11-15-year-old Annual Well Child Visit
Let's just break this down by calling it the early teen well-child care visits. Your adolescent will either be in the mid to latter middle school years or in his/her early high school career. Although each physician here at Boulevard Pediatrics may handle this visit in a slightly different manner, the basic idea is that you and your young teen will both have some individual time with your pediatrician. We feel it is important you and your teen have an opportunity to speak freely at this visit, as it allows for the best overall assessment and care of your emerging young adult. Along with a complete physical exam and extensive social and medical history questioning, the body mass index (BMI) will continue to be followed closely. Typical vaccines to be given at the 11-year-old well child care visit include the Menquadfi (meningitis shot), Adacel (tetanus and whooping cough booster shot), and Gardasil (human papillomavirus/cervical and penile cancer prevention shot). We will also assess your child's cholesterol and hemoglobin levels and perform a hearing screen at the 15-year-old well-child care visit.
16-18-year-old Annual Well Child Visit
Okay, so we'll call these the late teen well-child care visits, although I'm sure some parents might want to call these the "I can't believe my little baby is about to graduate high school" visits. We will continue to have a similar set-up to the visit in regard to individual time with your teenager as well as spending some time with you, the parent, regarding any specific concerns you may have. Prior to your young adult finishing high school, some routine laboratory testing will be done, but it is best to discuss with your child's pediatrician when that appropriate time may be. A second Menquadfi vaccine is also now recommended for those about to graduate from high school as well as the meningitis B vaccine (2 vaccine series given 1 month apart). And for those who think this may be the final visit in our office, fear not, as we will certainly continue caring for your teen well into the early college years.