VOL 46: AUGUST • AOÛT 2000❖Canadian Family Physician•Le Médecin de famille canadien 1641
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Residents’ page
Jennifer Yau, MD
H
ello to all new and returning residents! Summer is now in full swing, and I hope that you will all be able to take time to “stop and smell the roses” dur- ing your busy and sometimes over whelming days.I encourage all residents to get involved and take active roles in their residency training, from both an academic and non-academic standpoint (as if you didn’t already have enough to do!). There are many oppor tunities for involvement: locally, at the pro- gram level; provincially, with resident associations or provincial Chapters; and nationally, with the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC).
The CFPC Section of Residents (SOR) has two rep- resentatives from each program, who meet with the other representatives from across Canada twice yearly.
This get-together is a fantastic opportunity to meet with colleagues from all the programs and to discuss issues common to all residents. For more information,
contact your local SOR representative; our names can be found on the CFPC website at www.cfpc.ca under the SOR link.
This month Saralaine Johnstone and Lisa Jugloff describe an initiative developed by the family medi- cine program at the University of Manitoba to address issues in adolescent health. Many family medicine departments have difficulty ensuring residents have adequate exposure to this age group during training.
If your program has a unique project or initiative that has expanded your training and education, we would love to hear about it. You may contact me directly with your ideas or submissions (see www.cfpc.ca/SORhome.htmfor contact information).
Dr Yau is a second-year resident at the University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon) and is a member of Canadian Family Physician’s Editorial Advisory Board.
P
roviding health care to adolescents can be chal- lenging. Success, however, rewards both patients and physicians immensely. Studies have shown that family physicians provide most health care to adoles- cents.1,2Unfortunately, in many family medicine train- ing programs, including our own at the University of Manitoba, residents have limited contact with teenagers.We have identified several barriers to interaction between residents and adolescents. In Winnipeg, pediatricians provide primar y care to many young people. Teenagers seeking health care often return to physicians they know. Our hours of operation fre- quently make our teaching clinics inaccessible to ado- lescents. Finally, teenagers are sometimes reluctant to attend clinics where other members of their family are also patients.
The Health Promotion Committee at the University of Manitoba, comprising both faculty and residents, has designed a pilot program to address some of these issues. This spring, family medicine residents will be visiting schools to discuss health- related issues important to teenagers. This program has two goals: to develop residents’ skills in interact- ing with adolescents and to allow teenagers to address their health concerns in a nonthreatening environment. School boards received the idea of the pilot project very well. Grades 7 and 8 were selected to participate, in hopes that they might benefit most.
We hope this project will be expanded to include a broader age range in future.
The range of topics considered relevant to teens is vast (Table 1). A survey was sent to students in par- ticipating classes to identify topics of most interest to
Adolescent Health Outreach Program
Saralaine Johnstone, MD Lisa Jugloff, MD
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them. Consistently, the most popular topics were smoking, alcohol and drugs, and birth control.
Family medicine residents will be visiting two schools in Winnipeg, located near each of the two
training sites. Residents will go in pairs and will have a faculty member with them. Student partici- pants have been invited to submit questions in advance, so that their concerns can be addressed without them feeling awkward or embar rassed.
Alcohol and drugs will be the initial topic of discus- sion, but we hope that, as the program grows, the list of topics will also expand.
Residents will benefit from this initiative in several ways. Many residents have few opportunities to inter- act with teenagers, but opportunities are necessary if we are to meet the needs of an entire family. As well, residents will be able to use their knowledge and skills to become a resource to adolescents in their own com- munities, while providing a link for them to the health care system. Opportunities for preventive care in this population are immense. Residents are very excited about this program, and recruitment of volunteers has been quite successful. We look forward to building a lasting relationship with teenagers in our community that will benefit everyone in the long term.
Dr Johnstone and Dr Jugloff are both second-year resi- dents at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.
References
1. Klein M. Child health care in Canada. Can Fam Physician 1985;31:955-67.
2. Malus M. A school-based outreach program in adolescent health. Can Fam Physician 1986;32:2465-7.
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Table 1.Issues of interest to teenagers
Alcohol Body image Birth control Sexuality
Sexually transmitted diseases HIV and AIDS
Drug abuse Smoking Eating disorders Stress
Exercise Depression Peer pressure Suicide Career choice Abuse
