Let us go back for a moment to ponder this ingenious idea of using an index card as a medical record tool. Low cost, top quality medical care is the Holy Grail for which everyone in the field of medicine is searching. Is it conceivable we already found it, used it for more than a century, and abandoned it in light of its simplicity? Possibly.
The World Health Organization recommends postnatal care from a provider within 72 hours of birth, between days 7-14, and then 6 weeks after birth. The postnatal time period can be dangerous because infants face difficulties such as inadequate feeding, rapid breathing, lethargy, fever, or jaundice.
Hippocrates said, “Cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always.” The relationships with families continue long after their children are grown up and become parents themselves. Our role in the lives of the human beings for whom we have lovingly cared is a wonderful blessing, but also a grind on my heart. It is a relationship I treasure.
The public should know more about what goes on in the minds and hearts of physicians. Please share this piece and start a “Doctors Do Care” Challenge. If you are a physician, write a story about a patient who changed your life. If you are a patient and a physician has improved your life in some way, please share your story with the same hashtag. #doctorsdocare.
I have always wished to have the opportunity for a do-over. In my ideal replay, I would walk in and take an extensive history and physical, discuss a list of possible diagnoses with mom, and draw the child’s blood. I would express compassion for her and tell her it was going to be alright. Despite having ups and downs during those three years of internship and residency, I learned many invaluable lessons during those three years. I wish I could thank this mother now. She taught me the importance of listening to the person who knows their child best, their parent. It is a lesson I have never forgotten.
I believe in parent choice and do not believe in mandates when discussing healthcare. Patients must have autonomy. I use an alternative vaccination schedule when my vaccine-hesitant families request it. Mine evolved over time to complete most of the required vaccinations by the time a child is 2 years old. It is not “evidence-based”, the catchphrase we use to say something is scientifically proven safe and effective. However, it is rooted in something I value highly as a pediatrician – trust, open communication, and compromise.
