Friday, May 27, 2011

But I also have successes

I wrote that other post in class last night, just didn't get it posted until this morning. Overnight, I was thinking about some of my recent successes as a doctor. Those are much more common. In fact, like I said, my patients are extremely loyal to me for a lot of reasons -- probably because I do spend a lot of time counseling on things like diet and nutrition, and because I care so much about their growth and development. My schedule is usually booked a couple months in advance (it doesn't help that I only see patients once a week), and I'm (unfortunately) always the nice one who agrees to be overbooked or to see patients when they arrive late.

So here are a couple quick stories just to let me feel proud of myself:

A few weeks ago I picked up a very early appendicitis on a 6 year old girl. So early, in fact, that she was out of the OR about 4 hours after I saw her in clinic (on Sunday morning) and home 24 hours later. Most kids under the age of 10 are so bad at identifying where their pain is, that they aren't diagnosed until after their appendix has perforated. She was clearly guarding over the appendix when I examined her, despite pointing to her tummy when I asked where it hurt, that I sent her to the ER for an ultrasound.

I have another patient I've been following for a few years who is also obese. She came in last summer (at 11 yo) having grown taller and had lost a couple pounds, for an overall significant reduction in BMI %. I was so proud! I asked her what she had done that was successful, and she said she had followed my advice to eat at least 3 different colors at each meal. I've found that's something that kids around that age group can actually understand and take control of, unlike portion sizes, calories, fiber, etc. And it worked for her! She was careful to have something green and something red, orange, or yellow at every meal.

Plus there are the kids who actually get into Early Intervention appropriately and learn new skills from their therapists. Or who follow-up with me appropriately and just are generally healthy! It makes me feel really happy when I see someone for a check-up and only have to spend a few minutes with the family.

So there you go. Have a great weekend!

1 comment:

  1. I love the advice about different colors on the plate!

    Another concrete way I was taught to think about making your plate healthier is to imagine it divided into fourths, and then to fill 1/4 with a protein, 1/4 with a carb, and the remaining half with a veggie. Maybe that would be useful for some of your older patients?

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