Share your experiences with disease screenings and how you would respond to patients who are apprehensive about getting screened for certain diseases. As a nurse, encountering patients that require annual screenings is a norm. However, it is important to be helpful and promote the patient’s autonomy and awareness of preventive health measures. While working as gynecology nurse, it was important to have patients scheduled for annual pap screening based on current guidelines. Mammogram screening is always scheduled yearly for patients over age 40. Based on current guidelines, patients should receive a pap screening test every 3 years if the patient has not had an abnormal test result. However, if the patient has had an abnormal pap, the screening test should be performed annually. When patients receive abnormal results, this can be overwhelming because they are unsure of how to interpret these results. I have felt apprehension when educating patients regarding this matter because when they were often confused about how the HPV virus affects the body. Patients should receive education regarding the limitations of screening and appropriate followup intervals. Annual well-woman exams should be recommended even if cervical cancer screening is not performed at the visit (Mansour et al., 2023). Protection from cervical cancer is the primary goal of screening. However, patients should receive counsel about other methods of prevention. Patients should be counseled on the risks factors, smoking cessation, safe sex practice to limit exposure to sexually transmitted infections and HPV vaccination. Administration of the HPV vaccine will not affect the frequency of screening and patient should be educated to return for age-based screening (Mansour et al., 2023). Mansour T, Limaiem F. Cervical Screening. [Updated 2023 Aug 8]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537348/