Ten Things About Pediatrics

The Year Level 5: ICC Year blog posts - stories and anecdotes, patient encounters and hospital drama, and the many colors of UP med school from the perspective of a third year. Here's the thirteenth entry, under our four-week rotation in the Department of Pediatrics.

  

1. On our last day in Pedia, this fat baby! I loved, loved, loved this little human bubble. He was my favorite patient, but then I didn't really like most of the kids that we handled to begin with.

2. We had an 18-day rotation, compared to 20 for other blocks. The last Friday was declared a non-working holiday, and we were so grateful to China. Below, the exhibit made by UP Meridian, the official Chinese-Filipino students' organization of the College of Medicine.

3. Two Pedia ER duties (1PM-4AM). Both benign but high-yield. Both with leisurely one-hour dinner breaks. Both involving a lot - A LOT - of kids from the bawling academy. Also, for both nights, the brother gave us food. Below, C fulfilling a fangirl fantasy.

 

4. Slept at T's bachelor pad after the second duty. Didn't really get much sleep; we were up at 6 photographing the sunrise. 

5. In relation to #4, notice the weird massive wall of cloud that graced said morning. For strangers, red-roofed structures on the foreground comprise the Philippine General Hospital complex.

6. Here's another view of said wall of cloud, but let me take this opportunity to rant about one of the worst preceptorials I've ever had. It involved Dr. A., former chancellor of UP Manila. This was what happened: He was an hour late for our 10AM precepts. He spent the next hour discussing measles and dengue fever, even though our case was atopic dermatitis. Then, furious knocks on the door. Patient's mother asked to be sent home after having wasted the entire morning in the hospital. "It's fine with us if you don't check my baby," she said. Dr. A. (to us): Just tell the patient to buy a solution with moisturizer. We were aghast, of course. What solution? What moisturizer? And the worst part was: He didn't even personally see the baby.

7. Project Pie after one of our duties. Here is the photo of the best pizza ever made - mozzarella, gorgonzola, feta, ricotta, cheddar, anchovies, pepperoni, olives, sun-dried tomatoes. And why is everyone in the EDSA (near Mall of Asia) branch desperately trying to perfect an American accent?

8. As mentioned in the previous post, went home for Dinagyang. Mangrove is thriving by the River!

9. Two more photos of the glorious Iloilo City sunrise from the Iloilo River Esplanade.

10. There was basically a lot of waiting involved. This was not a clean rotation. The schedule changed everyday. Consultants were late most of the time. And so, people were either playing with sick babies or taking advantage of free Wi-Fi in the library.

Notice how this post is not much concerned with the intricacies of the pediatrics rotation. What rotation? Also, that this post is more than a week late must mean something. (We just finished our first week in Surgery.)