Pediatrics

Reversing the impact of the pandemic on childhood obesity

Conditions
April 28, 2022

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments and communities had to take rapid and decisive action to protect their citizens against this novel virus. While it was yet unclear how dangerous the COVID-19 infection may be to children, their teachers, and their families, governments quickly shut down schools and activities to slow the spread among the population at large.

Before the pandemic, childhood obesity was already a crisis with …

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A physician’s personal great resignation

Physician
April 14, 2022

It’s been a year since I retired from almost 40 years as a pediatrician (most of that time as a pediatric hospitalist). What have I learned? What surprised me?

1. I have finally caught up on my sleep. I have been convinced that I still had a cumulative sleep deficit dating back to med school. After one solid year of sleeping 8-9 hours a night and waking up without an alarm …

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Physician burnout and a big career change

Physician
April 12, 2022

Physician burnout continues to increase as we enter into year three of the COVID-19 pandemic. In August 2021, the Physicians Foundation reported data from a survey of 2,504 physicians conducted from May 26-June 9, 2021. In this survey, 61 percent of physicians reported experiencing burnout, an increase from 40 percent reported in the 2018 data. This burnout is often seen in those who, during their midlife, may feel what Brene …

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It’s time to flip the script on peer evaluations

Physician
April 2, 2022

I just received my peer evaluation from work. And I’m gonna admit: I was nervous.

“Yikes.” I cringed when I saw it in my inbox. Would my colleagues call me out for not being as sharp, fast, or adept as them? Would they fault me because I just cannot stomach a dislocation despite working in a pediatric urgent care for several years? (True story: I damn near dropped out while treating …

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Pause for a moment to feel your energy

Physician
April 2, 2022

When was the last time you paused for a moment to feel your energy? I mean, really get in touch with the energy you hold inside your being?

Could it be that, as physicians, we have gotten so used to feeling stressed or drained at the end of the day that we’ve forgotten how to feel at ease and be in a state of joy as we take care of our …

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When the government comes for your trans kid 

Physician
March 18, 2022

Even before I turned 16, I knew I liked girls. I also knew I liked boys. I didn’t understand it. Why was I drawn to women? During that period of my life (between 11 and 16 years of age), I was also in a boarding school. An all-girl boarding school, for that matter. It was torture. It went against everything I knew to be “right.”

That was the first time that …

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Let it go: A pediatrician reflects after a difficult conversation

Physician
March 9, 2022

I walk into the patient room, “Hello, I’m Dr. Seabury. What can we do for you today?” As soon as I see the unbundled child, I know there is a problem. I examine the patient fully. Carefully. The conversation that comes next is a challenging one.

“Strong concern.” “Slow growth.” “Percentiles.” “Development.” “Admission to the hospital.”

There is silence, then the words from the family flow forth. Angry, accusatory, confused, dismissive, worried, …

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Support groups are life-changing for many patients

Conditions
February 27, 2022

“Gimme five,” the TV doctor said to his little patient as he entered the exam room. As I watched this scene in an evening TV program, I was reminded of one of my pediatric practice’s most gratifying stories, which happened over 20 years ago.

Before the days of cellphones, the internet, and social media, I had become the local expert on support groups. After realizing how what I learned from support …

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Multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children: a pediatric hospitalist’s conversation

Conditions
February 23, 2022

Them: “I have never heard of this.”

Me: “That’s OK, let me explain what is going on. Your child has a condition called multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children, which we call MIS-C. We see this condition after a COVID infection where the whole body becomes inflamed, causing fevers. You get inflammation in the small blood vessels of your eyes and skin, which is why your son has red eyes and a …

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Kids are not OK: Health care is failing them

Physician
February 15, 2022

Our medical system is failing our children. The rate of chronic diseases in children is skyrocketing. Obesity has increased. Behavioral health issues are at new highs, making suicide a leading cause of death in children. During the pandemic, rates of pediatric preventive health visits, vaccinations, and screening tests have decreased, thereby losing opportunities for early intervention.

These failures were evident before COVID …

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A random act of kindness on a plane

Conditions
February 14, 2022

My wife and I were on a short flight from Rome to Brindisi in the region called Puglia in the southern part of Italy last year.

As we were starting to taxi down the runway, I heard a child crying a few rows behind us, but it was very different from a baby’s or a normal child’s crying. It reminded me of when I have experienced autistic children screaming, usually from …

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Losing our most valuable non-renewable resource: physicians

Physician
February 14, 2022

Suppose you have watched the news, been on social media, or have had any conversations with others. In that case, it should not be a surprise that health care workers are physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted and extremely burned out.

We are currently entering our third year of a global pandemic. So, burnout physicians are not a big surprise, especially when doctors’ opinions are marginalized over political beliefs about a virus. …

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When doctors can’t hug

Physician
February 1, 2022

I stood outside the busy ICU room with Gregory’s mom, holding her hand and talking softly, while the team inside removed his breathing tube and prepared him for his final trip home. Gregory was dying from a devastating brain tumor with no known cure, and his mother had made the difficult decision to take him off his ventilator and bring him home to pass away among his family. When the …

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Our patients become an inextricable part of our lives [PODCAST]

Podcast
January 13, 2022
YouTube video

“The weekend after Isabelle’s discharge, I take my shoes outside onto the driveway. The sky is a brilliant blue, and green tinges of leaves poke through shells of buds; the wind slips through my fleece. I scrub the spots of blood with an antibacterial wipe, and tan shoe polish comes …

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Screening for adverse childhood experiences in pediatric primary care made my job easier

Conditions
January 3, 2022

When our pediatric clinic added the PEARLS (Pediatric ACEs and Related Life-events Screener) questionnaire to well-child visits, we were worried that we would uncover trauma that we didn’t know how to address. Our physicians feared that the volume of patients with high scores would be overwhelming. We contended that this additional work was impossible because we don’t have support services like counseling. Beyond that, we expected our patients would be …

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How this pediatrician handles a distorted concept of reality [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 16, 2021
YouTube video

“The victims of this now distorted concept of liberty are ones that we physicians encounter every day. The one that inspired this essay for me is an 11-year-old boy that I saw three weeks ago. He is a patient of mine in my pediatric practice who came to see me …

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Viral upper respiratory infections in the age of COVID

Conditions
December 14, 2021

Your toddler has had a cough and runny, stuffy nose on and off for months. They also attend daycare and have a sibling in preschool. You are worried about the symptoms. You are also exhausted because your child’s coughing and congestion is not letting either of you sleep at night. Does this sound familiar?

You ask yourself, “Is this normal?” and “What is wrong with my child?”

Well, to calm your fears, …

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There is no quick fix for kids’ cold and flu symptoms but there are things you can do

Conditions
December 2, 2021

Colder weather is upon us again – and so is cold and flu season. Nearly two years into the fight against COVID-19, we welcome children returning to schools, daycare, and sports. But with the loosening of restrictions and increased social contacts, we are also now seeing increased circulation of common seasonal respiratory viruses.

Kids are experiencing cough and cold symptoms, including fever, congestion, and sore throat due to other respiratory viruses …

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