Common Issues
What are the issues - what types of things are we seeing adolescents for? Of course, well adolescent care, the standard head-to-toe exam is part of that, but we also see adolescents for:
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There are some large scale national studies, the Commonwealth Fund study is one of them, that support independent research which ultimately improves our access to health care and helps set some practice and policy guidelines. Many of these are published yearly. In 1987, one of them found that almost one third of the adolescents reported missing "needed" care. In other words, they realize they need care, but are just missing out on it.It is really important to understand that many kids will not be forthcoming about a lot of these issues. They're not sure how to start the conversation, so we need to be comfortable and we need to start that conversation. I never have trouble getting kids to speak with me, but I have to make that first effort. I have to show them that that is something I feel comfortable talking about. They may choose to interact with me that first time. They may need a follow-up appointment for dysuria before they'll tell me they have a vaginal discharge they're worried about and, "Oh, by the way, I'm having unprotected sex", and "Oh, by the way, I'm failing school" and "Oh, by the way, I don't have a place to live". These are some common scenarios that will happen during the course of an adolescent visit. Return to top of page