As your child becomes an adolescent, we wanted to extend ourselves to you as a resource during these years of incredible growth and maturation. Every year, your teen should still schedule an Annual Physical Exam. Annual Physical Exams will start to look different as your child gets older, but we want to make sure that you have a sense for the important care that should be provided at this exciting chapter of growth!

1. Questionnaires: As your child matures, there may be forms that we ask them to fill out on their own. This is important to both empower your child to start thinking independently about their own health, but also to make sure that we can check in on some aspects of general and emotional health that are sometimes more challenging to bring up during the visit. At least this means less paperwork for the parents!
2. Physical exam and lab tests: Like with previous well child checks, annual exams are important for checking in on your teen’s growth and development with a comprehensive head to toe physical exam. At this age we often do additional blood or urine tests during these visits. At LLCHC, we follow the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendations regarding screening for high blood pressure, healthy weight, and infections (including sexually transmitted infections).
3. Confidentiality: We always encourage teens to speak openly and honestly with their parents as much as possible. As your teen becomes more independent, we also follow the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendations to allow the patient to have a designated time during the visit to speak with their provider alone. We want to make sure that your teen feels safe and comfortable speaking to their provider one-on-one about their health concerns. Confidentiality means that we cannot discuss what a teen patient tells us with people outside of the healthcare team. Rest assured that if there is a serious threat to your teen’s safety, we will tell you.
4. Education and Counseling: Discussion and guidance regarding safety, emotional well-being, and school performance
5. Vaccines: There are some particularly important vaccines that the CDC recommends during the adolescent years. As usual, vaccines are not mandatory, but depending on your child’s age and overall health, we may recommend some of the following vaccines:
6. Annual Flu shot
7. COVID vaccine
8. HPV vaccination
9. Meningitis vaccination
10. Tetanus (Tdap) vaccine

If it has been more than a year since your child’s last visit, please give us a call at 614-274-1455 to schedule an Annual Physical Exam with one of our providers! We always love to check in and we are looking forward to helping your adolescent start navigating their own healthcare during these important years of growth!

 

Sincerely,

Your Lower Lights Christian Health Center Team