Pediatricians and the clinicians who care for children writing on KevinMD about child health: childhood illness, development, vaccines and the parents who refuse them, breastfeeding and the pressure around it, childhood obesity, prevention, and the realities of caring for young patients and their families. Most contributors are pediatricians. For a maintained record of what pediatricians have said about children's health since 2004, from fever and sleep through obesity, abuse, teenagers, and Medicaid, see Children's health: what pediatricians say, in their own words. For what physicians have said about vaccines and vaccine hesitancy, from the autism claim through measles, exemptions, and federal policy, see Vaccines: what physicians say, in their own words. For what child psychiatrists and pediatricians have said about children's and teens' mental health, see Mental health: what psychiatrists and physicians say, in their own words. For what pediatricians have said about breastfeeding and postpartum care, see Women's health: what physicians say, in their own words.
There are a few clinical scenarios that stand out to me from my undergraduate medical education. I completed a combined MD/MPH program, and I remember coming back from the year of public health, inserted between years two and three of…
There are a few clinical scenarios that stand out to me from my undergraduate medical education. I completed a combined MD/MPH program, and I remember coming back from the year of public health, inserted between years two and three of medical school, feeling rusty and often in the way. One conversation I’ll always remember is one I overheard between an attending on my family medicine rotation (my first rotation of …
Nicole Rochester is a pediatrician and advocate for improving the doctor-patient relationship. She shares her personal experiences and discusses the importance of intentional human connection in clinical encounters. We delve into the root causes of the empathy gap, including bias…
Nicole Rochester is a pediatrician and advocate for improving the doctor-patient relationship. She shares her personal experiences and discusses the importance of intentional human connection in clinical encounters. We delve into the root causes of the empathy gap, including bias and systemic factors, and discuss how it disproportionately affects marginalized communities. …
When registering individuals who are unresponsive to stimuli, unconscious, unaware, or lacking alertness, it has been customary to assign them the names John Doe or Jane Doe, based on physical characteristics, while also assigning their sex accordingly. If their family…
When registering individuals who are unresponsive to stimuli, unconscious, unaware, or lacking alertness, it has been customary to assign them the names John Doe or Jane Doe, based on physical characteristics, while also assigning their sex accordingly. If their family members or legal guardians arrive or are contacted, their sex is determined based on their recollections until the individuals themselves awaken and become capable of expressing their gender preferences, affirming …
For 21 years, I have had the privilege and honor of coaching and mentoring medical students. Most of this mentoring takes place in my outpatient internal medicine-pediatrics practice, where each student spends two to three days with me every week…
For 21 years, I have had the privilege and honor of coaching and mentoring medical students. Most of this mentoring takes place in my outpatient internal medicine-pediatrics practice, where each student spends two to three days with me every week for a month-long rotation. Additionally, I have been fortunate enough to work with students from all years as a facilitator in the REACH and 4C coaching programs. Throughout these experiences, …
The visit is winding down. You're getting ready to go, hand on the doorknob, saying goodbye. And then you hear, "Doc, one more thing." Or perhaps you're more familiar with the patient who has a laundry list of issues all…
The visit is winding down. You’re getting ready to go, hand on the doorknob, saying goodbye. And then you hear, “Doc, one more thing.” Or perhaps you’re more familiar with the patient who has a laundry list of issues all to be addressed in the fifteen-minute appointment slot.
These visits have in common that they are both certain to back you up. Have multiple in the day, and you are
Gender-affirming health care (GAH) is a rapidly developing sector within the medical profession that can include indirect therapies such as counseling, direct therapies such as hormone treatments, puberty blockers, or gender-affirming surgeries. A main ethical concern with GAH resides in…
Gender-affirming health care (GAH) is a rapidly developing sector within the medical profession that can include indirect therapies such as counseling, direct therapies such as hormone treatments, puberty blockers, or gender-affirming surgeries. A main ethical concern with GAH resides in its use on adolescents, and this paper will primarily explore the use of puberty blockers, sometimes called GnRH analogues, on minors.
Considering that most children start puberty around the age of …
Join us for an insightful podcast episode with guest Eliza Humphreys, a pediatrician and certified life coach, as we explore the challenges faced by young teens and their families in navigating mental health issues. Through a poignant story from her…
Join us for an insightful podcast episode with guest Eliza Humphreys, a pediatrician and certified life coach, as we explore the challenges faced by young teens and their families in navigating mental health issues. Through a poignant story from her practice, Eliza sheds light on the unmet needs within the health …
In late 2017, I was standing in the hallway between two different departments in a hospital where I was rounding on a particularly busy day. As a hospitalist, I was very familiar with this facility and where to go in…
In late 2017, I was standing in the hallway between two different departments in a hospital where I was rounding on a particularly busy day. As a hospitalist, I was very familiar with this facility and where to go in order to find a moment of peace away from the hustle and bustle of my workday.
