Jennifer Merrill, MD
My 28 Days is thrilled to welcome aboard Dr. Jennifer Merrill as our spokesperson for medical endocrinology, POI, and amenorrhea. Dr. Merrill is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Merrill received her doctor of medicine degree and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. She completed a Fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Duke University in 2020.
“During medical training, I learned how to diagnose primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), and some basic information on management. Unfortunately, POI falls in a space between multiple different specialties. It can fall under medical endocrinology, OB-GYN, reproductive endocrinology, and general internal medicine/family medicine. This means no one specialty ‘owns’ it, making it hard for the women affected by POI to find comprehensive care for their entire lifespan.
“I realized that I learned a lot of incorrect information about POI during my formal medical training.”
~ Dr. Jennifer Merrill
“Since it‘s a non-lethal disease, it‘s hard to understand how life-changing the diagnosis is and how much suffering it can cause until you personally know someone who has experienced it. Despite being trained by people who I know to be caring and compassionate physicians, I realized that I learned a lot of incorrect information about POI during my formal medical training. One myth I learned is that a birth control pill would provide equal protection for bone health as physiologic hormone replacement therapy. Another is that estrogen use in women trying to conceive would suppress ovulation.
“Dr. Nelson and My28days.org helped me learn more about POI so I could combat myths about it and improve my care for my patients.”
We want women with POI to know there’s hope and there’s help. Find out more in our FAQs, Resources and through our Facebook Community.
