"The talk" from your GP

[RuralDoc]

When you were a teen, did your GP give you "the talk" about the birds and the bees...

 

Did you appreciate this advice as a teen, did you flee the office and never go back, did you wish more was said, and most of all, did it change your behaviour in any way?

 

As a resident, I am currently evaluating what I say to teens who make it to the office. Most of whom I've never met and may never see again. So far I haven't found any quality studies in my lit review to show that physician advice on the issue makes any meaningful difference on risky behaviour (related to STDs/unplanned pregnancy etc). Counselling on sexual health for teens is currently a Grade B (fair evidence for) recommendation from the Cnd Task force on Preventative Health.

 

Looking forward to your insight.

 

Ruraldoc

[bayervillager]

No, I didn't get the talk about the "birds and the bees" from my family physician

 

Growing up, my family physician was a doctor of Asian descent whose patients were mainly recent Asian immigrants. I supsect that if he gave "the talk" to a teenage patient, and the teenager subsequently said to his/her patients "Well, Dr. L said that...", the parents would have probably came after him with dumpling rollers going "Aiya! Aiya!" the whole way through.

[Sheena815]

Never. That was something my parents did.

 

However, if teens express any concerns or interest in sexual health of any kind, absolutely tell them anything you can, or anything they want to know. You could always start by asking them what they know and if there's anything they'd like to know first, even if the purpose of their visit is something else. Certainly there are teens who's parents don't tell them enough (or even anything) or who are uncomfortable discussing the topic with their parents.

[Wolvenstar]

None of my docs did. Mind you neither did my parents, I generally learned the basics on my own...the advanced stuff well...that's what older girlfriends are for, lol.

 

As a patient if I was comming in for something related to sexual intercourse, sure supply me with all sorts of info...I think this would be especially usefull for girls comming in for birth control..you only need to be 16 to get it yourself no??

 

If someone comes in for a cough or a checkup well then no...not unless they show some curiousity.

[Wolvenstar]

None of my docs did. Mind you neither did my parents, I generally learned the basics on my own...the advanced stuff well...that's what older girlfriends are for, lol.

 

As a patient if I was comming in for something related to sexual intercourse, sure supply me with all sorts of info...I think this would be especially usefull for girls comming in for birth control..you only need to be 16 to get it yourself no??

 

If someone comes in for a cough or a checkup well then no...not unless they show some curiousity.

[unknown user 7]

I didn't get the talk either. I don't even think anything remoting close has been brought up in any conversation with my FP. Then again, I don't really think my FP really cares that much (IMO). Most of my info, like Wolvenstar, has been from what I learnt on my own. However, I do want to agree with much of what has been said here already with regards to the fact that if there is a concern and you feel led to provide them with information about certain things, then by all means.

[ccoh]

On my first appointment with a new doc as a teen, she asked if I was sexually active and if we needed to talk about birth control (which we didn't do at that time). She told me to tell her WHEN we did need to talk about it (and she would ask me again every so often) which can be a good segue into talking about STI's. Don't assume they are learning about it in school or through parents...it sometimes happens, but often does not. I've been living/working in a northern community for 6 weeks and the education about STI's is poor at best, and the rate of STI's and teen pregnancy is quite high here. Don't be afraid to broach the subject...many teens are too shy to bring it up themselves but really do want to talk about it.

Having condoms with easy access in the clinic is also great...either in a basket in the exam rooms that they can take when they're sitting there waiting for the doc to come in or in the bathrooms.