The Pediatric Patient

So I just got done with a month-long ER rotation.  The thing that's funny about emergency medicine, particularly in big city, is that about 75% of the patients are crazy and the other 25% are actually really sick.  You could waste some serious time just weeding out the sick ones that actually need help.  Not to mention it's a broken system of spending millions of dollars on unneeded tests and labs just so the doctor can cover their butt and not get sued.  Don't get me wrong, I saw a lot of great trauma cases and got to do some cool procedures, but for every one awesome case, you have about 50 "back pains".
Well this month I'm doing pediatric emergency medicine, which is a whole different world.  Because the thing about kids who come to the ER is that they really are sick.  Like a 5 year old child who could come in complaining of back pain.  Now you know they're not a drug-seeker nor do they have degenerative joint disease.  A five year old just doesn't get back pain, so you automatically think the worst: cancer, osteomyelitis, kidney stone.  You immediately start fearing for this child's life because you are responsible for finding out what's wrong, and the longer you take to do so, the worse the outcome.
But not every case is that scary.  I really enjoy the pedi ER because kids are walking disasters and I get to fix them up.  Whether it's remove a popcorn kernel from a little boys ear, suture up a kid's finger, remove a tick from a boy's penis (yikes!), or splint a 12 year old hockey player's broken hand.  You just never know what's going to come thru the door.  And the best part is, the majority of the time you have the power to help them.
My favorite moment so far on this rotation was lat night when a little boy thanked me.  He said, "You made me not scared anymore."  I seriously wanted to start crying right then and there.  That's exactly why I want to be a doctor.  Not because I'm always going to know the answer but because I want my patients to feel comfortable and be able to trust me.  That kid totally made my day.
So after a long night of taking care of other peoples kids, I came home at 1 am to take care of my own baby.  The poor little bugger who's on antibiotics for his third ear infection was up every half hour screaming in pain.  Ahhh... gas pains.  If you are a parent of an infant then you must be a pro at diagnosing gas pains. Baby screams, arches his back, and then lets out the loudest stinkiest farts.  Stupid antibiotics.  So we caved and brought him in bed with us- which I am totally opposed to, but make rare exceptions when he's sick and we're getting up fifty times a night to check on him.  He was under the impression it was playtime.  Needless to say it was a very sleepless night.
That's the thing about being a med student and a mom.... you're job is never done. You're always on the clock- and not getting paid a dime!