By Jill and Alexandra Carvajal
Transitioning from a pediatrician to an adult doctor, which typically occurs around the age of 18 to 21, can be a complex process for both a child and their parents. Overcoming the emotional attachment with your pediatrician over the years and leaving this familiar and trusted health care provider is challenging. This process can feel daunting at times, especially if the student is not accustomed to managing their health care independently.
College students get ill more frequently at school than at home when students are exposed to new environments, potentially leading to new health risks. It’s essential to emphasize the importance of regular checkups and preventive care to maintain overall well-being. Some college students may adopt unhealthy habits, such as poor nutrition, lack of exercise, excessive alcohol consumption and inadequate hand hygiene, which can compromise their immune system and increase the risk of falling ill. Students who maintain good hygiene practices, manage stress effectively, get enough rest and practice preventive measures can reduce their risk of getting sick. The importance of preparing for optimal health care during college years is the best decision one can make to secure their future.
When kids are in college, Linda Jacobs, MD, a pediatrician at Concierge Pediatrics constantly sees challenges students have with getting appointments in the school health center, especially during the busiest sick season. She finds that patients end up being forced to use local walk-in clinics or emergency rooms in order to be evaluated. Parents can end up getting outrageous bills for basic tests from these centers. Instead, by utilizing Concierge Pediatrics, college students have access to a state-of-the-art biotech device and telehealth system, the Nonagon, as well as home tests for flu, COVID and strep, allowing them to be able to be appropriately diagnosed from the comfort of their dorm room. This saves them time, aggravation and potentially large bills for basic care.
Mental health issues are on the increase, and going to college can sometimes exacerbate anxiety, depression, OCD tendencies and restrictive eating issues. Concierge Pediatrics can help patients address these issues beforehand, ensuring that patients are stable, safe and feeling supported at any time, says Jacobs.
Jonathan Jassey, MD, a pediatrician at Concierge Pediatrics, knows that as parents, we take pride and joy in many different aspects of our children’s lives, but along with some of those joys can come trepidation. College can be one of those times where as excited as we are for them to embark on a phenomenal journey in life, we can be anxious for them to be on their own and concerned about questions such as: How will they handle being on their own? How will they manage when they get sick?
By signing up for the Concierge Pediatrics College program, parents can rely on the trusted doctors from home that will be there for your child every step of the way, whether they get sick, have mental health or eating concerns, or have issues with alcohol or substance abuse. By not only having the ability to text with your trusted physicians, but also the ability to use the Nonagon, a student’s hometown doctor can properly diagnose infections on the spot by looking in a patients’ mouth and ears, listening to their heart and lungs, and seeing pictures of rashes and pinkeye from afar—all from the comfort of their dorm room! A student can have testing done without going to a health center or urgent care, where the medical professionals don’t know their history—or at least have a physician from home liaise with a medical team in a college town.
Traveling abroad for college can present even greater challenges when it comes to finding health care. Being in a new country with a different health care system while facing an unfamiliar language and cultural barriers can make accessing medical services complicated.
If you want to learn more about having health support from home while away at college or studying abroad, call Concierge Pediatrics at 516-514-7337 or email suzanne@myconciergepediatrics.com. Sign up here.
