help with peds

[DrFeelgoodMD]

Hey guys,

I am a premed student who just started my first day volunteering in a peds clinic and after the day was done the doc told me that he would show me how to do exams on the patients for a few weeks and then allow me to do them on my own before he comes into the room. This feels really exciting but I am also very nervous....do any of you have tips or some words or wisdoms on how to go about this to be thorough and efficient?

Thanks

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[Pox in a box]

Hey guys,

I am a premed student who just started my first day volunteering in a peds clinic and after the day was done the doc told me that he would show me how to do exams on the patients for a few weeks and then allow me to do them on my own before he comes into the room. This feels really exciting but I am also very nervous....do any of you have tips or some words or wisdoms on how to go about this to be thorough and efficient?

Thanks

How is this "volunteering"?

 

[DrFeelgoodMD]

it is volunteering because i chose to get some more clinical experience and the doc was nice enough to give me an opportunity to shadow him. He saw that I was a quick learner and asked if I would be ineterested in seeing the patients before he comes in once he has shown me how to go about doing it. I accepted and here I am asking for some advice since it sort of goes along the lines of a clinical rotation.

Plus, I am not getting paid (not that I care).

 

[pillowhead]

Hey guys,

I am a premed student who just started my first day volunteering in a peds clinic and after the day was done the doc told me that he would show me how to do exams on the patients for a few weeks and then allow me to do them on my own before he comes into the room. This feels really exciting but I am also very nervous....do any of you have tips or some words or wisdoms on how to go about this to be thorough and efficient?

Thanks

At this point in the game, try to see lots of healthy kids and focus on what's normal. It's hard to know what's abnormal until you have mastered what's normal in the first place! I think there's a tendency for all students to rush into trying to pick up pathology, but a general pediatrics practice is a great time just to get a feel for what's normal since so many perfectly healthy kids will come in.

Every time you do find an abnormal finding, try to read just a little something about it, even if it's only on webmd.com or something real short and simple. Nothing high tech (you likely won't understand anything too high tech at this point in your education anyway.)

Just tell the parents you're a pre-med student and ask if it's okay to examine their kids. Most of them will be fine with it. Just make sure you don't try to answer any of their questions when you don't know the answer!

Remember to have fun! Babies won't break as long as you don't try to break them! Bring along stickers for the older kids and try to be funny

 

[Pox in a box]

it is volunteering because i chose to get some more clinical experience and the doc was nice enough to give me an opportunity to shadow him. He saw that I was a quick learner and asked if I would be ineterested in seeing the patients before he comes in once he has shown me how to go about doing it. I accepted and here I am asking for some advice since it sort of goes along the lines of a clinical rotation.

Plus, I am not getting paid (not that I care).

This sounds like shadowing, not volunteering. By volunteering, you imply you are giving a service or doing some good out of free generosity. Your experience sounds like a great learning opportunity and may very well help your physical exam skills. The only reason I'm commenting that it doesn't sound like typical "volunteer work" and your medical school interviewer may find this same distinction. Congrats on getting such a sweet preceptorship. This doc must how a lot of faith and trust in you. This experience should serve you well.

 

[DrFeelgoodMD]

one more thing...today he told me it would be wise for me to invest in a stethoscope which would be a helpful learning utensil and advised me to checkout the littmann's classic II....i checked it out but there was an adult one and a peds one....does it matter which one i get? (I am guessing it does since but just wanted to be sure... )

Thanks

 

[randomlogik]

one more thing...today he told me it would be wise for me to invest in a stethoscope which would be a helpful learning utensil and advised me to checkout the littmann's classic II....i checked it out but there was an adult one and a peds one....does it matter which one i get? (I am guessing it does since but just wanted to be sure... )

Thanks

I would suggest waiting till you get to med school since you can get a discount through school. If you must get one now though, I would pick the adult one. Only a small amount of time in med school is spent examing children.

 

[Pox in a box]

one more thing...today he told me it would be wise for me to invest in a stethoscope which would be a helpful learning utensil and advised me to checkout the littmann's classic II....i checked it out but there was an adult one and a peds one....does it matter which one i get? (I am guessing it does since but just wanted to be sure... )

Thanks

Even a lot of pediatricians use the adult stethoscopes. A favorite at my school is the Littmann Cardiology III.

 

[Samoa]

I don't see any reason why you can't buy one now. But if you do, either get something cheap with the understanding that you'll get a better one later when it's more appropriate for your stage of training, or invest in one now that you'll use in med school and beyond.

The scopes doctors use are generally either Littman Cardio III, Littman Master Cardio, or Welch Allyn Harvey.

Littman Cardio III has an adult diaphragm on one side, and a pedi diaphragm on the other. No bell, but you can convert the pedi side to a bell if you want.

Littman Master Cardio has a very klunky-looking pediatric adapter. No bell, but supposedly you can convert it into a bell by pressing on the chestpiece.

Welch Allyn's Harvey has a detachable diaphragm (you just unscrew it from the chestpiece) and a detachable non-chill bell rim. It comes with a pedi diaphragm that replaces the adult diaphragm, and a pedi bell rim that replaces the adult one as well.

You do still see the occasional person with a Littman Classic II, but I found it harder to learn with that one because everything's a bit fainter and less distinct. But nobody's going to expect a pre-med student to detect anything more subtle than a heart rate that's too fast, too slow, or irregular. So the Classic II will work just fine for you.

 

[DrFeelgoodMD]

thanks guys!

 

[nabeya]

If there is anything you should learn while spending some time in peds, is to learn and master looking in kids ears (especially those less than a year) to differentiate a normal looking tympanic membrane and inflammed/infected. Thats something that was difficult for me to start picking up.

thanks guys!