Little Humans

After having been on my pediatrics rotation for the past two weeks, I think I can firmly say this is not a specialty I will find myself going into in the future. The more primary care rotations I completed (this will be my third) the more I know I cannot be in the field of primary care. I find myself so bored 85% of the day. I take histories the exact way they have to be logged into the computers and do physicals on healthy children. The majority of these children have nothing wrong with them, which is good and exactly what I would want, but as a student I miss the challenge of seeing complex patients and creating a list of differentials and possible plans.

What I do love about primary care, and what I have benefited a lot from on these rotations is learning how to talk to patients and form bonds with them in a short amount of time. One of the first patients I had when I began working with a new doctor at the peds office was a 6 year old male who came in for an asthma followup. 1-month previously, the boy was having symptoms weekly and woke up multiple times a month with asthma attacks. The doctor placed him on a new inhaler to help stop his attacks. On his follow-up visit he was no longer having asthma symptoms and has only had to use his rescue inhaler one time in the past month. Since I'm in peds I try to be really up-beat and happy when I see everyone so that they don't get scared of the doctor and fear coming back. I gave this kid a high-five and told him how proud I was that he was taking his medication everyday and no longer having symptoms. I finished up and did a quick physical before going back to present the patient to the doctor. We both went back in and the doctor asked a few questions over and did her own physical. We told the patient to keep it up and that we will see him in 3-months for another follow-up, but before he left he whispers in his mom's ear "can I give her a hug". The mom and son both look at me and I look at the doctor who shrugs her shoulders to say it's fine, so I tell the kid "sure." He goes in for a quick hug and says "thank you."

Never before have I had a patient ask to hug me because I did a check-up on them. In the moment I didn't know if it was inappropriate to be hugging the patient or if I should be proud because he really appreciated my ability to relate to him and make him feel better. Pediatrics has brought a new level of emotion into my life. These children are either really scared and you have to spend a lot of energy trying to convince them that you won't hurt them and that you just want to make sure they are okay. The other half of the children look up to you as an authoritative figure and you have to make sure you are happy, upbeat, and promoting good lifestyles and healthy choices in a motivating (not accusatory) way. It's nice to feel that the children really appreciate you being there (even if you're a student).

Another touching moment I had occurred on Valentine's Day. An 8 year old autistic boy was brought in by his mother because he had been complaining of a sore throat and chest pain for two days. Even though he was autistic, he was verbal and able to tell you a little bit about how he felt. I asked him about his "chest pain" and he said his heart is beating really really fast. I asked if he was nervous being in the room and he said no, he was heartbroken. His mother and I looked at each other and we both let out a laugh. I asked why he was heartbroken and his mom asked if he had a girlfriend. He kept saying "Gianna broke my heart" over and over while pointing to his chest. It was the most adorable and heart breaking moment. This little boy was so vulnerable and laid his heart out for everyone to see and he didn't even know it. I loved witnessing this tender little moment.

These little humans I spend my whole day with are so different, yet so similar, to adults. They have no filter and say/do the funnies things that adults would never do. These little moments are definitely necessary for making it through an otherwise boring day.