The Importance of Communication

Second day on inpatient. I did better today (i.e. managed to see the patient's i was actually assigned to lol). I also managed to upset a family. It happens. Sometimes wires get crossed. Communication especially across cultural boundaries and language barriers can be quite tricky. I hate these situations when they crop up, but I love getting to work through them and learn from them. In this case I would have ultimately done what my attending did, so I felt a little better. I don't feel like I was at the top of my game this morning when I saw this family. Makes you realize what a difference even a slight change in your mood can have on your ability to function as a medical provider.

This attending is amazing. She understands the importance of having a good conversation with her patients' parents. To this end, one has to make sure that they are able to focus on you and engage in the conversation. Anyone who has ever had a child knows how difficult that is when your baby is sick and upset. She does whatever she can to calm the child after her exam, especially babies. She'll hold them for the duration of talking to the parents, bouncing/rocking/patting them the whole time. She'll also bundle them up in "baby burritos" and give them their pacifiers. Whatever it takes to make the parent comfortable enough to focus on you. Have to admit that with my lack of experience around infants it was quite nice to have someone give a "how to calm babies" spiel. lol

Came home and played with the kitty. He loves noisy feather toys. So when we were out shopping this weekend we got him this door hanger owl with and feathery tail and jingle bell. He will probably cover the carpet in orange feathers and thoroughly destroy it in two days, but I think the mental stimulation of "the hunt" is totally worth it.