Paediatrics

I love seeing babies and children come into the GP clinic, but I thought maybe the paediatrician would get all of the horribly sick children that just make you want to cry. Maybe that’s what it’s like normally, I don’t know. This morning’s session was full of happy, bouncy little kids with little problems like eczema, atopy, or a sore foot. It was great. There were only a few patients, but we had the extremes – a 10-month-old boy who’s been quietly tracking along on the 3rd percentile for weight, and a 2-year-old who weighed 17kg and was almost off the chart. Both were reasonably healthy – the little one was atopic, and the big one was running around the room non-stop despite his sore foot. Although I did discover that 15-30minutes is plenty of time to be spending with an individual child, especially those in the “why” stages. One little girl came in with her mum and baby brother and kept interrupting the consultation with “but Mum, why are there two ladies in here?” (me and the paediatrician), “why is there a television?” (video conferencing unit), “but why – where is her terputer?” and finally, “Do you have any lollies or stickers?”