F A M IL Y H E A L T H
K id s a n d t h e i r d o c s : D o y o u r s g o t o g e t h e r ?
BY LORI NUDO
,
j
or teens, fitting in
'
with a doctor can be
as hard as fitting in
with their peers. But
your teen does need a
doctor—whether it’s
___
______
the pediatrician she’s
seen since birth or another doctor
who may be easier to talk with.
During the adolescent years, kids
change so rapidly, both physically
and emotionally, that yearly visits are
critical to screen for developmental
abnormalities and high-risk behaviors,
says Dr. Michelle Huddleston,
adolescent section chief and teen
clinic director of Phoenix Children’s
Hospital. But they can’t get the care
they need if they don’t have a good
rapport with a doctor they can trust.
That’s where parents come in. As
your child enters adolescence,
reassess whether she and her
current doctor are a good fit by
asking these questions:
Is the practice teen-friendly? Do
they cluster teen visits together so
older kids don’t feel they are sharing
an office with babies? Do they have
separate waiting areas with age-
appropriate reading and educational
materials? Does the practice allot
additional time for teen visits—the
standard 10 to 15 minutes is usually
not enough to counsel teens.
Am I being gently eased out? “As
parents, we should expect to be
kicked out of the room so the doctor
can talk with our child one-on-one,”
says Huddleston. That’s a shocker at
first, but if your teen isn’t getting
that one-on-one time, her current
doctor may no longer be the best
choice. As parents we need to face
the fact that teens need privacy.
Their doctors need to realize that too.
How comfortable is your teen with
his doctor? This is somewhat related
to the previous point. There needs to
be a rapport between the two in
order for your child to bring up
potentially awkward—yet potentially
vital—topics, says Dr. Jonathan D.
Klein, past chair of the American
Academy of Pediatrics’ committee on
adolescence and an associate
professor of pediatrics at the
University of Rochester in New York.
One good marker of their
relationship: Has the doctor been
talking directly to your child—not
just you—and asking him questions
since his days in grade school? If
that hasn’t happened, you’re not
likely to see much of a bond develop
when your child hits his teens.
Where do I go next? If you’re not
seeing the right things, you may need
to doctor shop. Start with your
current practice. Is there another
doctor in your practice who may
treat teens more regularly or whom
your teen would prefer seeing? If not,
cast the net beyond the practice.
Consider doctors with a subspecialty
in adolescent medicine—some
pediatricians, family physicians, and
internists are trained in this
subspecialty. There also are teen
clinics, which cater to teens and are
skilled at dealing with high-risk
behaviors, especially eating disorders,
substance abuse, and pregnancy
prevention. Such clinics also deal
with teen sports medicine. To find an
adolescent medicine doctor in your
area, check
www.adolcscentheakh.org.
2 7 4
NOVEMBER
2008 BETTER
HOMES AND
GARDENS
P H O T O : V EE R
