“Medicine is not for boys.”
That’s what my 7 year old recently very emphatically told me. My son is not interested in becoming a doctor because it is for girls. He then suggested I discuss medicine with my 3-year-old daughter because she’s a girl.
My son instead prefers to be a fire fighter, soccer player, or superhero, or maybe a dentist because some boys still actually do that — but definitely not a …
Are we losing our boys in medicine?
Spanking is an extremely common form of corporal punishment, generally used against a child in response to a perceived bad behavior. It is an old-fashioned form of punishment that has the potential to cause more harm than good. It is clear that spanking may be effective in causing immediate obedience, but this effect is short-lived.
Corporal punishment has been associated with adverse effects in childhood, such as causing the child to …
A psychiatrist says don’t spank your children. Praise them instead.
Her 17-year-old legs dangled over the edge of the exam table. She had come for a prescription of oral contraceptives. Her boyfriend, she said, had been patient. He wasn’t ready to be a father, and so they were waiting. But lately he had started to put the pressure on and asked her to come in. She wasn’t eager for this change in their relationship, but it seemed like the next …
Why this physician stopped prescribing birth control
I read another post about the poison of GMO, corn syrup, baby formula. One more post in an extensive newsfeed. It is opinion, and I can scroll past, but it feels like another not so subtle reminder of the “breast is best” undercurrent that permeates everything baby related.
As a physician, I feel that breastfeeding is ideal. When I was a third-year resident, and I had my first baby, I was …
Breast is best shouldn’t be absolute. Here’s why.
As a primary care pediatrician, I am often on the front line of mental health care. Since child psychiatric referral services are sparse and overloaded, I often have to initiate counseling for anxiety in many of my patients. One thing that I have learned is that you can help someone with anxiety in a tremendous way by getting them to recognize a simple fact: It is counterproductive to worry about …
The precarious peril of pay-for-performance
Another child has been severely harmed by a naturopath—this time, in the UK.
A four-year-old boy with autism received naturopathic treatments that landed him in the emergency room. The boy had severe dehydration and dangerously elevated calcium levels. A naturopath had prescribed a regimen of vitamin D, calcium, cod liver oil, zinc and a long list of other substances that included silver, enzymes, salts and trace minerals
As a …
When naturopaths treat autism, children suffer
Recently I wrote about empowerment and the importance of letting patients make their own health care decisions. Our job is to make sure patients are given information and then allowed to choose the best option for them. Maybe we should even embolden patients; give them confidence and encourage them to take more control. Physicians tend to feel more comfortable advising according to the “standard of care” and …
Patient satisfaction can be done right. Here’s how.
As I met with the vice dean of academic affairs to discuss my readiness for promotion from assistant to associate professor of pediatrics, I led with the usual list of accomplishments. After all, I thought I was pretty well rounded, with achievements in teaching, patient care, institutional service, quality improvement, and research. Unfortunately, this meeting was not going as I had hoped and I sensed ambivalence from the other end …
How I used Twitter to get promoted in academic medicine
Once upon a time, there was a land where parents were anxious, information was pervasive, and trust was hard to come by. Misinformed celebrities with impressive influence (despite minimal education) were spouting ideas that provided concrete solutions to poorly understood situations, and parents were clinging to them as if their (child’s) life depended upon it.
Pediatricians everywhere were scratching their heads, wondering, what has happened? Why are our patients doubting us? …
The day that the pediatricians quit
Growing up during the 1970’s and 80’s, Little House on the Prairie was an iconic part of my childhood. Doc Baker was the physician and veterinarian for all of Walnut Grove, in spite of limited resources. Medical lessons were everywhere in the beloved television series: Mary experiencing onset of blindness (most recently attributed to viral meningoencephalitis, likely from measles), the death of Laura’s infant son by unknown cause, and Rose’s …
Patients want to make their own informed choices. We need to let them.
Referencing a recent New York Times article “What Kids Wish Their Teachers Knew” got me thinking about both sides of the coin. Physicians are human beings and sometimes this fact gets lost when a patient is angry or frustrated seeking help from the medical system. Here is a primer on what I wish my patients knew. (This is a companion piece to “I wish my doctor …
A manifesto has been making the rounds on Twitter (and other places) over the past year. It has been attributed to Dr. Mike Ginsberg, a California pediatrician. It reportedly was originally a Facebook post that has since been taken down, perhaps because of the controversy it generated. I can understand why; vaccines are a hot button topic, and anyone who writes about them attracts attention, some of it unpleasant. I know …
The complications of firing patients who won’t vaccinate
OK, I’ll admit it. I’m a doctor
“I work at a hospital.”
Those words had left my mouth a hundred times before, and yet on this late summer day, I paused to actually think about them. Why I was saying them, what I really meant, and what I should have said instead.
I was making conversation with someone I had just met. The inevitable question, “So, what do you do?” was asked, and …
I’m a doctor. And I love what I do.
ADVERTISEMENT
The television doctors: Striding purposefully through the ER, giving orders, surrounded by a gaggle of eager learners and a super-team of nurses and techs. Or spending hours operating, then sipping martinis while waiting for the next disaster. Maybe saving lives in between daydreams and liaisons with hot colleagues and nurses. All in a day’s work!
Maybe not. A new study looked at what doctors really do all day. In the real …
You’ll be shocked and saddened when you find out what doctors really do
Recently the New York Times published an article, “What Kids Wish Their Teachers Knew.” As a pediatrician, I have spent a good part of my lifetime fighting for the health and welfare of our young people. They are the future. We owe our children a safe, caring, stable childhood whenever possible. Outside of a supportive family, a long-term family physician or pediatrician can be an important role model …
Walking into Riley Pediatrics Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana, and having just completed two prior rotations in emergency medicine at two different level 1 trauma centers, I thought I would be able to easily fit in with pediatric population here. I thought I would be able to slide fluidly from patient to patient, oral reports to consults, while staying connected with the rest of the team. I thought I would be …
You can’t prepare for a rotation in the pediatric ER
I found this study to be absolutely fascinating. The link is to the abstract; the complete article is behind a paywall, but I can get it for anybody who’s interested in reading the whole study in detail. Its title is “Fundamental frequency variation in crying of Mandarin and German neonates.” I have always assumed, like most people I suspect, that babies cry the same the world over. When they’re uncomfortable or …
The language you speak can affect how your baby cries
The term “vaccine hesitancy” is a relatively recent term in medicine, a term used to describe patients who are worried about the safety, efficacy, or necessity of receiving immunizations. Vaccines are safe and have a proven track record of saving lives. As a result, doctors been caught somewhat off guard by the notion that anyone would have second thoughts about the benefits of immunization.
Recommendations commonly publicized on how to respond …
Vaccine hesitancy: It’s time to go on offense
Recently, friends of ours had a frightening experience: They were on vacation, and ordered takeout from an unfamiliar restaurant. They specifically asked about peanuts: “Are the egg rolls fried in peanut oil? Our daughter has an allergy.”
The server replied: “No, no peanut oil.”
And so they ordered the egg rolls.
Awhile after eating an egg roll, their school-aged child Anna (not her real name) complained of a tummy ache. Then, nausea. They …
The maker of EpiPen sticks it to patients
The new school year is just around the corner (or maybe it’s already started where you live). Either way, here are a few quick tips to make sure you start the year off right:
1. Sleep is key: Poor or insufficient sleep can have significant effects on school performance. Many of us (myself included) let our children stay up later during the summer months. But as school starts back, it’s important …
7 pediatrician tips for back-to-school success
Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.
