Don't have kids myself, but... On my trauma surgery rotation one of the surgeons dragged her three year old into the trauma bay and sewed up a cut on his knee on the same gurney where they put the patients when they die.
My husband even balks at *calling up* the pediatrician's office to set up an appointment for my son to get a sick visit.
My husband also expects me to make his appointments. Recently when he was out with a back injury I had to find him a place to go, get the address, and even find him a ride to the urgent care. He also expects me to give him exact instructions on any meds, over the counter or prescription, even if the dose is printed on the bottle.
Being Med Peds and doing primary care for a living means that I can't say I don't know what to do. A lot of it is just the fact that I'm the mom in the house. But it does get old sometimes.
Since doctoring kids is 9/10th's emotional support and 1/10th actual need for something beyond common sense medical knowledge - I think the person who provides the emotional support in the house ends up doctoring the most. In my house, that is me. Med school just adds a lot of security about the knowledge of when to say "We need an expert, here." And the ability to use an otoscope and get antibiotics. That has saved me weeks of my life sitting in doctor's offices, I am convinced.
Wow, Rock Star MD Girl. That is a frightful tale. I tend to shy away from requests at looking at any family member's specimens, even friends, without getting a consult - I think I am too biased of the desired outcome. I remember when my son's adenoids showed up on my scope I rushed them to a senior partner. I can sign out adenoids in my sleep, but I'd never forgive myself if I missed something on his.
After telling my husband that a little spot on his arm was nothing and he needed to stop bugging me about it, he went to a "real doctor" and was diagnosed with a basal cell carcinoma.
That's when I stopped doctoring my family.
About four months ago, my daughter the toddler had a high fever for four days. Came down with Tylenol but went right back up.
I took her to a pediatrician in my office and he asked me what I thought her ears looked like. I told him I hadn't looked. He was shocked. I then told him that while I'm very comfortable putting Bandaids on booboos or cream on diaper rash, I don't do much else medically speaking to my kids. I've never listened to their hearts or lungs.
Turns out my kid had a viral illness that resolved on its own. I didn't feel bad taking her to the doctor. I would have felt bad, on the other hand, had she ended up in the hospital because I was too proud to act like a regular mom.
I do. Most of the minor troubles are really minor. For serious situations I ask a colleague, of course. When kids were very little I had enormous succes with coloured band-aids for scratches and chiken soup for colds...
It depends. For really little stuff (cuts, bruises after falls) then I will. For my daughter it was her diaper rash that I tried everything for but eventually had to see my fellow residents for some more ideas that I hadn't tried. I also will not look in her ears or listen to her either for fear that I will treat a serious illness as something minor.
I do. I'm not a doctor yet, but my daughter is somewhat medically needy and I do all of that "doctoring" for her. I also take care of all of the regular little medical issues either of the kids have. My husband will help, but he has to be given instructions on what to do for the most part.
If it's really just a scratch or bug bite, then I take care of it. A healthy dose of reassurance is typically all that's needed; when things are a bit more serious, I prefer to get an objective opinion from their pediatrician - but have called in antibiotics for each of my kids when a case of strep throat couldn't be ignored ...
I've learned to shy away from casual (or not so casual) evaluations of friends or family of people I work with - if something bad is going on, I don't want to end up in the middle of it.
Generally it was me (they are grown now--but sometimes still call, especially if it's one of their kids). When my daugther was about 9 she got a cut of her finger. It didn't need stitches but it bled a lot. It really scared her, resulting in this conversation: Kid: "am I bleeding to death?" Me: "no, of course not." Kid: "are you sure?" Me: "Yes, dear, I've studied bleeding to death and you are not bleeding to death." That seemed to satisfy her.
When my boys are looking for that 9/10th emotional support as Gizabeth states - I'm their go-to parent. While not an MD, my husband is very competent with minor illnesses and injuries since he worked at a large kid's camp as counselor and administrator. For Old MD Girl: Have seen a few examples of some eyebrow raising doctor/parent care including an Ob-Gyn who did his son's circumcision. Much prefer the knowledgeable parent track, myself, with liberal doses of partner consultation.
