How should doctors talk to teen patients?

Doctors can be intimidating to teens and it is important to help them tell you what's on their mind. Health care practitioners caring for adolescents should follow these tips on how to talk to their teen patients.

• Remind your patients that, by law, you cannot disclose anything discussed between you and your patient. This will make teens feel more comfortable talking to you.

• Don't be shocked (or at least show your shock). It is difficult for a teen to talk to a doctor who looks shocked. Just because you've never met a pregnant 10 year old does not allow you to look her in the eye with a stunned look and say nothing. (This tip is especially helpful in the case of problems to do with sex.)

• Let your patient know, through both body language and words, that they can discuss anything with you. Teens need to know that their doctor is accessible to them.

• Doctors, in my experience, refrain from discussing their patients' sexual pasts with them. This is probably because any adult, or anyone for that matter, is uncomfortable hearing about anyone's sex life, especially an adolescent's. Not until I began visiting the doctors at college did a doctor ask me about my sexual activity without my prompting a question that would lead them to ask. When a patient comes for a simple check-up, doctors should make sure that their patient is entirely healthy. A good way to make sure is to ask about their patient's sexual activity.

• Believe what their patients say. On one occasion, a doctor who asked me if I was pregnant, did not listen to me when I told him that I was not sexually active, and kept pressuring me. Unless you are absolutely sure that a patient is not being truthful, do not prod them into telling you what you want to hear.

• If a parent is present in the exam room, ask them to leave or ask your patient if they would prefer to have their parent(s) present or not. If a parent is either present or not, it can change the patient's comfort level, and change whether or not you hear what is actually bothering the patient.

• Treat teen patients in a way that is right for their age. Because most teens still see pediatricians, many pediatricians make the mistake of talking to their teen patients like the 4 year olds they treat. Teens are almost adults, and like to be treated like they are adults.

• Parents and doctors should explain the procedure of a pelvic examination and their feelings and experiences with it so that the teen understands that other people have survived them. Also, one important thing to tell patients ahead of time is that a female nurse must be present during the procedure when the examination is performed by a male doctor. Many of my friends have made gynecologic appointments and have been seen by male doctors. They have been scared of being seen by men and are frightened of molestation. Knowing before the examination that by law a woman must be present can calm the patient.