Pediatric residents' experiences of a clinical rotation in Adolescent Medicine

Qualitative methods were applied. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with pediatric residents who had completed a rotation in Adolescent Medicine. Emergent themes were identified.Three key themes emerged: gaining exposure, taking on a professional role, and achieving self-awareness. Subcategories were also identified. There was particular emphasis on the multidisciplinary team and the biopsychosocial approach to adolescent health care.The experiences in Adolescent Medicine reflected residents' learning, notably gains in the "non-expert" as well as "medical expert" physician competencies. Future studies should explore how the interprofessional nature of an Adolescent Medicine team and the patient populations themselves contribute to this learning.Adolescent Medicine is a pediatric subspecialty that addresses clinical issues that are often unique and different from other aspects of training in pediatrics. Pediatric postgraduate training programs in North America are required to provide at least a one-month block in Adolescent Medicine [1,2] for trainees. During this training, residents may be exposed to ethically challenging or controversial issues and to patients who are stereotypically labeled as being 'difficult'. Unlike with younger children, trainees most often communicate directly with the adolescent patient for both assessment and management issues.Some studies in the literature have examined pediatric residents' and other trainees' clinical skills and/or knowledge of adolescent health care [3-8]. Others have assessed pediatric residency training programs for the adolescent medicine training provided to their residents [9], and some have even looked at physicians' personal adolescent experiences or values and their subsequent effects on the delivery of health care to adolescent patients [10,11]. However, no studies to date have explored the experiences and perceptions of residents themselves during their postgraduate training in Adolescent Med