The society for adolescent medicine's role in promoting education

Abstract

The first Adolescent Medicine Newsletter, created in February, 1965, for those “interested in the medical care of adolescents,” makes reference to a new kind of education for physicians—a need to broaden our view of what creates the “dis-ease” of adolescents. Dale Garell, then editor, and later to be a founding charter member, Executive Secretary, and the third President of the Society, wrote “The growth and the development of clinics for the medical care of adolescents has [sic] been most rapid in the last five years. Well over thirty clinics are now in existence and thirty-five inpatient services have been established. Interest is extremely high among pediatricians, internists and generalists to develop additional programs in the future. Adolescent medical care is being taught in many medical schools throughout the country. It has become part of the regular rotation in the training of residents and has offered postgraduate courses to physicians in the community interested in improving their skills in dealing with the adolescent age patient” (1). The Society was established primarily by academically based physicians to provide a forum for information, exchange, and collegiality. Although during these early years informal discussions about the education and training of professionals were frequent, no formal approach was made by the Society to examine these issues until 1972. Teaching about the special needs of adolescents had become part of the training experience of medical students and housestaff in many institutions across the United States. The need for fellowship training at the postresidency level had also been recognized. The first fellowship was established in 1953 by Roswell Gallagher in Boston and had a focus on clinical training and developmental issues in the hospital setting. In 1964, Felix Heald, then Director of Adolescent Medicine at Children’s Hospital in Washington, DC, received a grant from the Children’s Bureau of the Federal Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for an annual symposium to address topical issues in the medical care of the adolescent. The first of such meetings was held in the spring of 1965. Dr. Gallagher also initiated annual 1-month training sessions and a 5-day conference on the Medical Care of the Adolescent. In 1967, the Children’s Bureau provided funding for 14 physician fellowships in adolescent medicine programs in Cincinnati, Seattle, Birmingham, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. Although other centers offered fellowship training, these programs, many of which are still in existence today, became the backbone and foundation that defined the fellowship experience. Through convergence of these interests, activities, and discussions, an Adolescent Medical Society was proposed in 1965. It was anticipated that this organization would better define the field, promote interest, and encourage research, education, and training. The Society for Adolescent Medicine (SAM) was organized on April 28, 1968, and recognized at the Adolescent Medicine Seminar held in Washington, DC. A forum thus existed for ongoing discussion of biopsychosocial issues relating to the adolescent. Biannual meetings provided an opportunity for informal discussions about postmedical school training in adolescent medicine. During an informal session at SAM in March 1971, a discussion of fellowship training focused on the need for standards, developing a liaison with the American Boards of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine, surveying the present scope of programs and the expansion of programs into 2 years to include a year of research. To promote fellowship training, in 1972 the Society initiated publication of fellowship information (2) known to the Society’s business office. In 1972, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) stated, “The purview of pediatrics . . . begins in the period prior to birth when conception is apparent. It continues through childhood and adolescence when the growth and developmental processes are generally completed.”(3) This statement JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH 1998;23S:135–142