As I held the stack of rounding sheets in my hand, I had a fleeting …
We take care of the living, and remember those who passed, what they taught us, and how they touched us." These were some of the words my parents said to me after I called them, sobbing in tears, that my…
We take care of the living, and remember those who passed, what they taught us, and how they touched us.” These were some of the words my parents said to me after I called them, sobbing in tears, that my patient had passed away. She was only eight years old. To most of her doctors, she was the patient with retinoblastoma that had metastasized to her liver, causing her to …
An open response to "Breast or Bottle: The Illusion of Choice" by Amy Kennedy, MD. We see and hear you and are so sorry you endured these experiences. We are physicians practicing breastfeeding and lactation medicine, and we acknowledge the…
We see and hear you and are so sorry you endured these experiences. We are physicians practicing breastfeeding and lactation medicine, and we acknowledge the overwhelming lack of support for families after birth. Many of us have come to this field after experiencing our own similar challenges, and we would like to offer a different …
"We fear that CPS is going to take them away," the mother of my patient chokes with tears. My patient on the inpatient pediatric wards looks at me with guarded eyes. I can still see the markings on their neck…
“We fear that CPS is going to take them away,” the mother of my patient chokes with tears. My patient on the inpatient pediatric wards looks at me with guarded eyes. I can still see the markings on their neck where they tried to strangle themselves. They were intubated in the pediatric ICU. This transgender patient and their family have gone through a living hell only to come out again …
The 2023 Clinical Practice Guideline for Evaluation and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Obesity heralds a new era of evidence-based anti-obesity treatments for children, a cause I wholeheartedly support. However, amidst these advancements, I harbor concerns about the ongoing…
The 2023 Clinical Practice Guideline for Evaluation and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Obesity heralds a new era of evidence-based anti-obesity treatments for children, a cause I wholeheartedly support. However, amidst these advancements, I harbor concerns about the ongoing reliance on the body mass index (BMI) as a screening and diagnostic tool.
Originally designed for population-level assessments, the ease of measuring BMI and its historical precedence has led
Join us for a thought-provoking episode as we sit down with Cindy Rubin, a pediatrician and breastfeeding medicine specialist. Cindy opens up about the challenges faced by physicians in the current health care system, particularly the constraints of 15-minute appointments…
Join us for a thought-provoking episode as we sit down with Cindy Rubin, a pediatrician and breastfeeding medicine specialist. Cindy opens up about the challenges faced by physicians in the current health care system, particularly the constraints of 15-minute appointments and the impact on patient care. She shares her personal journey …
Join us on this episode as we sit down with Kortney West, a pediatrician who shares her personal journey and perspective on the shortcomings of the allopathic medical system. As a physician, mother, and patient, Kortney discusses how her experiences…
Join us on this episode as we sit down with Kortney West, a pediatrician who shares her personal journey and perspective on the shortcomings of the allopathic medical system. As a physician, mother, and patient, Kortney discusses how her experiences led her to explore integrative and functional medicine to address her …
Where should I begin when describing a period that seemed to have no end in sight? When we, as pediatric emergency department (ED) providers, felt like we were drowning in a tsunami of pediatric patients coming from every direction –…
Where should I begin when describing a period that seemed to have no end in sight? When we, as pediatric emergency department (ED) providers, felt like we were drowning in a tsunami of pediatric patients coming from every direction – from adult EDs needing to transfer seizing children for a higher level of care, from EMS coming in with apneic neonates, and from the endless supply of those from the …
Join us on this episode as we speak with Hilary M. Bowers, a pediatrician who shares with us the importance of integrating behavioral and mental health care within primary care practices. With one in five children and adolescents receiving a…
Join us on this episode as we speak with Hilary M. Bowers, a pediatrician who shares with us the importance of integrating behavioral and mental health care within primary care practices. With one in five children and adolescents receiving a behavioral or mental health diagnosis by age 18, and with youth …
Today's politicians have gone amok with their unchecked and uninformed rhetoric and have decided to turn a blind eye to the new number-one killer of children in America. They have chosen to focus on matters that don't matter, such as…
Today’s politicians have gone amok with their unchecked and uninformed rhetoric and have decided to turn a blind eye to the new number-one killer of children in America. They have chosen to focus on matters that don’t matter, such as my child’s gender.
Supportive families like mine are persecuted daily, and affirming physicians like me are being threatened with the worst nightmare of any physician: the loss of our license to …
As a new parent you look at your baby with a bright full future ahead of them. So much potential there swaddled in your arms. You look at parents of troubled teenagers and secretly look down on them; your perfect…
As a new parent you look at your baby with a bright full future ahead of them. So much potential there swaddled in your arms. You look at parents of troubled teenagers and secretly look down on them; your perfect baby will never do anything like that. They must be poor parents. Too easy on their teenager. Not enough structure in the house, no rules or oversight. There is no …
Like Seattle rain, the tears were persistent and recurrent for months. Hearing the words, "Your prenatal screening shows a high probability of Down syndrome," followed two days thereafter by an ultrasound and the doctor's words, "Well, you saw the ultrasound.…
Like Seattle rain, the tears were persistent and recurrent for months. Hearing the words, “Your prenatal screening shows a high probability of Down syndrome,” followed two days thereafter by an ultrasound and the doctor’s words, “Well, you saw the ultrasound. This looks like Down syndrome and a cystic hygroma. You’ll need to come back for another ultrasound in a few weeks.” It was the first and last time we ever …
The most vivid memory of my childhood is of me, a six or seven-year-old boy, crying in the playground corner every day for months. It is so intense that I wonder if that is a product of imagination. However, the…
The most vivid memory of my childhood is of me, a six or seven-year-old boy, crying in the playground corner every day for months. It is so intense that I wonder if that is a product of imagination. However, the same scene, with the blue bench, in the dark right corner of the playground, keeps on playing in my head when I think about those early days of my childhood.
