Provider Details

Metro Area Advanced Practice Healthcare
Medical Provider
Tags:
birth control, gynecology, sedation gynecology
Years in Practice:
10 years experience
Contact Details
301-241-8181
hello@metroarea.org
https://metroarea.org
Address:
3720 Farragut Ave, Suite 202,
Kensington, MD 20895
Provider Services and Experience

I’m Ro Tucker, DNP, MPH, CNM, WHNP-BC, FACNM — clinical director and owner of Metro Area Advanced Practice Healthcare (MAAPH), an independent gynecology and family planning practice in Kensington, MD. We’re queer and veteran owned, HAES-aligned, and built specifically to provide gynecologic care that doesn’t replicate the patterns that drove patients out of other practices.

My patient population is heavily weighted toward people who have had difficult or harmful experiences with prior medical care — survivors of sexual and obstetric trauma, queer and trans patients who’ve been misgendered or invasively questioned, fat patients who’ve been refused care or weight-shamed, and patients who have avoided gynecologic care for years because of how it went last time. A meaningful portion of my consults begin with “I haven’t seen a gynecologist in [years] because…”

Clinical services include annual wellness exams, cervical cancer screening, the full range of contraception counseling and management, IUD insertion and removal (Mirena, Liletta, Paragard) with sedation options including nitrous oxide, oral sedation, IV sedation, cervical blocks, and TENS, birth control management, menopause and perimenopause care with current NAMS-aligned hormone therapy, STI testing and treatment, gender-affirming hormone therapy, and LGBTQIA+ affirming gynecologic care.

In-office care happens at our Kensington office, with free on-site parking and longer-than-standard appointment slots. Telehealth is available for patients in MD, VA, DC, ME, DE, MA, NY, CT, WA, OR, IL, and NM.

"Trauma Informed" training and experience

My entire practice operates on trauma-informed principles. Every patient interaction is designed around the core elements that the field has consistently identified as essential: safety, transparency, patient choice and control, collaboration, and empowerment.
In practice, this means: appointments are never double-booked, so visits are unhurried. I explain every step of every exam before it happens and check in throughout — patients can pause, stop, or decline any part of any procedure at any time, without justification. Drapes, gowns, and positioning are negotiated, not assumed. Pelvic and breast exams happen only when clinically indicated AND consented to that day, never as a default for “annual” visits. I ask about prior healthcare experiences during intake and adapt accordingly, including with patients who haven’t been able to tolerate gynecologic care elsewhere.
I offer real comfort and sedation options for procedures most practices won’t sedate for, including nitrous oxide, oral sedation, IV sedation, cervical block, and TENS for IUD insertions and other in-office gynecologic procedures.
Chosen names and pronouns appear on every chart, lab order, and portal message. The practice is queer and veteran owned, HAES-aligned, and explicitly welcoming to survivors of medical, sexual, obstetric, and gender-based trauma.

"Trauma Trained" training and experience

MPH, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health — graduate coursework included substantive focus on the role of trauma in gynecologic and reproductive health care, including epidemiology of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), intimate partner violence, and structural trauma as social determinants of health.
ACOG continuing education in trauma-informed pelvic care — evidence-based approaches to gynecologic exam and procedure care for survivors of sexual and medical trauma.
ACNM continuing education in trauma-informed pelvic care — midwifery-specific training in trauma-informed approaches to gynecologic and reproductive care.
Formal CME in trauma-informed care — broader clinical application across patient encounters.
SAMHSA training in Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) — clinical management of substance use disorders, relevant to the substantial overlap between trauma history and substance use among gynecologic patients.

Accepted Insurance

Aetna
Anthem
BCBS
Cigna
UHC

Office Hours

M-F 9-5