In case you didn't know, Steph loves the kids! lol :-)

Happy Friday everyone!

It's almost the weekend. Yay! Any plans? Anyways, recently, I had the pleasure of working alongside the staff in the Pediatric G.I. Suite. How cool is that? lol :-) Side note: I love working w/ kids. There's just something about working w/ children that brings me joy. Perhaps it's the child like spirit inside of me that I haven't fully grown out of yet. What can I say? I'm kinda like a big kid! lol. Nevertheless, the following posts will be a recount of my experiences in the Pediatric G.I. Suite. Caution: This post is not suitable for those who dislike kids and all their mannerisms (e.g. crying, picking your nose while your asleep, running around...causing all kinds of ruckus and so on and so forth). For everyone else, enjoy the show!

0830 As I approached the door of the Pediatric Unit, there were several thoughts that were going through my mind (e.g. How many patients will there be? What's the health care team like? Are they nice? Will they embrace me as a member of their team rather than as a student? What kind of procedures am I going to see today? Who's the attending physician for today? and so on and so forth).


Where the fun happens...

Apparently, I must have been anxious b/c I usually don't think so much in the morning. I usually go w/ flow, lol. Over the years, I've learned that in medicine there's really no need to over analyze situations all the time. The reason being that, often times, the answer to whatever you're trying to figure out (in regards to a client of course, lol) will reveal itself based on objective and subjective data. With that being said, looking from an outsiders view, I noticed that I was simply over exaggerating and that everything will be fine. Therefore, I went into the Peds Unit w/ an open mind and a willingness to learn. I figure you can't go wrong w/ an attitude like that, lol. Needless to say, I was right.


The Unit


Client Room

Anyways, the nursing staff was really nice. They really embraced me and my fellow colleague w/ open arms. They showed us the ropes and oriented us to the unit and what it is that they do (which was really cool). The day began slow. For the first hour and a half, me and my P.I.C. (Partner In Crime, lol) were taking vitals, heights, and weights on clients.

Action photos:





We were told that there would be 6 clients today(3 inpatient, 3 outpatient). In addition, there was a possibility that there would be an influx of clients from the trauma migrating to the unit due to lack of beds. With that being said, it was going to be a fun day as they say. More clients, more problems...What can I say? It's another day in the life. Nevertheless, I was up to the challenge. For some reason, I really flourish when I'm placed in an emergency setting. It keeps me on my toes therefore the influx of patients didn't bother me. I figured it would be a chance to perfect my skills. Ya digg?!

The procedures began at about 10 am. The first client was a toddler around 3 or 4 who was coming in for an upper G.I. endoscopy. Upper GI endoscopy is a procedure that uses a lighted, flexible endoscope to see inside the upper GI tract. The upper GI tract includes the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum—the first part of the small intestine. The reasons for having the procedure was the client was experiencing abdominal pain and gastric reflux. With this procedure, the physician will be able to find out what was the cause behind these symptoms. The attending physician was Dr. Tanno (which is a great gastroenterologist). Pretty much what Dr. Tanno did was carefully feed an endoscope down the esophagus and into the stomach and duodenum. A small camera was mounted on the endoscope which transmits a video image to a video monitor, allowing close examination of the intestinal lining. Air is pumped through the endoscope to inflate the stomach and duodenum, making them easier to see. Special tools that slide through the endoscope allow the doctor to perform biopsies, stop bleeding, and remove abnormal growths.



In the case w/ this client he extracted a few specimens for lab studies. The procedure lasted about 5-10 minutes. The only abnormality was that the client's lower esophageal sphincter had not developed yet. Besides that, the procedure was a success. The client tolerated it well.

The second procedure was rather interesting. It was a client who came in b/c he swallowed a quarter. The kid was like freakin' 13 y.o. Who does that? There must have been some psychological thing going on there if you ask me, lol. Nevertheless, the doctor had to go in and remove the quarter (e.g. a endoscopy w/ a biopsy). The procedure lasted about 10 mins or so. Overall, the procedure went smoothly. The patient tolerated it well. The main thing w/ this client was to emphasize patient education and to emphasize the importance of not swallowing foreign bodies. I tell you... There's never a dull moment in medicine. Who would have thought we had a Baby Huey on our hands? lol (inside joke).



End note:

My experiences in the Pediatric G.I. Suite were indeed a memorable one. Never in a million years would I have thought big kid (almost a teenager) would be swallowing quarters. That concept just baffles me but hey, you learn and/or see something new everyday lol. Before, I conclude this message I just want to give a special shout out to Dr. Tanno and the nursing staff in the Pediatric G.I. Suite. They were awesome and I really learned alot from them. With that being said, I conclude this post. Feel free to share your thoughts and/or leave any comments you may have. I'd love to hear from you. Have a wonderful day! Take care. Peace, Love, and God Bless. This is 'thedoc' and I'm signing out. 1.