Children’s health

1,495 articles · Since 2011

Articles, page 8

How humor helps build trust and connection in pediatric oncology [PODCAST]

September 27, 2025Sep 27, 2025

Physician-scientist Diego R. Hijano discusses his article "How humor builds trust in pediatric oncology." Diego shares how personal loss and his own cultural and linguistic experiences shaped his approach to care, teaching him that laughter can be a bridge in…

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Physician-scientist Diego R. Hijano discusses his article “How humor builds trust in pediatric oncology.” Diego shares how personal loss and his own cultural and linguistic experiences shaped his approach to care, teaching him that laughter can be a bridge in even the darkest hospital rooms. Through stories of playful exchanges …

Physician voices

A doctor’s duty on 9/11 in a small town

Ronald L. Lindsay, MD

September 25, 2025Sep 25, 2025

The vow was not ceremonial. It was lived. We were in Waverly, Ohio on 9/11, a town that did not make headlines, but held its own kind of gravity. The clinic was open. Kathy was chasing after Robert, age 8,…

The vow was not ceremonial. It was lived.

We were in Waverly, Ohio on 9/11, a town that did not make headlines, but held its own kind of gravity. The clinic was open. Kathy was chasing after Robert, age 8, who had darted toward the library at the end of the street, eager to explore its corners before school resumed. She did not call him back. She followed. That was the …

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A doctor’s duty on 9/11 in a small town

Physician voices

The hidden danger in pediatric dental offices

Irim Salik, MD

September 21, 2025Sep 21, 2025

A dangerous truth is hidden behind the winning smiles and cartoon-adorned walls at pediatric dental offices: Children are dying or suffering from debilitating neurologic injury during routine care, and few are paying attention. This glaring oversight in ambulatory pediatric dental care is concerning not only for the potential harm to vulnerable, unknowing families but also to the medical community at large. Now more than ever, pediatric dental care is being …

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Physician voices

How tragedy shaped a medical career

Ronald L. Lindsay, MD

September 15, 2025Sep 15, 2025

The desegregation bus crash I was nearly killed in a desegregation bus crash. They called it progress, but it felt like degradation. We were children, packed into metal boxes and sent across neighborhoods like test subjects. The crash was more…

The desegregation bus crash

I was nearly killed in a desegregation bus crash. They called it progress, but it felt like degradation. We were children, packed into metal boxes and sent across neighborhoods like test subjects. The crash was more than metal and blood, it was a system shattering itself. I survived, and I have spent the rest of my life making sure no child has to survive reform just to …

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How tragedy shaped a medical career

Conditions and diseases

How the internet broke the doctor-parent trust

Wendy L. Hunter, MD

September 14, 2025Sep 14, 2025

I have been a pediatrician for over two decades. I have seen trends come and go: juice boxes demonized, co-sleeping debated, and screen time limits revised. But nothing has reshaped the pediatrician-parent relationship more profoundly than one thing: the internet.…

These days, I do not just answer questions; I navigate a misinformation minefield.

It is common now for parents to walk into my exam room not seeking guidance, but ready for a …

Physician voices

Locum tenens: Reclaiming purpose, autonomy, and financial freedom in medicine

Trevor Cabrera, MD

September 11, 2025Sep 11, 2025

Although locum tenens in medicine has a rich history dating back to the 1970s, many misconceptions and questions continue to foster apprehension in those considering this alternative form of practice. While some view locum tenens providers as unstable wanderers who may have difficulty holding traditional permanent employment, many, such as myself, have taken this intentional path in search of independence and freedom.

