I was in pediatrics today again. I'm learning a lot as I deal with all the same questions. Every parent thinks their kid should be getting fatter. That's because you gain weight quickly as an infant but then slow down anywhere between 2-8 years old as your body gets taller. Then, anywhere between 6-10 years old the weight gain picks up again as the body prepares for puberty. If your toddler isn't eating much because of this, then it's better to give them small portions of a lot of food rather than giving them large portions so that they just pick their favorite and eat that. Some of the other common concerns that I learned about are the ages when frecuency of illnesses rise and subside, intestinal pain, all the different symptoms that tooth decay can cause, and so on.
As I've learned the different causes and remedies of each problem and the way that each doctor likes to explain it, most of the doctors have been glad to allow me to simply launch into the discussion without waiting to do an actual ''translation'' per se. That allows the doctor to do the paper work and physical exam of the child while I calm the parents' fears and teach some preventative medicine. With evey different area that I've been able to work in it's been a lot of fun because I get a lot of contact with the people and I get to have a more personable interaction rather than just a language processor for the doctor.
Today was unique, though, on top of having people stand in line and taking a variety of patients, several commercial buses went to two different schools that all got tagged for pediatrics, regardless of thier issues. Two difficult situations arose as a result. One, I had to tell a bunch of parents whose kids had specific problems like teeth or eyes that they would have to come back, stand in line, and get their kid rebanded for a specialty if they wanted to be seen for anything other than pediatrics. Two, we stayed over two hours late at the site seeing kids well after all the other doctors' shops were closed up. I was exhausted.
All in all, a good day. Tomorrow I go to the ship.
No comments:
Post a Comment