I think she [Dr. Stephanie Gunderson] excels at showing compassion and taking your viewpoint and your wishes into account. She approaches things delicately which I think is needed when going through an incredibly emotional time...I appreciated that the first thing she asked me was what I wanted. She didn't push me into anything and took the time to listen to me and understand.
[Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin is] Great at communicating and keeping you informed. They also offer financial counseling and lay things out clearly as to what to expect financially which is appreciated during an already stressful time...They respond to phone calls and online messages in a prompt manner and are very kind, caring and compassionate.
How was your experience with Stephanie Gunderson at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin?
I think she excels at showing compassion and taking your viewpoint and your wishes into account. She approaches things delicately which I think is needed when going through an incredibly emotional time. As someone who has been diagnosed with unexplained infertility I can become easily frustrated with not having answers and told there is nothing wrong with me yet I have a limited chance of conceiving naturally. I understand that treatment is the next best recommendation but I am still left a bit discouraged that I couldn't find a doctor to help me put all the puzzle pieces together and help us find out why it isn't happening and help us figure out how to get pregnant naturally as that has been the goal.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Stephanie Gunderson at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin?
Don't be afraid to ask any and all questions, she will answer in a kind, informative manner.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Stephanie Gunderson at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin?
During the initial consult I appreciated that the first thing she asked me was what I wanted. She didn't push me into anything and took the time to listen to me and understand.
Describe the protocols Stephanie Gunderson used in your cycles at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin and their degree of success.
My husband and I have been diagnosed with unexplained infertility. All of the diagnostic tests have come back as "normal." This cycle we are pursuing for the first time Letrozole with timed insemination monitored with ultrasound as our treatment method.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin.
They respond to phone calls and online messages in a prompt manner and are very kind, caring and compassionate.
Describe your experience with Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin.
Great at communicating and keeping you informed. They also offer financial counseling and lay things out clearly as to what to expect financially which is appreciated during an already stressful time.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Stephanie Gunderson at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin.
Consultations and follow up visits were about $350-$700. Other diagnostic fertility testing I think was standard for the national average.
Describe Stephanie Gunderson's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin.
She [Dr. Gunderson] is not a good communicator. I felt like I never knew what the next steps were...when I asked her if I should do fresh or frozen IVF, her response was “what do you want to do?” I was disappointed with that response….I’m paying tens of thousands of dollars for these doctors’ clinical expertise, yet I have to do my own homework to determine whether I should do fresh or frozen?… I had to micromanage everything during my seven months under her care...
They [Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin] don’t have an IVF/nurse coordinator, which is odd. You as the patient are responsible for essentially being your own coordinator. Making phone calls to determine insurance coverage, figuring out the financial packages, researching was a “stimulation” means, researching what “egg retrieval” means…the fact that I had to do my own research on what egg retrieval is because no one explained it to me, is really concerning.
How was your experience with Stephanie Gunderson at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin?
Although Dr. Gunderson has a very nice demeanor, she is not a very strong clinician. She misses details (forgot to order my genetic screening); when her patients are seen by the other doctors in clinic, she does not follow their treatment course. She is not a good communicator. I felt like I never knew what the next steps were. When I tried my 2nd cycle of IUI and it was unsuccessful, she said “ok so looks like we can’t do it this time. Have a nice weekend”. I had to reel her back into the consult room to ask about what next steps for IVF are. She said “oh you just call with the first day of your period”. Her response was very….”duh, why don’t you know this?” Additionally, when I asked her if I should do fresh or frozen IVF, her response was “what do you want to do?” I was disappointed with that response….I’m paying tens of thousands of dollars for these doctors’ clinical expertise, yet I have to do my own homework to determine whether I should do fresh or frozen?… I had to micromanage everything during my seven months under her care. I eventually transferred clinics.
What's one piece of advice would you give a prospective patient of Stephanie Gunderson at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin?
Change doctors sooner rather than later. You want a doctor who is a strong clinician and can get you pregnant…not a doctor that asks what your plans are this weekend. Don’t waste months and months with her clinic like I did.
During treatment, were you treated like a number or a human with Stephanie Gunderson at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin?
At the Froedtert fertility clinic, you will not only see your primary doctor. You will see one of four doctors. They rotate clinic days, ultrasound days, surgery days, etc. In doing so, they really don’t know the details of their patients well at all. For example, prior to my first IUI cycle, I had a doctor (who was not my primary doctor) doing my ultrasound. I have a problem with my left tube. He said “so the right tube is the one that’s giving us problems”. And my husband and I said ummm no. Additionally, my primary doctor forgot to order a genetic screening test on me. It wasn’t until I was getting a second opinion at a different clinic that was informing me about genetic screening that I realized that my Froedtert doctor never ordered a genetic test. I messaged her to make her aware and she said “yes you should get one”. I was incredibly frustrated that this was missed. They are very sloppy.
Describe the protocols Stephanie Gunderson used in your cycles at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin and their degree of success.
I had an HSN, then a hysteroscopy with removal of polyps. Followed by two cycles of IUI. Both IUI cycles had a 5 day stim with Letrozole from Day 3-7. Then ultrasound monitoring from day 11-16.
Describe your experience with the nursing staff at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin.
The nursing staff are one of the reasons why I transferred fertility clinics. Whenever I would send a message to my doctor, the nurses would answer without checking their response with the doctor first. (I work in healthcare, and this is actually illegal. Nurses don’t have a license to make treatment decisions). After two incorrect answers from the nursing staff, I informed Dr. Gunderson. She did apologize and say that she would speak to her nursing staff, but I’m not entirely sure that that happened. Had I not double checked a nursing recommendation, I would have been an entire treatment cycle behind. A nurse told me that I had to wait at least one cycle after a procedure that I had. I double checked with the doctor on the day that I had the procedure and he confirmed that that was untrue.
Describe your experience with Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin.
Overall, this was an extremely disappointing experience. The doctors are unorganized, the wait times are VERY long (it takes over 2 months to get an initial consult and then approximately 6 months before you can start IVF because they “don’t have room in the lab”). They don’t have an IVF/nurse coordinator, which is odd. You as the patient are responsible for essentially being your own coordinator. Making phone calls to determine insurance coverage, figuring out the financial packages, researching was a “stimulation” means, researching what “egg retrieval” means…the fact that I had to do my own research on what egg retrieval is because no one explained it to me, is really concerning.
The one strength is that the parking at the clinic was convenient. And the building was clean.
Describe the costs associated with your care under Stephanie Gunderson at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin.
My initial visit was approximately $800 for a one hour virtual consultation. My IUI was about $1300 per cycle.
Describe Stephanie Gunderson's approach to eSET (elective single embryo transfer) vs. multiple embryo transfer at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin.
I transferred to a different fertility clinic before I underwent embryo transfer. However, I was told that the stance of Froedtert fertility clinic is that they absolutely will NOT do multiple embryo transfer because it is more high risk for complications (at least, this is what they told me)
What specific things went wrong at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin?
Failed to call in prescriptions to pharmacy
Failed to order appropriate test
Failed to send your chart to another clinic
Failed to inform you of changes in protocol
Provided conflicting information
Failed to convey critical information
Describe the specific things that went wrong at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin.
I had to micromanage everything at this clinic. By the end, I had no trust in the doctors and nurses because I was identifying and correcting all of their mistakes. I understand that everyone makes mistakes but the mistakes kept happening and happening. Even after I spoke with their clinic manager.
