I’m doing paediatrics at the moment and the thing I think I mostly find difficult is being able to change my attitude. By this I mean, that I am so used to treating adults for the last 6 months, my supervisor’s are encouraging me to let the barriers down, be silly, make jokes and just have some fun with it all. I think I’m finding it so hard because I still am trying to portray that professional image, whereas with kids, I don’t think it matters as much as it does with our adult population of patients. Kids don’t want to do physio if there is some authoritarian figure trying to tell them to do something, especially if they are in pain. I’m also finding it hard not explaining everything in detail, as kids don’t particularly need to know because they wouldn’t understand, let alone don’t want to know the nitty gritty of why you are doing something. It’s hard I think because it is changing everything we have learned in the last 3 years and putting it completely back to front and upside down and changing all the key things that we have had drummed into us.
Did anybody else have this same issue to any extent, and was there anything that you did to help bring out the inner child in you?
2 comments:
I don't know if you're at PMH Michelle, but if you are, you could approach Radio Lollipop, explain who you are and then ask if they would let you follow one of the volunteers around for a night. They emphasise everything fun and a lot of the volunteers are not medical so do not know or understand anything about any of the kids' ailments. They just know how to make kids laugh, or even smile. The only ward I would advise not going to in this instance, is oncology. The kids there have a completely different outlook on life and are mature beyond their years. Try a med/surg. ward.
The other thing that might help, is to view your treatment, somewhat, as 'play'...which I understand is much easier said than done.
I think I would be exactly the same as you! I did a little bit of paeds on my rural prac and I found that I felt like a bit of an idiot trying to act like that too! Luckily for me I only had a few patients. On the other side that meant that I never got the chance to get used to it.Keep at it and let us know if you have any hints.
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