Specialty Care for Teens and Adolescents
The Adolescent Medicine division of the Department of Pediatrics is committed to excellence and advocacy for young people ages 12-21. Our clinical programs are designed to treat patients suffering from everyday health and wellness issues, chronic diseases, and those dealing with mental and behavioral health struggles.
It’s not easy to be a teenager or to raise a teenager. Our clinicians focus exclusively on working with patients on the cusp of adolescence through early adulthood.
Adolescent Medicine specialists understand the complex challenges that teenagers and their families face. Our board-certified specialists provide comprehensive evaluation and treatment for the health needs of adolescent patients. At the heart of Adolescent Medicine is interdisciplinary care. Our clinics have integrated dietitian and social work support, and we collaborate closely with primary care and other subspecialists to care for our patients.
Many teens in Arkansas face significant health disparities—our team is committed to advocacy and health equity for all adolescents.
As our section grows, we will further expand our clinical consultative services—to harness expertise of our faculty and serve our patients’ needs. As we look toward the future, we see opportunities to expand clinical services to pregnant/parenting teens and their children, develop a young men’s health program and substance abuse treatment services, and collaborate to improve transition care for adolescent and young adults with chronic illness at ACH/UAMS.
Our services currently include:
Adolescent Consultative Services
- Reproductive healthcare
- Screening, diagnosis, and management of sexually transmitted infections
- Contraceptive management, including Nexplanon placement
- Counseling on safe sex/high-risk behaviors
- Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV
- Cervical cancer screening
- Non-surgical genital concerns in males and females including, but not limited to:
- Heavy, painful or irregular periods
- Primary and secondary amenorrhea
- Pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) and pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder
- Vaginal discharge or odor
- Pelvic inflammatory disease
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome
- Epididymitis and penile discharge
- Counseling on hygiene/pubertal counseling for youth with developmental delays
- Concerns about genital appearance
- Genital ulcers, warts, and rashes
- Mental healthcare
- Behavioral and medication management for anxiety and depression
- Evaluation for behavioral issues (e.g., anger, school problems)
- Support for LGBTQ+ patients or patients who are questioning gender or sexuality
- Youth with high-risk behaviors or complex illness who need additional support
Eating Disorder Consultative Services
- Inpatient
- Outpatient