Awesome parents

I fully admit I created this blog for the purpose of bitching, often about parents.  But I think it's so awesome when parents KNOW that something isn't right, and keep asking (politely) until they get an answer.

It's often tempting to blow them off and be irritated.  But in peds, we always have to remember that the parents (should) know their kid the best.  If they say he "isn't right," then he isn't.  Plain and simple.

Why?? Just why??

I get so pissed at parents who bring their kid to the hospital and won't let us do anything.  I am not talking about parents who consider all options and won't blindly follow the doc's recommendations; I fully support them.  I am talking about the ones who refuse IV sticks and blood draws, refuse imaging studies, refuse meds (even Tylenol) and then wonder why we aren't doing anything for their kid!

So, here's a tip.  If you're not going to let the medical staff do anything, DON'T COME TO THE HOSPITAL.  You're wasting our time.

The parents that won't leave

These are the opposite of the ones who expect magic.  Those parents stand around tapping their feet waiting for my instant cure.  The ones I'm writing about today are patient, but they want to stay in the hospital until the child is completely well.

It can be hard to get mad at these folks.  After all, kids get sick with frightening speed (little shits), and the parents are often just scared.  And if the ward isn't busy I really don't mind.  But during busy times of the year, I just can't have a kid who really could be taken care of at home taking up a bed.  There's a reason we spend time trying to teach you home care.  Not to mention that your insurance isn't gonna pay for this.  They'll see that we aren't doing anything in the hospital that you can't do at home, and refuse.

Fear of the doctor

It's normal for little kids to be afraid of the doctor and of medical procedures.  We don't mind, and we try to keep them as calm as possible.  We do mind some of the parental responses.  Let me tell you about some of the responses that induce rage in medical personnel:

1. "Stop that! Leave him alone! Can't you see he doesn't like that?"
     Oh, so THAT's why Cznoflayque kicked me in the face!  I'd have never figured that out.  Anyway, chill.  I'm not doing major surgery without anesthesia here, I'm just trying to look in his damn ears.  Or draw blood.  Or start an IV.  All things that need to be done to evaluate and treat your child.  Militantly "defending" your child from the medical staff just reinforces that there is something to fear.  If you can't help keep your kid calm, then shut the hell up.

2. "If you don't straighten up, the doctor/nurse will give you a shot."
     No.  Just no.  Doctors, nurses and other medical staff are trying to HELP your child.  We are not the "gobble-uns" that get you "ef you don't watch out."  Using medical procedures as a threat just prolongs a child's fear of the doctor.  It's one thing to have to hold down a 2 year old; if we have to deal with physical resistance from a 10 year old, someone's likely to get hurt.

3. "They told us he needed that (shot, IV, blood draw, etc.) in the ER, but he didn't want it, so we had no choice in the matter."
    He's THREE.  You see, there's a reason that children don't get to make their own medical decisions.  Children can't understand that they get long-term benefit from short-term discomfort.  Someone has to be the adult.  We get that your child doesn't want to get jabbed with a needle.  No one does.  We also get that your child doesn't want to be pinned down.  But these things are necessary to evaluate and treat your sick child.  We will do our best to minimize the trauma.

Also, don't get mad at the nurse that it's taking forever to get the IV if you won't help restrain the child.  The reason it takes so long is that every time the nurse hits the vein, the kid thrashes and the needle slips out.

Anticipation...and dread

We all love spring.  We're tired of being cooped up in the house with crappy weather, and we want to go out and do stuff.

I'm kinda ambivalent about spring.  On the one hand, the viral illnesses are heading into summer hibernation.  I am SO over RSV and rotavirus.  I would probably lose my shit if I had another outbreak of snot and diarrhea.
But that doesn't mean I get to kick back.  Prom season means I get to see all the teenagers that get mangled in drunk driving crashes.  Summer means that parents start to think it's a good idea to let their kids ride an ATV without protection, and I get to explain to them that their darling's brain is now permanently scrambled.

Trauma care can be very rewarding.  Kids have resilient bodies and heal up from things that would kill old farts like me.  But it's heartbreaking to look down at a kid who has the brain function of a turnip after riding the present his loving, well-intentioned parents gave him.  Or after falling into the pool because everybody thought someone ELSE was watching the baby.  Or was afraid to call her parents to get a sober ride home.

Spring Break

During spring break, we inpatient docs get a short breather.  No one wants to have their kids in the hospital for spring break, because they use spring break as their excuse to go on vacation.  Afterwards?  Time to take the little darlings to the ER or clinic for the crap that's been going on all week.