From October 25 to October 29, 2019, more than 10,000 pediatricians from all over the world gathered in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, to attend the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition. As the world’s larg…
Category: Pediatrics
Maybe being a physician was just not enough
Do you ever see other people in their careers and think to yourself, “Maybe I could do that?” I am a board-certified pediatric physician with over 25 years of experience in private practice, and I recently decided to try my hand at acting. …
Increasing strictness of gun laws correlates with fewer children killed by guns
Between 2011 and 2015 there were over 21,000 children killed by guns. This recent study in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, further analyzes the question; it compares pediatric firearm fatality rates among the various stat…
A poem for the pediatrician on a Monday
It’s Monday, I recall as I step into work; “Preparing for battle,” I say with a smirk. Surviving all weekend with a sick kid in tow, the parents’ relief as they waited to show you their child with fever, diarrhea and sneezing, the one who is too hot, t…
The weight of it: a pediatrician’s thoughts on how words last a lifetime
Start at the origin. Over two, up four. Down three, right six. Left five, up one. Keep connecting the dots. Everything will take shape. I liked graphs. Plotting coordinates — whether it be for a parabola or ellipse — was always calming for me: numbers …
This pediatrician gives her kids candy on Halloween. Here are 7 guilt-free candy tips.
I’m a pediatrician, mom of three. And to many, this may come as a surprise, but yes, I give my kids candy on Halloween. And I don’t mean the organic, gluten-free, non-GMO, no artificial colors or flavoring, good for you “treats.”…
An appreciation for a hospital volunteer
Did I ever get to thank you for helping me? I am one of the pediatric residents you see running around like a headless chicken. We first met over a year ago when I was just a wee intern. You helped me calm an anxious boy who was about to get stitches. …
When we ignore a child’s preventable suffering, we lose a piece of our humanity
Sometimes an image captures the heart of a nation by putting a face on a human crisis. The one of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his 2-year-old daughter Valeria lying face down in the Rio Grande after drowning was powerful. Their family had been …
When treating kids, learn communication lessons from the emergency department
There are limited studies regarding pediatric malpractice claims, especially for the emergency department (ED). A recent study of malpractice claims involving children highlights the role of communication and systems issues. This 10-year study is impor…
To anyone in medicine: This is why listening matters
Victor Frankl is an Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, and Holocaust survivor, who survived three years in the concentration camps of Dachau and Auschwitz. He once told a story about a woman, his patient, who called him in the middle of the night sayi…
