Paediatrics (Part 5/5, RETROSPECTIVE POST)

I enjoyed Paediatric Outpatients a lot. I remember where there were a few days where I forgot to take my Medication, yet I was still fully alert and engaging with the Children and Parents without any major Issues.

I had to ask myself why I loved Paediatric Outpatients so much at the time? Being honest with myself, I came up with the following 3 reasons:

1. I was socially isolated and talking to People in Outpatients filled a void in my Social Life (as pathetic as it may sound).

2. I found it easier (less cognitively exhausting) to relate to and communicate with Children than Adults, and the Adults (Parents) seemed easier to please indirectly by me interacting positively with the Children.

3. I felt like a productive Member of the Medical Team, Clerking Patients for the Paediatricians in advance whilst they were busy seeing other Patients (but then again, this could apply to any Medical Specialty if given the opportunity to work at Outpatients).

After finishing the Paediatrics Rotation, I had a weird feeling. Could I possibly be more suited to training in Paediatrics than Pathology (if I stay in Medicine)???

Really, an Aspie working in Clinical Medicine for the long-term? Surely that would burn me out eventually?!

I liked that Children were easier to talk to and were less likely to have complications from lifestyle-related / self-inflicted issues, and that they were more amenable to positive changes. However sometimes, Children's Medical outcomes were impaired from poor Parental Care or Chaotic Environments outside of their own will, which made me really frustrated inside.

Paediatrics is also saturated in Melbourne, so apparently it's hard to collect referrals, but if you're really good at your job, I suppose that may be a non-issue.

Medically, I could see myself having trouble with Procedural Skills on Children, particularly Cannulation and Venepuncture. Their veins are just so small! Physiologically, due to Children's atypical Presentations of various Medical Conditions, especially Infections (like Bacterial Meningitis), I was worried that the high prevalence of Undifferentiated Presentations will increase my Risk of missing something dangerous, or that I want to treat it as something dangerous, but am unable to do so due to restraints in resources (eg limited ED Beds in Emergency, “Not everyone can be given Antibiotics”). The Swiss-Cheese model means that something's got to give eventually, which has lead to cases of Children dying from Bacterial Meningitis in the past → Litigation. I was also told that Parents in Paediatrics are actually very annoying, but they seemed tolerable to me during my Rotation. As a Single Male, along with reasons 1 & 2, I was worried that my Enthusiasm may eventually make me susceptible to being falsely accused of Paedophilia, as is already the case with numerous Male Primary School Teachers in Australia and the UK, hence the current under-representation of Males in that Field.

I suppose Reason 1 could be abolished by having a Social Life outside of Medicine, it's just that I need to put an active effort into it and not let Medicine take over my life like it has in the past. I would like to think that I could be a positive role model for ASD Children, but I might be able to achieve that as a GP instead (shorter Training Path) and still have Patient Contact.

Hmm decisions decisions...