Me! But perhaps because I'm mommy, and not soley because I'm a pediatrician. But for anything not completely minor and benign, I take him to his own pediatrician. And I ask colleagues for their opinions all the time. My husband is another matter... expects me to know everything about medicine, and arrange everything for him, just like a previous poster. Plus he acts like a baby when he's sick with a minor cold (and since we have a toddler in daycare, he's catching a lot of colds, which, as a peds dr I'm already immune to). I send him to his own doctor for my own security more than anything- I would never want to take the chance of missing something.
I have learned I'm not at all objective when it comes to my kids. I don't attempt to do any physical exams on them. I have found a wonderfully calm & thorough pediatrician who knows I'm a doctor but treats me like anyone else.
Just to qualify - I am a pathologist and while I have been known to use my otoscope on my kids- I have a dad who is a pediatrician/neonatologist so I've a very knowledgeable physician in the kiddie arena to bounce things off of. The one time I saw my son retracting too much for my taste I rushed him to the doctor and sure enough, he had pneumonia.
Other than that, we've done OK with minimal dr. visits other than well child, and they are now 7 and 5. I do have a dr. friend who blew off a fall and found out her kid had broke her leg - one of those toddler fractures. She stopped being so cavalier about treating her kids. If that had happened to me, I'm sure I would have been taking them in for every little limp. Experience will shape your future actions.
All women are expected to be medical encyclopedias. If a patient requires a lot of care, hospitals ask for a family member to be in the room 24/7 and usually that person is a stay-at-home mom/grandma. Twice I've been asked by surgeons to assist them with minor surgical procedures when they couldn't find an available nurse. Even the navy rightly assumed I knew how to do dressings and care for chest tubes because it's just part of the mom job description.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDon't have kids myself, but... On my trauma surgery rotation one of the surgeons dragged her three year old into the trauma bay and sewed up a cut on his knee on the same gurney where they put the patients when they die.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't sure whether to be impressed or shocked.
Me.
ReplyDeleteI do everything.
My husband even balks at *calling up* the pediatrician's office to set up an appointment for my son to get a sick visit.
My husband also expects me to make his appointments. Recently when he was out with a back injury I had to find him a place to go, get the address, and even find him a ride to the urgent care. He also expects me to give him exact instructions on any meds, over the counter or prescription, even if the dose is printed on the bottle.
Being Med Peds and doing primary care for a living means that I can't say I don't know what to do. A lot of it is just the fact that I'm the mom in the house. But it does get old sometimes.
Since doctoring kids is 9/10th's emotional support and 1/10th actual need for something beyond common sense medical knowledge - I think the person who provides the emotional support in the house ends up doctoring the most. In my house, that is me. Med school just adds a lot of security about the knowledge of when to say "We need an expert, here." And the ability to use an otoscope and get antibiotics. That has saved me weeks of my life sitting in doctor's offices, I am convinced.
ReplyDeleteWow, Rock Star MD Girl. That is a frightful tale. I tend to shy away from requests at looking at any family member's specimens, even friends, without getting a consult - I think I am too biased of the desired outcome. I remember when my son's adenoids showed up on my scope I rushed them to a senior partner. I can sign out adenoids in my sleep, but I'd never forgive myself if I missed something on his.
After telling my husband that a little spot on his arm was nothing and he needed to stop bugging me about it, he went to a "real doctor" and was diagnosed with a basal cell carcinoma.
ReplyDeleteThat's when I stopped doctoring my family.
About four months ago, my daughter the toddler had a high fever for four days. Came down with Tylenol but went right back up.
I took her to a pediatrician in my office and he asked me what I thought her ears looked like. I told him I hadn't looked. He was shocked. I then told him that while I'm very comfortable putting Bandaids on booboos or cream on diaper rash, I don't do much else medically speaking to my kids. I've never listened to their hearts or lungs.
Turns out my kid had a viral illness that resolved on its own. I didn't feel bad taking her to the doctor. I would have felt bad, on the other hand, had she ended up in the hospital because I was too proud to act like a regular mom.
