambassador for Rututhaare, met Patil recently recommending the fellowship. “Last week health dept agreed to screen women for menopause through Gruha Arogya. Identifying women is only useful if there is someone trained to help them. These doctors can be absorbed at taluk and district level, in govt and private hospitals, in a field where demand is rising and there is no trained workforce,” she said on X.Dr Jyotsna Mirlay, who will head the expert panel for menopause policy, said, “There is a huge gap in India when it comes to providing care for women undergoing menopause. With the fellowship, we propose bridging that gap so that the practitioners who come out will have thorough knowledge of how to take care of menopausal women.”
