What advice would you give a future pediatrician?

I am currently in year 2 of medical school. We hear lots of stories from patients themselves, and I always seem to get a lot out of their stories, so I am just wondering if you have any advice for how you would want your doctor to be. I am hoping to become a pediatrician (work with kids). All kinds of stories are helpful though - positive and negative.





I feel like I can learn a lot from where physicians have both excelled and failed, and I want to learn as much as possible so I can treat my patients the best possible.





Thanks so much.What advice would you give a future pediatrician?
Well, this is a bit biassed, but listen to your nurses! We also have a lot of education and a lot of experience. After being that attuned to people and their illnesses, we learn to trust our gut that something just isn't right. And it's difficult making that call to the doctor when we know that we'll be disregarded or chewed out because either 1) the doctor didn't come up with that idea first or 2) because we don't have ';MD'; after our name.





As a parent, I would suggest that you also listen to parents. We know our children better than anyone. Never discount a mother's instinct.





And finally, know when it's time to refer to a specialist. Pediatricians aren't expected to know everything about everything. I'm thinking specifically when it comes to diagnosing and treating psychiatric issues in children.





Best of luck to you in school!What advice would you give a future pediatrician?
Remember that you have two sets of patients -- the kids whose health you're entrusted with AND their parents. Parents, especially first-time parents, are crazy, nervous wrecks, and you'll wind up spending a lot of your time reassuring them while the kids play happily at your feet.





I have a pediatrician who answers his own phone and returns all of his calls. He's amazing. But if you can't do it yourself (and most can't), make sure your nursing staff understands that calls must be returned in a timely manner -- every single, ridiculous one of them.





And, finally, it's a little thing, but be willing to change diapers. If you take one off during an exam, ask mom or dad for a clean one and put it on yourself. If you do it well and quickly, you'll make a huge impression.
Bedside manor...Do as much as you can yourself,its more personal that way. I remember when I was young my pediatrician drew my blood, did my eye exam, gave me my shots, handed my mom my rx, took my blood pressure, etc. Now that I have kids it seems the medical assistant does everything and then I get only 2 minutes with the doctor. She will come in read the info taken by the medical assistant look the kids over and then direct me back to the front where I wait for my kids RX (if necessary). I miss the time/quality of care doctors used to give.
when a parent is really worried that something is wrong with there child take is seriously!





my niece almost died of a staph infection cuz the doctor kept tell my sister that she has a yeast infection and that the cream he gave her would help. after a 2 weeks it didn't help so she took her back.


the doctor said the same thing but gave a different cream.


my sister was pissed that he wouldn't listen, so she took her to the ER and that doctor found out she had a staph infection and it was gone in a few days.





so my advice is to do everything you can and take it seriously.
I would always treat patients as people not like i have been treated with many doctors for my children . When my son was diagnosed with diabetes at my sons pediatrics office they were not together and blamed me . It was horrible and just a nightmare. Just always remember that everyone needs help .
Know your limits, don't play God with someones child, if you can't handle something, send the child where it can get the best care. I say that because my daughter nearly died because of a stupid doctor.





Spend more than 5 minutes with a patient and listen to all concerns, even if it seems like it isn't important.
Always ACT sympatheticaround patients, but you have to make an invisible wall between yourself and your patient so you do not let your heart rule your head in difficult situations. Also, kids like it when doctors make them laugh, so pull out a joke book and start crackin away!
Good luck!! I am a mom of 5 plus two step children...What I loved so much was the ability to call our doc anytime and get a answer to our concerns....I realize that is not practical most of the time now but text messeges are big now maybe that.....Plus always listened i mean really listened in the office...an he had a pharmacy there in his office to give you the meds so you did'nt then have to go out with the baby to get the meds after the visit. He mixed the drugs himself! That was great . Oh an he was funny
Try to remember that although a situation may not be serious, many times parents are anxious, especially first time parents. Just try to be patient and understanding and realize that something that is minor to you could be very scary to a parent. Good Luck
well i cant really answer your question, but i'm 15 and want to go to school to be a pediatrician when i get out of high school. so i'm interested in reading the answers to your question.
Be personable, patient, and always kind and generous... dont flip the switch and get frustrated
it would be nice to have a doctor that actually researched things out...like vaccines and breastfeeding!! they don't teach them much about the real important stuff apparently.
When I was a new Mother, I was terribly impressed when the Pediatrician called me himself the next day to ask how my baby's fever was.
This comes from our pediatrician: Mothers have excellent gut instincts when it comes to their children. Take their concerns and observations seriously.





All the best.
you will loose your life if you are not careful,be patience
I think it's important for a pediatrician to have a good sense of what each particular child needs. For example, I have four sons and one daughter. Three of my boys wouldn't be nervous going to a doc visit. They would appear friendly, confident and outgoing to any doctor. One of my boys would seem somewhat shy but if the doctor took the time to look in his eyes and speak directly to him, he would be receptive of the doc's friendliness and warm up pretty quickly. My daughter, on the other hand. would not make eye contact, would not want the doctor to speak to her and would certainly NOT want a doctor to try to get her to laugh.


I would have prepared her mentally before the visit so she would be prepared to let the doctor examine her, but she would not be okay with this stranger trying to be her friend. That would make her even more scared.


The difference is that some children can be persuaded by kindness, friendliness and eye contact, but others are frightened even more by it.....that's my daughter.





So I guess my advice is to not think that all children can be warmed up by making them smile and giving them a sticker. Sometimes you might have to just hurry up, get the examine over with and forget the niceties. A good doctor (or teacher,or coach or anyone working with children) can come to where they instinctively ';know'; what is or isn't going to work with each child.