From a busy metropolitan hospital in California to a …

Physician voices

Food is a universal language in medicine

Diego R. Hijano, MD

September 8, 2025Sep 8, 2025

"What is your favorite homemade food?" I ask each patient. Almost always, there is a smile, and the conversation takes off from there. Moms light up describing their special dishes. Patients giggle when I suggest, "Should we have your mom…

“What is your favorite homemade food?” I ask each patient. Almost always, there is a smile, and the conversation takes off from there. Moms light up describing their special dishes. Patients giggle when I suggest, “Should we have your mom make some for us to share?” Younger kids look at their moms with wide eyes, wondering if it could really happen. Those moments, those faces, are priceless; and they carry …

The Podcast by KevinMD

A new telehealth model for adolescent obesity [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

August 22, 2025Aug 22, 2025

Pediatrician and certified life and weight coach Karla Lester discusses her article, "An effective treatment using an effective care delivery model: Using telehealth to treat adolescents with obesity with GLP-1 medications." She shares her frustration with traditional in-person obesity programs…

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Pediatrician and certified life and weight coach Karla Lester discusses her article, “An effective treatment using an effective care delivery model: Using telehealth to treat adolescents with obesity with GLP-1 medications.” She shares her frustration with traditional in-person obesity programs that see high attrition and offer few effective treatments beyond …

Physician voices

What a Nicaraguan village taught a U.S. doctor about true care

Prasanthi Reddy, MD

August 15, 2025Aug 15, 2025

Each year, I leave behind the electronic health record, performance metrics, malpractice fears, and the ever-present hum of burnout—and lead a medical mission trip—this year to Nicaragua. Along with a team of fellow volunteers, I carry only what we can…

We set up clinics in makeshift church halls with tin roofs in …

The Podcast by KevinMD

How motherhood made me a better scientist [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

August 14, 2025Aug 14, 2025

Physician coach and medical school professor Kathleen Muldoon discusses her article, "How motherhood reshaped my identity as a scientist and teacher." She explores what it means to be a "mother scholar" in academic and medical cultures that reward detachment and…

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Physician coach and medical school professor Kathleen Muldoon discusses her article, “How motherhood reshaped my identity as a scientist and teacher.” She explores what it means to be a “mother scholar” in academic and medical cultures that reward detachment and often view caregiving as a distraction. Drawing from her experience …

Conditions and diseases

The hidden cost of racism in sickle cell disease treatment

Gail M. Bloom, OTD & Gustavo Rosas Alvarado, MD

August 11, 2025Aug 11, 2025

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is frequently referred to as an invisible disease and is often overlooked due to a lack of research and overall resource shortages resulting in substandard clinical care. Part of the problem is difficulty objectively identifying SCD characteristics due to lack of laboratory markers and poor objective pain indicators. This disease mainly affects African American populations. Systemic marginalization of stigmatized populations results in less funding; and therefore, …

Physician voices

How humor builds trust in pediatric oncology

Diego R. Hijano, MD

August 10, 2025Aug 10, 2025

"Dr. Who?" the child asked. "Dr. Hijano," I said. "But you can call me Dr. Diego. Like Go Diego Go! Dora the Explorer's cousin, the one with the baby jaguar who saves the rainforest." A pause. A smile. And just…

“Dr. Who?” the child asked.

“Dr. Hijano,” I said. “But you can call me Dr. Diego. Like Go Diego Go! Dora the Explorer’s cousin, the one with the baby jaguar who saves the rainforest.”

A pause. A smile. And just like that, the ice broke. In pediatric oncology, that is no small thing.

I work in a pediatric cancer center, most often in the bone marrow transplant unit. When people hear this, they …

Physician voices

The silent burnout epidemic among parents and doctors

Wendy Schofer, MD

August 10, 2025Aug 10, 2025

For years, I didn't realize the name for what I was experiencing as a primary care pediatrician was burnout. I just thought I wasn't enough—not good enough, not hardworking enough, not experienced enough. That self-doubt didn't stay confined to my…

For years, I didn’t realize the name for what I was experiencing as a primary care pediatrician was burnout. I just thought I wasn’t enough—not good enough, not hardworking enough, not experienced enough. That self-doubt didn’t stay confined to my role as a doctor; it crept into how I felt as a parent, a spouse, a community member.

