Learning to be good with kids

[Funke]

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I really like kids, and I've loved my time shadowing in the pediatric hospitals. Pediatrics will probably be one of my top choices for residency. However, I don't have children myself, nor do I have a younger sibling or anything like that. I'm afraid I wouldn't know what on earth to do with all the kids that are terrified of the doctor, especially if I decided to do primary outpatient peds.

I was wondering if they specifically teach these skills in a pediatrics residency. Surely not all residents are naturals with children. Or is this just something you pick up naturally through the residency?

Also, I was obese as a kid and I remember when my pediatrician, whom we all loved, told my mom we had to do something about it, she got upset and we never went back to him (I know that's completely ridiculous). How do you handle situations like this?

 

[Rutgers06]

They don't really specifically teach those skills in residency, but you definitely learn what works for you through residency because you're seeing so many kids. You also will see how other people interact with kids and can pick up things that work. In terms of upset parents, it's something that you'll definitely deal with. Typically the parents are more upset about the situation rather than at you in particular, so the key is not to take it personally unless you've definitely screwed something up. For the situation you described, the hope is that you've built a good enough relationship with a family to be able to confront them with those issues. If they decide to leave, that's fine, you're not going to be able to please everybody.