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Lee High School

Blanca Ramos

Small People Big World

Rough draft

Blanca Ramos
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Lee High School Senior Capstone

Peter Foote

13 March 2018

Small People Big World

There are many people in the world who want to make a difference in people’s

lives, specifically children’s lives. In order to accomplish this goal, it is necessary to

have the right characteristics to be successful. Parents need to be able to trust anyone

involved in the care of their children; most importantly they place trust in pediatricians,

because these doctors who specialize in child healthcare, “...must establish trust with

pediatric patients on a deeper level than with adults…[and] gain this level of trust by

making the extra effort to connect with children socially, in order to effectively care for

them medically” (Thompson). Although not an easy task, pediatrics is a career where an

individual can have a major impact on the lives of their patients. To be a successful

pediatrician, communication, critical thinking and organizational skills are a necessity.

Initially, communication is a very important aspect of medicine. Poor

communication can lead to potentially fatal consequences. Communication is important

in a pediatrician’s career because they have to be able to communicate with both

children and parents to figure out what’s wrong with the child. Being able to

communicate with children can be challenging because they may not cooperate, while

others may be anxious. It takes patience and an extra level of understanding when

working with kids of all ages pediatricians also need to be aware of the children's
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actions and expressions since some children are difficult to understand. “When dealing

54 with children, nonverbal cues can be just as important as verbal statements” (Bean-

Mellinger). For example, some children may not speak but they may be able to indicate

where they feel pain by their expressions. The value of positive communication is

crucial for pediatricians.

Critical thinking is also a skill that helps a pediatrician become successful.

“Critical thinking, the ability to think clearly and rationally about what to do or what to

believe, is essential for the practice of medicine”(Sharples). Critical thinking comes into

play in the diagnosis of a children’s illness. Although many of the cases a pediatrician

will deal with will be similar, children react differently to illness and medications. Before

a pediatrician can diagnose an illness and prescribe a medication, they have to ask in-

depth questions about any known allergies. If the pediatrician is informed that a child is

allergic to a medication, they must find an alternative medication that will help the child

recover from the illness without causing the child to have an allergic reaction. Therefore,

critical thinking is a necessity in the pediatrician career.

Moreover, organizational skill plays an important role in a pediatrician’s daily life.

Pediatricians deal with many patients on a daily base. They have to maintain a file of

medical history for each patient. Maintaining medical histories for each patient is

important. For instance, a patient goes in for a checkup with the same issue as last time

but the results were not as expected. In that case, the pediatrician would look into the

file and prescribe a different medication. Dr. Annette Walen from Alger Pediatrics

stayed, “Some nights are sleepless because of the amount of work and time I have”.
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This includes having to be flexible. In some cases, pediatricians are needed to be rush

to hospitals for urgent emergencies care or are even called during an inconvenient

times. They also tend to work in numerous locations, as in public health clinics, private

practices offices. Not to mention inside and outside work which in that case, they have a

limited amount of time with each patient, so they must plan ahead and use their time

efficiently.

In a pediatricians career, there are several important elements to acknowledge

such as communication. “The clinician’s ability to communicate openly with compassion

is essential for effective and efficient routine health care” (Levetown). “Healthcare

communication is an essential tool for accurate diagnosis and for the development of a

successful treatment plan correlating will improve patient knowledge” (Levetown).

Another important element is critical thinking which helps by “monitoring the overall

health and well-being of your child and can be your guide through your child's growth

and development”. As long as, organization is also a major responsibility to obtain and

document a patient medical history for the betterment of the patient’s health. A quote by

Dr. Jayne Rauwerda from Alger pediatrics is, “Being a pediatrician has its tasks. In

some situations, it can be overwhelming breaking news to parents. Although it can be a

challenging career, getting to help little love ones is rewarding enough.”

Works Cited
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Bean-Mellinger, Barbara. “Good Primary Skills for Being a Pediatrician.” Chron.com,

Nov. 2016, work.chron.com/good-primary-skills-being-pediatrician-10345.html.

“How to Choose a Pediatrician.” How to Choose a Pediatrician - Pediatricians &

Specialists - Golisano Children's Hospital - University of Rochester Medical

Center, www.urmc.rochester.edu/childrens-hospital/pediatricians-

specialists/choose-pediatrician.aspx.

Levetown, Marcia. “Communicating With Children and Families: From Everyday

Interactions to Skill in Conveying Distressing Information.” Pediatrics, American

Academy of Pediatrics, 1 May 2008,

pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/121/5/e1441.

Sharples, Jonathan M, et al. “Critical Thinking in Healthcare and Education.” The BMJ,

British Medical Journal Publishing Group, 16 May 2017,

www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j2234.

Thompson, E. (2015). Necessary Boundary Crossings in Pediatrics. The

AMA Journal of Ethic, [online] 17(5), pp.461-464. Available at:

http://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/2015/05/msoc1-1505.html.