Adolescent Medicine
The Loyola University Health System Adolescent Medicine Section provides consultation and comprehensive care for patients ages 11 - 25. This includes management of acute and chronic diseases that are unique to adolescents and are difficult to manage. We are also interested in furthering the health needs of adolescents by teaching and community outreach.
The Adolescent Medicine Program provides care for these conditions:
- Diagnosis and management of some “risk-taking” behaviors, including substance abuse, or sexuality-related problems
- Eating and weight disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and problems with excess weight
- Recurrent, difficult to manage physical symptoms, such as headache, fatigue, abdominal pain, and other pain syndromes as well as medically unexplained conditions and somatoform disorders.
- Attention Deficit Disorder and school performance-related
- Basic adolescent gynecologic problems
- Guidance of parents of teens on helpful practices in parenting.
- Adolescent problems for which other primary physician would request more help.
Our service consists of a board certified specialist in Adolescent Medicine, and a manager/nurse specialist . We receive referrals from pediatrician, internists, family physicians and other specialists and provide them with prompt detailed information. We work closely with therapists in the community and with school counselors and nurses in providing optimal health for the adolescents in the school setting.
We provide many health education talks in the community at schools and community events and educational sessions for physicians in learning the modern skills in adolescent health.
Residency teaching: The goal of residency training in the section is to introduce and give experience in the range of health problems that primary care trainees will experience in practice with adolescents.
Both Pediatric and Med-Peds residents undergo a mandatory, one month, full time block rotation in adolescent medicine, supervised by a Board Certified Adolescent Medicine Specialist The sites of education are the Teen Clinic in two sites , the school-based clinic at Proviso East High School and the inpatient Children’s Hospital for consultations.
Medical student teaching: The undergraduate medical teaching takes place during a month elective in Adolescent Medicine for 4th year students. Students have opportunities to evaluate patients in the clinical sites, as well as do health education in the high school. Readings specific for students are given.
Faculty:
Garry Sigman, M.D.