Nothing ever felt like enough. So I did what I was trained to …

Conditions and diseases

Why new obesity medications for teens could be a game changer

V. Sushma Chamarthi, MD

August 7, 2025Aug 7, 2025

When I first saw the CDC's MMWR latest report on obesity medication prescribing for adolescents, my initial reaction was probably the same as yours: less than 1 percent of teens with obesity got these medications in 2023? That seems pretty…

When I first saw the CDC’s MMWR latest report on obesity medication prescribing for adolescents, my initial reaction was probably the same as yours: less than 1 percent of teens with obesity got these medications in 2023? That seems pretty dismal.

But then I took a step back and looked at what this data is telling us. And honestly? We’re missing the real story here.

We’re witnessing something historic.

Think about where …

Conditions and diseases

When anxiety runs the show: How medication can help kids thrive

Mona Potter, MD

August 7, 2025Aug 7, 2025

Ten years old and terrified, my patient sat curled in the chair, tears flowing, knees pulled to her chest, refusing to go to school for the third week in a row. Her parents looked exhausted. "We have tried everything. We…

As a child and adolescent psychiatrist, I’ve had this conversation hundreds of times. Sometimes families walk in asking for …

Physician voices

Why accommodations aren’t special treatment but essential for equity

Sarah Cohen Solomon, MD

August 6, 2025Aug 6, 2025

"Think of it this way," the school's pediatrician said to me, his voice flat in my headphones. "Back in college, would you want a lab partner who needed these accommodations? When I read a letter like this, I picture a…

“Think of it this way,” the school’s pediatrician said to me, his voice flat in my headphones. “Back in college, would you want a lab partner who needed these accommodations? When I read a letter like this, I picture a student who may not even graduate high school. I have to prepare the family for that reality.”

I took a slow breath, calming myself. This wasn’t how I had hoped the …

Conditions and diseases

When the pediatrician is the parent: a personal reckoning with childhood obesity

Chrissie Ott, MD

August 2, 2025Aug 2, 2025

I would never have thought I would be the one writing this piece. I am a board-certified pediatrician and internist with a background in nutrition, well-versed in integrative medicine. Our family eats its fair share of kale, blueberries, and salmon.…

I would never have thought I would be the one writing this piece.

I am a board-certified pediatrician and internist with a background in nutrition, well-versed in integrative medicine. Our family eats its fair share of kale, blueberries, and salmon. We hardly ever have a significant supply of junk food in the house. Fast food is a rarity, and she never even tasted juice in toddlerhood. And still, my child’s BMI …

Physician voices

I knew choosing DPC would exacerbate primary care physician shortages, and I chose it anyway. Here’s why.

Marina Capella, MD

August 2, 2025Aug 2, 2025

When I made the decision to leave the traditional, insurance-based system and start a direct primary care (DPC) practice, I didn't do so under any illusions. I knew what the critics would say. In fact, I'd already heard it. You're…

When I made the decision to leave the traditional, insurance-based system and start a direct primary care (DPC) practice, I didn’t do so under any illusions. I knew what the critics would say. In fact, I’d already heard it.

You’re making it harder for patients to find a primary care doctor.
You’re reducing access for the underserved.
You’re selling out.

I’ve read the blog posts, like the one recently published on …

Physician voices

How doctors can build emotional strength through writing

Carolyn Roy-Bornstein, MD

July 31, 2025Jul 31, 2025

As I travel the country giving talks to various groups of health care professionals about resilience-building and physician burnout, I sometimes come up against some resistance to the idea. The argument goes something like this: If our emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of a sense of personal accomplishment (i.e. burnout) is largely caused by work overload, administrative burdens, and the moral distress of trying to practice medicine humanistically amidst insurance …

Health policy

How pediatricians can address the health problems raised in the MAHA child health report

Joseph Barrocas, MD

July 28, 2025Jul 28, 2025

I understand that, in August, we will receive the prescription for the poor results of the recent Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) report focused on children's health. As a pediatrician, I would like to offer some remedies for the child…

I understand that, in August, we will receive the prescription for the poor results of the recent Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) report focused on children’s health. As a pediatrician, I would like to offer some remedies for the child nutrition shortcomings identified in the report and provide feedback on other health concerns it raises.

Chronic disease rates among children are mentioned first in the report. Authors point to …

Children’s health

Articles, page 8

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