In med school Dr. O (AKA TheTeenDoc) was told “You can be the brightest physician but if you can’t get the patient to tell you anything, then really, all your training is useless.” That hit a chord. But then she realized that patients wouldn’t talk to you if you weren’t a warm enough person for them to open up to. Annie speaks with Dr. O about how she uses empathy and active listening to enhance the connection with her teen patients and how parents can do the same.
About Dr. O (@TheTeenDoc)
Dr. Adekemi Oguntala, MD, usually just called Dr. O, received her medical training at Drexel University, her pediatric training at Saint Christopher’s Hospital for Children, and her adolescent medicine training at Stanford University School of Medicine. She currently heads Teen Clinic in South San Francisco. There she sees teens who have issues with weight, substance use and abuse, sexual orientation and gender identification, family planning and reproductive health concerns, depression, and victims of sexual, physical or verbal violence.
In addition to being a teen doctor, Dr, O is the author of Small Changes BIG impact: with your teen and Are You Serious, It’s Just sex? The 17 Most Frequently Asked Questions By Parents of Teens. Learn more at TheTeenDoc.com
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[…] laughed a lot. I’m grateful to have recorded this conversation and proud to share it here. Listen to Dr. O talk about how she uses empathy to connect with the kids in her clinic. You’ll be glad you […]