Tuesday 17 June 2008

What's so special about paediatric ward???

This month, i have decided to do my posting in paediatric department. It was very different from medical and surgical ward as there were rules to protect the children. it was different in singleton hospital, but i think generally other hospitals would be the same. What are the major differences???
1) the entrance: the entrance to the ward was locked, you can only enter with the password or the nurse's permission. generally only parents, relatives and health care workers are allowed to the deparment. security wise, they are trying to protect outsiders to get hold from the children. they have 24hr visiting time open to only the parents, unlike other wards that have limited visting hour to the visitors.
2) the bed: neonates, infants, babies and children. they have different size of beds in the ward available for patient of different age. normally they have extra bed of adult size for the parents in case they would like to stay overnight with their kids.
3) the decoration: there were cartoons, pictures and posters pasted or painted on the wall of all rooms, even the patientsi toilet. even the nurses have to wear colorful apron. and medical students like me are not allowed to wear white coat in the ward as this might frighten the kids??? i wonder...
4) the playroom: you definitely wont see this in the medical or surgical ward. it's full of toys, and most imporatantly, they have well-trained nurses to play with kids.
5) specimen bottle: the blood bottles are only half of the size of the normal one. so little and so tiny and i think it's cute when i first look at it... but it was nvr a nice experience to see blood taking from children as they look so misarable when blood was taken from them. needles and canula were smaller. everything was in a mini version even the plaster. the consultant would have the paediatric sthetoscope too, with a mini diaphragm.. so cutie..
6) a full trolley of milk of different fromula: milk for non-breast fed babies that provide similar nutrients with breast milk, milk that special for low brith weight babies, milk for catch-up growth babies when they are undergrowth, milk for cow's milk intolerance.... a wide spectrum of milk formula which i think the nurses would know even better than the doctors
7) the noise: it's not a quiet ward, i would say. babies that are not feeling well, will cry.. babies that were taken blood or doing lumbar puncture or in pain, will cry... babies that are hungry, will cry... babies that scared of stragers/doctors going near, will cry or will scream... next, it's the noise coming from the tv, it's a very important entertainment for the children other than the playroom. the dostors always need to turm down the volume or switch it off during the ward round. it was just annoying sometimes... but i am getting used to it now...
This is my 3rd week in this department. and i think... i think... i love it so much. i used to have very strong interest in paediatric but i just dont dare to step forward and admit it. as i am not a very pateince person, even tough i think i am a caring person. there were a lot of challeges to work as a paediatrician, you need to know how to deal with unwell and sick babies, you need to know how to communicate with desperate parents, you need to know how to treat them...you would end up in big trouble if you fail to manage them properly. there was one big issue happening in malaysia saying that a baby's arm was necrotic and gangrenous due to the faulty practice of a house officer. but then, after spending approx 2weeks time, i have made up my mind, I WANT TO BE A PAEDIATRICIAN!!! this my target, a very long way to go, a lot of skills to master, a lot of guidelines to follow, a lot of knwoledge to learn... but i need to have strong determination to push me to reach my ambition. jia you!!!

2 comments:

Ling Min said...

do u wear white coat in other wards? here, no coat, no tie to prevent infection!

doreen said...

did u get a chance to wear the cute cute apron? haha. I remember last time i went to Japan Kid's Hospital....its not just a WARD, but WHOLE hospital is just like a mini playground, cartoons here and there, play grounds here and there and the best thing is, the nurse, not only their apron are cute, their shoes are also cute and their head...some got bunny ears...some got stag horns...ahaha...super cute!!

Jia you ...peads is not easy!!