What is adolescent medicine?
Adolescent medicine aims to address medical and psychosocial questions and conditions affecting adolescents at the time they enter puberty – for girls typically ages 9-11 and boys ages 11-14 – until about the time they are 21.
Practitioners with this specialty are trained in pediatric medicine, family medicine or internal medicine and choose to focus on adolescent medicine as a subspecialty. They complete an adolescent fellowship – two years of additional study for family practitioners and internists, and three years’ additional study for pediatricians.
Conditions a practitioner treats range from acne to mental illness, pregnancy or precocious puberty (puberty that occurs unusually early on), and more.When do I seek out a practitioner specializing in adolescent medicine, and what should I expect?
Adolescence can be a tumultuous time. It’s a stage of development filled with concerns that are best addressed with the help and support of a medical professional who can help guide teens as they begin to gradually monitor their own health care needs and make the transition from childhood to young adults.
Since their needs are more diverse, adolescents benefit from receiving more than just the typical check-up by a pediatric specialist. They may have issues related to their developing bodies, self-image, sexuality, mental health, drugs, alcohol and other risky behaviors. Challenges with family, peers, school, illicit substances, and more often become part of their health care needs.
Ask your health care providers if they can recommend a physician not only trained in pediatric medicine, but also in adolescent medicine. Their special training facilitates discussions on issues with adolescent patients that other physicians may not address – or even think to address. Among the wide variety of topics an adolescent medicine physician might monitor and discuss are smoking, eating and weight, birth control, a menstrual disorder, steroid abuse, school behavior, social pressures, alcohol use, drug use, nutrition, depression and physical activity. A specialist will take the opportunity to communicate with the teen and try to uncover any problems related to these challenges that adolescents face.
Specialists use a screening assessment called HEADSS to uncover issues. HEADSS stands for Home, Education (or Employment), Activities, Drugs, Sexuality, Suicide and Safety. The doctor will assess:
What symptoms and conditions are typically treated by a specialist in adolescent medicine?
- Home: How things are at home – who lives there, and if occupants get along
- Education: Patient’s school, grades and attendance
- Activities: After-school activities, such as a job or sports, and how the patient spends time with friends
- Drugs: Whether patient (or friends) smoke, drink, use drugs or have tried any of the above; also whether family members have trouble with any of the above
- Sex: Boyfriend/girlfriend status; length of relationship and level of intimacy
- Suicide/Depression: Moods, levels of depression and risk of suicide
- Safety: Safety at home, school and in the neighborhood
Conditions addressed by adolescent medicine specialists include acne
, birth control, delayed or precocious puberty
, precocious sexual development
, eating disorders such as anorexia
, menstrual disorders, mental illnesses (including depression
), pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections and substance abuse
. The approach is often holistic, with the specialist collecting information about the patient’s activities and home life as they address the problem.Related Articles:How To Choose A PediatricianBuild a Better Doctor-Patient RelationshipShopping for a New Doc