Paediatrics!

Finally my special study module is over, and after 5 weeks hard slog I am looking forward to playing with kiddies for the next 8 weeks. Paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with child health. Anything from 4 weeks to about 18 years old can come under paeds, so it's a wide and varied specialty.

Today we had our first day of a 2 day induction course. We learnt about basic life support for young kids and babies (so, what to do if you see a collapsed or choking child etc) and then we got to try out our new knowledge on some dummies! Then we had a lecture on how to talk to kids in a medical environment, especially when trying to find out the info about why they're ill or why they feel unwell. We saw some very funny videos with toddlers being incredibly difficult to examine. Because kids are so unpredictable paeds has a much more flexible feel to it that adult medicine. It's perfectly acceptable to not wear a tie (largely since most kids and some babies will grab and wee on them!).

Tomorow we have some more lectures about how to recognise a critically ill child (which is very important since kids fluctuate in the seriousness of their condition at a greater rate than adults, so if the warning signs are present one must pick them up efficiently and speedily!). Then happily, on Thursday we head off onto the wards to save lives and play with babies.

I hope none of them scream or cry at me...........and that I don't have to change any nappies!