Peds Week 1

“The two most important days in life are the day you were born, and the day you find out why.”

Mark Twain

This week was the first official week of my pediatrics rotation. I had the opportunity to work in both endocrinology and general pediatrics clinics this week and was absolutely in my element. It’s amazing how quickly time passes when you’re included in patient care and how much fun you can have when you find that area that just feels natural. I got to push my limits by trying my hand at patient and caregiver education, which I really hadn’t had an opportunity or been trusted to do before. I finally am getting to do what I do best, talk to people. Not just about medicine and why they’re in the hospital, or what their current health status is, but about their hopes and dreams and goals for life. I’ve seen adorable toddlers who run around pointing at the photos on our ID badges and boop me on the nose. I’ve seen the priceless looks on tiny future doctors faces when they hear their heartbeats through my stethoscope. I’ve earned the gratitude of parents when I reinforce lessons about consent they are teaching at home. Seriously, where else can I introduce kids to the magic of Harry Potter and give parents the perfect idea for a Christmas gift at the same time? I could go on forever.

As much as I am fascinated by normal development (Thanks Mav man for being my reference for all of the baby/toddler milestones!), I love a good challenge as well and see myself taking care of kids with complex medical histories as an endocrinologist in the future. Just this last week, I’ve gotten to learn about everything from normal development to short stature and pituitary adenomas and am just as hooked as I was that first day shadowing my own doctor as a bright-eyed college student back home in Minnesota. One of the endocrine attendings and I spent the better part of an afternoon googling information, trying to piece together a patient’s unique presentation and talking about the importance of helping patients transition to adult medicine.

Days like these fill me with energy. I’ve always been a mystery lover and probably had 50 Nancy Drew books as a kid. For me, one of the things I love most about medicine is that each patient comes to you with a unique mystery that you get to solve every day. To solve that mystery, you need to ask the right questions and gather the appropriate information. You only can do that successfully if you’ve built rapport with the patient and family. That’s where the power of relationships comes into play. If patients don’t trust you, they won’t tell you everything you need to know and most certainly won’t care about your recommendations. Communication is key and something everyone can work on. I’ll get to exercise my communication muscles again next week as I spend time in the newborn nursery educating moms on what to expect with a new baby. Until then, I’m going to enjoy Friendsgiving with classmates, maybe do some studying and bask in the validating glow of knowing I’ve found my people.