Why a pediatrician does what he does: Lessons from Caleb

A tired but beaming mom greeted me as I entered the room. In her lap was a content appearing, slightly chubby, cherubic faced baby. “This is Caleb … isn’t he beautiful” mom gushed. “He is named after his dad …” but then added in a softer voice, “but I’m not sure how much he plans to be involved.” Mom’s smile waned for a moment but quickly came back. “Looking forward to coming here often,” she said as she gave me a tight bear hug that literally took my breath away. Mom ended up being prophetic on both accounts. Dad Caleb indeed ended up falling away while our Caleb would soon become one of our most frequent clinic visitors. At first, it was for the routine visits of the first few years of life. Mom, as many of our parents, was haunted by the demons of mental health problems (anxiety in her case), poor housing, smoking (“helps my anxiety” said mom) and poverty. This, in part, with time led to an ever increasing proportion of Caleb’s visits focusing on asthma, obesity and behavioral concerns. These visits were partly medical in nature but mostly social, with lots of discussions and hand holding, focusing on mom’s anxiety, her anxieties about Caleb, her need to quit smoking, and trying to find help for her economic situation. Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Pediatrics Pulmonology Source Type: blogs