As a child, Dr. Nicole Tod enjoyed meeting her doctors and attending appointments. She discovered she wanted to become a physician, and helping patients through some of their biggest life changes, such as puberty, pregnancy and menopause, became her calling.
“I really enjoy educating women on those different stages and helping them navigate these big changes,” Dr. Tod said. “We really don’t see or talk much about some of these stages, like menopause or the not-so-great things about pregnancy, and I like helping women and making them feel empowered during these times.”
For Dr. Tod, ensuring women have access to accurate information is important. She encourages patients to have a trustworthy relationship with a primary care physician when potentially serious issues arise.
“First, having a primary care physician is crucial and I encourage patients to establish care when things are going well, not just when things are not going well,” she said. “Second, because there's a lot of false information out there, it's important to search for sources of high-quality information."
Dr. Tod says to seek reliable sources since there is so much untrue information being passed off as medical fact. Should a patient want another opinion, she encourages them to do their research.
"Each medical specialty has a society that provides recommendations and practice guidelines," explained Dr. Tod. "Some examples are the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians. You can look up any specialty's society website and there are patient-specific sections where you can find good resources of medical information."
As for other information on the internet, she recommends proceeding with caution and consulting with trusted doctors.
“You can find medical information on internet sites and social media, but I recommend evaluating that information critically," said Dr. Tod. "Consider who is providing that information and what are their credentials.”
Dr. Tod practices at North Texas Women's Healthcare Associates with offices in Alliance and Keller. For more information or to make an appointment, visit myobg.com or call 817-741-2601.