Tailored Care for Teens

Alyssa and Max

Alyssa and Max are not sick. They are, in fact, two healthy, happy Bay Area teenagers. Their days are filled with school, homework, friends, sports, volunteering and other activities. To stay well through all the changes and challenges of adolescence, Alyssa, age 13, and Max, 17, visit Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital’s Teen and Young Adult Clinic, where adolescent medicine specialists care for teens.

Like so many kids their age, Max and Alyssa have routine health needs that go beyond the scope of a typical pediatric visit. From dermatology and sports medicine to gynecology and psychology, the clinic addresses a range of health needs at one location, in every visit. New patient visits are scheduled for a full hour, but sometimes last 2 to 3 hours depending on the patient’s needs. Adolescent Medicine specialist Sophia Yen, MD, MPH, explains, “This will be the most thorough examination most teens have ever had.”

Every visit includes a physical examination, as well as a thorough—and confidential—psychosocial assessment known as HEADSS: home, education, activities, sex and suicide. Parents are invited to stay with their child for the physical, but are then asked to leave to allow open dialogue between doctor and patient. While this may be new to families with younger children accustomed to parent-supervised pediatric care, it’s a key aspect of helping teens begin to take responsibility for their own health.

Max speaks to Dr. Sophia Yen

Even for kids like Max and Alyssa, who enjoy unusually candid communication with their parents, the teen clinic doctors are a trusted resource. “If they have something they don’t want to tell me,” says their mother, Juanita, “I’d rather they tell a doctor than anyone else.” Dr. Yen explains that patient confidentiality is only breached if there is an indication that the young adult is hurting someone, if there is someone hurting the patient, or if the patient intends to hurt him- or herself. The adolescent patients are always encouraged to speak with parents about everything they are experiencing. 
 
Max, for example, hasn’t told Dr. Yen anything that his mother doesn’t know. But the neutral, non-judgmental approach he gets from Yen and her fellow physicians puts him at ease. “None of the doctors I spoke with at the clinic reacted with surprise or shock at anything I said,” Max explained. He realized the staff was there to support his health and safety, not to judge his behavior. “It’s great to have a doctor make you feel so comfortable. They touched on subjects that kids my age live with every day. They asked about my association with alcohol, drugs, sex, whether I drink and drive, how often I drink. They followed up on everything.” Dr. Yen also provided the first effective treatment for Max’s acne that he’s ever had.

Dr. Neville Golden examines Alyssa

“I think 13 may be the best time to start going to an adolescent specialist,” says Alyssa. “In high school, you’ll have a lot of new challenges coming at you. This helps you be prepared.” Alyssa first saw Dr. Yen for a complete physical at the Teen and Young Adult Clinic in the spring of 2007. Over the following few months, she had a few follow-up visits to catch up on vaccinations, have a mole removed and to have a sprained knee evaluated.

One of Alyssa’s vaccinations was the HPV vaccine, a protection against cervical cancer. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends the vaccine be given when a patient is 11 or 12 years old. “The HPV vaccine has shown greater effectiveness when given at younger ages, well before a young woman becomes sexually active,” Yen says. “We know that 10 percent of 13-year-olds have had sex, and the numbers go up about 10 percent with each year of age.” Dr. Yen’s highest objective is to prevent teen pregnancy and the transmission of STDs.
 
“If teens develop a trusting relationship with an adolescent medicine specialist,” says Dr. Yen, “we can help/teach them to make responsible choices, and help keep them healthy and safe.”

Dr. Yen prescribed physical therapy for Alyssa’s knee and antibiotics for Max’s acne. With his skin now clear and his focus on college applications, Max had one word to sum up the clinic: cool. “I think if people realized that there’s a specific type of doctor just for teens, they’d jump on it. It just makes so much sense.”

Learn More

Teen and Young Adult Clinic
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Center for Adolescent Health
1174 Castro St. Suite 250
Mountain View, CA 94040
(650) 694-0600
 
Learn more about Packard Children’s Center for Adolescent Health.