Clinical learning activities occur primarily through teaching sessions at the Adolescent and Young Adult Health Center (CAYAH) in Oakland, Shuman Juvenile Detention Center, and Adolescent Consultation Service at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in Lawrenceville.
At CAYAH, trainees participate in primary care, family planning, and consultation services for a diverse population of teens and young adults from local neighborhoods and neighboring states. At the Shuman Center, residents provide health screening and acute medical care at the center’s medical clinic. Every pediatric resident experiences a four-week, outpatient adolescent medicine rotation, including clinical sessions at Shuman and CAYAH. All residents and senior medical students complete a half-day orientation, including a talk on motivational interviewing that is a component of their yearlong motivational interviewing curriculum.
Additionally, each resident is scheduled to spend a day at the Center for Overcoming Problem Eating, a collaboration between UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital and UPMC Children’s. There, they follow a triple-boarded attending through the assessment process, inpatient unit rounds, and case discussions. Residents spend at least one session with an obstetrics/gynecology faculty member, which allows exposure to long-acting reversible contraception for adolescents.
Trainees also visit a drop-in center and clinic in downtown Pittsburgh at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center and 412 Youth Zone overseen by the division for unaccompanied youth and young adults. Finally, all residents are encouraged to provide a summative 15-minute talk on a topic of their choosing regarding an aspect of adolescent health that highlights the relevant evidence base.
Students participate in clinical education activities for a week during their second-year ambulatory medicine rotations or as senior students in a month-long elective rotation. In addition to learning at CAYAH, students have opportunities to experience adolescent care at Carlow Health Services, 412 Youth Zone, and other community-based sites.