Pediatrics in South Florida

March 13, 2016

I understand that children need to be examined to ensure they have proper care. I understand that they sometimes need to be held down against their will to do so. I understand that their fighting is an important part of their development. I really do. But that doesn’t mean that forcing a tongue depressor into a child's mouth or an otoscope into their ear while they scream bloody murder is any easier.

My lack of exposure to young children has made me slightly awkward in their presence. Will they like me? Will their parents think I am a good fit to be caring for their child? As it turns out, a little practice interacting with them and lots of silly faces was all I needed to gain some confidence and learn more about what makes them cooperate and what makes them more comfortable.

Seeing Craig with kids is another story. He makes it look so easy. Even with painfully awkward adolescents. This fills me with a combination of envy that he is a natural and joy knowing that he will be a great father. And anyone who has spent any significant amount of time with us knows that the number of babies he wants us to have together will require some skills with kids.

Never have I ever had to psych myself for a day of clinic in the 13 months I’ve been in rotations. It’s only an 8 hour day, Kimberly. You can do it. You’ll be home before you know it.

Feeling so burned out that laundry and healthy meals and anything that isn't urgent has been pushed to the side. Without Craig, I think I would be very unhappy and eating chips for supper every night.

On the bright side... at least I know I do not want to do pediatrics. They say knowing what you don't want to do is just as good as knowing what you do want to do, right? Maybe my particular experience in this rotation is pushing me further towards that decision, but I really do feel that broad based family medicine is more where I fit in.

Playing more with the tiny humans and getting to know my attending physician better means more smiles in clinic. Plus the nurses and PCTs are cool.

Returning to the same clinic that we started at last year has been nice because there are lots of familiar faces and because I feel like I've built up my medical knowledge and clinical skills so much since then. We also were able to go to a pharm dinner at Ruth Chris Steak House in Coral Gables with some of our former colleagues.

Attending the PATCHES program for medically complex children has been an eye-opening experience on its own. The broad spectrum of pathology there is very unique. It is filled with "zebras" as they say - things so statistically rare that I didn't know that I would ever see them in my career. Unfortunately, with these serious diseases came kids with problems that were inflicted by others. There were several children that were born healthy and then lost physical and mental function from abuse. Shaken baby syndrome. I was thankful for the kind children who just wanted to play catch.

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After some additional experience and some reflection regarding pediatrics, I have become more effective in caring for young children and connecting with them as their health care provider. Although I will not be applying to peds as a speciality, I look forward to having children as patients as a family physician. I can now efficiently examine a 10 day old infant, convince a 5 year old to let me do an exam, and ask a teenager if they are sexually active. I can counsel a brand new mom about what to expect from their baby and reassure a parents that their child's rash/behaviour/development is nothing to worry about versus something to refer out about. It gives me hope that I will get more and more proficient as I see more and more patients. Not that there is any shortage at this clinic - we never see less than 20 children per day.

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Some pictures from our time in Miami...

Homemade crunchwraps (after seeing so many Taco Bell commercials) & then I tried to do Meatless Monday with the bean salad and caesar salad (but then I had bacon bits)