I do. Most of the minor troubles are really minor. For serious situations I ask a colleague, of course. When kids were very little I had enormous succes with coloured band-aids for scratches and chiken soup for colds...
ReplyDeleteInês,Lisboa, Portugal
Internist, 3 children
It depends. For really little stuff (cuts, bruises after falls) then I will. For my daughter it was her diaper rash that I tried everything for but eventually had to see my fellow residents for some more ideas that I hadn't tried. I also will not look in her ears or listen to her either for fear that I will treat a serious illness as something minor.
ReplyDeleteI do. I'm not a doctor yet, but my daughter is somewhat medically needy and I do all of that "doctoring" for her. I also take care of all of the regular little medical issues either of the kids have. My husband will help, but he has to be given instructions on what to do for the most part.
ReplyDeleteIf it's really just a scratch or bug bite, then I take care of it. A healthy dose of reassurance is typically all that's needed; when things are a bit more serious, I prefer to get an objective opinion from their pediatrician - but have called in antibiotics for each of my kids when a case of strep throat couldn't be ignored ...
ReplyDeleteI've learned to shy away from casual (or not so casual) evaluations of friends or family of people I work with - if something bad is going on, I don't want to end up in the middle of it.
A
Generally it was me (they are grown now--but sometimes still call, especially if it's one of their kids). When my daugther was about 9 she got a cut of her finger. It didn't need stitches but it bled a lot. It really scared her, resulting in this conversation: Kid: "am I bleeding to death?" Me: "no, of course not." Kid: "are you sure?" Me: "Yes, dear, I've studied bleeding to death and you are not bleeding to death." That seemed to satisfy her.
ReplyDeleteWhen my boys are looking for that 9/10th emotional support as Gizabeth states - I'm their go-to parent. While not an MD, my husband is very competent with minor illnesses and injuries since he worked at a large kid's camp as counselor and administrator.
ReplyDeleteFor Old MD Girl: Have seen a few examples of some eyebrow raising doctor/parent care including an Ob-Gyn who did his son's circumcision. Much prefer the knowledgeable parent track, myself, with liberal doses of partner consultation.
Me! But perhaps because I'm mommy, and not soley because I'm a pediatrician. But for anything not completely minor and benign, I take him to his own pediatrician. And I ask colleagues for their opinions all the time.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is another matter... expects me to know everything about medicine, and arrange everything for him, just like a previous poster. Plus he acts like a baby when he's sick with a minor cold (and since we have a toddler in daycare, he's catching a lot of colds, which, as a peds dr I'm already immune to). I send him to his own doctor for my own security more than anything- I would never want to take the chance of missing something.
I have learned I'm not at all objective when it comes to my kids. I don't attempt to do any physical exams on them. I have found a wonderfully calm & thorough pediatrician who knows I'm a doctor but treats me like anyone else.
ReplyDeleteJust to qualify - I am a pathologist and while I have been known to use my otoscope on my kids- I have a dad who is a pediatrician/neonatologist so I've a very knowledgeable physician in the kiddie arena to bounce things off of. The one time I saw my son retracting too much for my taste I rushed him to the doctor and sure enough, he had pneumonia.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, we've done OK with minimal dr. visits other than well child, and they are now 7 and 5. I do have a dr. friend who blew off a fall and found out her kid had broke her leg - one of those toddler fractures. She stopped being so cavalier about treating her kids. If that had happened to me, I'm sure I would have been taking them in for every little limp. Experience will shape your future actions.
All women are expected to be medical encyclopedias. If a patient requires a lot of care, hospitals ask for a family member to be in the room 24/7 and usually that person is a stay-at-home mom/grandma. Twice I've been asked by surgeons to assist them with minor surgical procedures when they couldn't find an available nurse. Even the navy rightly assumed I knew how to do dressings and care for chest tubes because it's just part of the mom job description.
ReplyDeleteWe (hubby in rads and I'm an FP doc) take care of our daughter for all minor things. I bring her into my collegues for anything serious.
ReplyDelete