Lots of teeny, tiny, kick-ass procedures...kind of

I have started my pedi rotation and so far I like it and not just in the it's-not-psych way - I actually like it. I will go as far as to say that if this midwifery thing doesn't work out I would seriously consider becoming a Pedicatric Nurse Practitioner. The floor I am on is the oncology and respiratory care unit which involve a lot of really sad cases, but somehow it doesn't feel really sad - not like the adult floors.

Ironically, my first patient for clinical was 20 years old. 20? Yes, I was confused too. And she was not there because all of the adult beds were full so she had just ended up in the Children's Hospital like what happened to a certain someone after a certain car accident. She has a relapse of a cancer she was diagnosed with when she was 16 - so for continuum of care purposes, they still consider her a pedi patient. The chemotherapy was pretty overwhelming because a) the quantity of it, b) the complicated dosage and timing schedule, and c) you have to be a certified chemo nurse in order to even be able to touch the bags. The kids are pretty amazing and, unfortunately, so used to it that they are actually great teachers. They are about to tell us what the beeping means and what button to push in order to stop it, what needs to be done with their IV, and will remind you of when you need to retake their blood pressure.

So far pedi has been easier emotionally than both med-surg and psych. A lot of my classmates are having a harder time because a sick child seems so much worse than a sick adult, but for some reason I find it easier to work with a child who is being pumped full of chemicals that are so toxic I am not allowed to touch the container it's in rather than a dying 85 yr old. Grown ups scare me - kids don't.