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Adolescent Medicine??
- Thread starter lacoste_surfer
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Adolescent medicine in a Pedi subspecialty.
I'm sure some of our more enlightened members here will provide you with additional info and resources. 😉
I'm sure some of our more enlightened members here will provide you with additional info and resources. 😉
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To the best of my knowledge, there are a couple of things you can do with adolescent medicine. All adolescent medicine fellowships are open to pediatricians, but some are open to internal medicine/family medicine practitioners as well. Fellowships would be three years and usually involve completion of a research project. Also, I believe it is possible for non-pediatricians to receive certificates of added qualification after a year of clinical training (no research) but I know less about how that works.
For more information, you might try www.adolescenthealth.org, which is the website of the society for adolescent medicine. In terms of places offering fellowships, I know Mount Sinai Hospital in new york city has a good one and there are a few other places. Not a TON, but a significant number.
As for what they do, some of them end up in private practice as subspecialists who see adolescents with specific problems their primary doctors feel ill-equipped to handle and others stay in primary care.
For more information, you might try www.adolescenthealth.org, which is the website of the society for adolescent medicine. In terms of places offering fellowships, I know Mount Sinai Hospital in new york city has a good one and there are a few other places. Not a TON, but a significant number.
As for what they do, some of them end up in private practice as subspecialists who see adolescents with specific problems their primary doctors feel ill-equipped to handle and others stay in primary care.
Adolescent medicine fellowship is 3 years after peds residency, and 2 years after FM, or IM (I'm assuming it would be 2 years post med-peds as well). The longer time for peds grads is because the ABP requires all their certified fellowships to be 3 years, and FM and IM are board certified in adolescent by their own organizations. It's a combined clinical and research fellowship. As mentioned before, some grads stay in general peds (and can have a nice niche within their practice), some do academic work-treating eating disorders and other adolescent issues both inpatient and outpatient. Others go on to do school health, either at the high school or college level, or staffing health clinics for teens and young adults. I've heard it described (by an attending) as "social work with a stethoscope". The above website is a good source of info.
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I just finished an elective month doing adolescent medicine.
Basically we worked in a variety of clinics, some school based and some affiliated with a hospital. The patient population ranged from about 14-21, and a few a little older. The crux of our visit really was the HEADDSS exam (as a refresher, since before this rotation I didnt really know what it entailed-- Home, Education, Activities, Drugs, Diet, Sex, Sexual/Physical Abuse). A visit that always seemed like it would be quick never ended up that way. Those few questions can lead into very long detailed conversations.
The population that I was working with was considered "high risk." We had teens that were in gangs, or now referred to as "groups" I have learned, doing drugs, selling drugs, selling sex, abuse and rape and molestation, group homes, juvenile hall, lots of STI testing and treatments, pregnancy and abortion counseling, we passed out condoms like they were candy, and checking urine for hcg and gc/chlam were another set of vitals.
That all being said, it was a very enlightening month for me. It was surprising how up front and honest that these teens would be about their experiences, or the little or alot that they might know on topics. We did have a lot of std checks as our chief complaints, but also alot of vague abd pain, headache which when the right questions were asked, you uncovered a lot of stuff that you may have not expected. Some teens would tell you tales that you couldnt imagine living through, and they are turning out to be good kids with bright futures. Some real pathology was seen, but mostly it was pyscho-social and lots of referrals for social workers and other services in the community.
The people involved in the teen clinic were amazing people. You have to be tough but also have a loving side to you as well. Some were general pediatricians that worked in these clinics part-time, and others had the fellowship training.
Basically we worked in a variety of clinics, some school based and some affiliated with a hospital. The patient population ranged from about 14-21, and a few a little older. The crux of our visit really was the HEADDSS exam (as a refresher, since before this rotation I didnt really know what it entailed-- Home, Education, Activities, Drugs, Diet, Sex, Sexual/Physical Abuse). A visit that always seemed like it would be quick never ended up that way. Those few questions can lead into very long detailed conversations.
The population that I was working with was considered "high risk." We had teens that were in gangs, or now referred to as "groups" I have learned, doing drugs, selling drugs, selling sex, abuse and rape and molestation, group homes, juvenile hall, lots of STI testing and treatments, pregnancy and abortion counseling, we passed out condoms like they were candy, and checking urine for hcg and gc/chlam were another set of vitals.
That all being said, it was a very enlightening month for me. It was surprising how up front and honest that these teens would be about their experiences, or the little or alot that they might know on topics. We did have a lot of std checks as our chief complaints, but also alot of vague abd pain, headache which when the right questions were asked, you uncovered a lot of stuff that you may have not expected. Some teens would tell you tales that you couldnt imagine living through, and they are turning out to be good kids with bright futures. Some real pathology was seen, but mostly it was pyscho-social and lots of referrals for social workers and other services in the community.
The people involved in the teen clinic were amazing people. You have to be tough but also have a loving side to you as well. Some were general pediatricians that worked in these clinics part-time, and others had the fellowship training.
