Being a Pediatrician, I am fortunate to develop great connections with children and their families. One thing I enjoy most as a Pediatrician is the opportunity to be ‘funny and goofy’ with the kids. This helps the kids feel more comfortable and relaxed when I go near them or attempt to examine them. Occasionally the kids surprise me with their own sense of humor.
I remember this instance where I was following a 7-year-old girl with short stature. At one of these visits after I measured her height, she made a comment that was really funny. She said “Dr. Korada – every time I come to your office, you seem to be getting taller. Either I’m shrinking or you are having a growth spurt”. Both her parents and I could not stop laughing.
As a Pediatrician, I come across children with a variety of health concerns and it can be stressful for both the children, parents and pediatricians. But some of these funny moments stick to your memory and make your life much easier at work.
I had a lot of good teachers in medical school and I remember many pearls of wisdom. On one of our clinical rounds, I was following my consultant along with the other medical students. We all were quite keen to figure out what the best medication / intervention for each patient would be.
During one of our rounds, my consultant made a statement that surprised us all. He suggested that “in some situations, the best intervention is just watchful waiting”. This is so true in many situations. Some of the symptoms and signs take time to show up. Close monitoring before choosing appropriate management plan is very important. This still works very well and for me it really makes a lot of sense in several clinical situations.