From the Editor
Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology: The Science is Coming of Age
The Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (JPAG) is coming of age. I think we're beyond our childhood, continuing our journey through a journal's lifespan. In previous editorials, I've written about PAG and science, discussed the value of case reports, and addressed the maturation of the field of pediatric and adolescent gynecology.1,2 Each year, at the end of the calendar year, I review a report that is termed our “Accountability” report for the year. Throughout the year, David Newcombe, JPAG's wonderfully knowledgeable, consistent, and unfailingly dependable Managing Editor, sends me accountability reports on a weekly basis, allowing me to compare data with last year and previous years.Early Puberty in Girls—What Do We Know in 2022?
I remember 1997. Early puberty was THE topic of discussion among pediatric and adolescent gynecologists, adolescent medicine physicians, and pediatric endocrinologists. That year, Marcia Herman-Giddens published the landmark study entitled “Secondary sexual characteristics and menses in young girls seen in office practice: a study from the Pediatric Research in Office Settings network.” The study included the findings that at age 8, 48.3% of African American girls and 14.7% of white girls had at least 1 sign of pubertal development, earlier than was suggested in standard pediatric textbooks.Using the Menstrual Cycle as a Vital Sign: What We Still Want to Know about Adolescent Menstrual Cycles
I remember the place and the conversation. Dr. Larry Nelson and I were attending an interdisciplinary women's health education retreat in Chantilly, Virginia, in 2000 and chatted over lunch.1 Dr. Nelson was with the U.S. Public Health Service, working at the National Institute for Child Health and Disease, division of intramural research, and is known for his important work on defining and addressing primary ovarian insufficiency (POI).2 Our lunch conversation was wide ranging, but the conversation struck a chord when we started talking about the menstrual cycle.Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology: Where's the Science?
In 2010, I was asked by colleagues at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to moderate a Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Research Think Tank Panel. I prepared a presentation on the science of pediatric and adolescent gynecology (PAG) in which I addressed the history of PAG, highlighting that PAG is a “young” and developing subspeciality, with an evolution of scholarship. At that meeting, I showed a chart (Fig. 1), which indicated that the type of article most commonly published in the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (JPAG) was a case report.Trauma-Informed Care in Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology
The older I get, the more I reflect on how much has changed since I was a medical student. When I was in medical school, wife abuse (now characterized more broadly as interpersonal violence or domestic violence), child abuse or neglect, rape, and sexual assault were all occurring in our society and against individuals worldwide. Physicians had some awareness of these traumas—particularly if they had occurred in their own lives or in their own families, or if they had asked the right questions of individual patients.Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and a Sabbatical
When I started my sabbatical in September 2020, I didn't realize that I was experiencing some signs of “burnout.” I would have said that I had always I loved my work, and would have denied that I was “burned out.” In truth, I was experiencing emotional exhaustion, and feeling that I wasn't accomplishing much with my work.Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Advocacy
This issue of the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (JPAG) contains 2 very important statements from the Advocacy Committee of the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (NASPAG)—the NASPAG Position Statement on Gender Affirming Care for Minors, and the NASPAG Position Statement on COVID-19 vaccine and Gynecologic Concerns in Adolescent and Young Adults.1,2A Pandemic Year: The Good, the Bad, and Social Consciousness
So much of the last year has been difficult for so many people. Activities that we used to take for granted—like seeing friends and colleagues every year at the Annual Clinical and Research Meeting (ACRM) of the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (NASPAG)—have been absent. Zoom was OK for the ACRM meeting content, but we missed the chance hallway meetings and chats, the dinner conversations, and the happy hour encounters that keep us connected to our colleagues across the United States and internationally, and that foster a group sense of purpose in improving the health of young and adolescent girls.Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Is Care for the Underserved
When I was a resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology from 1977 to 1981, I had no idea what pediatric and adolescent gynecology (PAG) was. I'll save you the trouble of calculating how long ago that was; it's been 40 years since I completed my residency, and yes, that was a long time ago. As an ob/gyn resident, I learned about adolescent obstetrics, and I learned a lot about contraception for adolescents. Preventing adolescent pregnancies was clearly an important priority and educational objective. I also learned a lot about unplanned and unintended pregnancies, and learned the techniques of safe and legal first- and second-trimester abortions.
