What i've learned from Paediatric posting

I cant imagine that i am now entering the second week of my Paediatric posting. I realized that working in a Paeds ward is slightly different from other medical wards.In fact I think i 've learned some new experiences although it just a first week in the paediatric(kid specialist) in the hospital. In paediatric ward i can see many "worried" face from the parents, i saw parents that taking care their kids during the stay in the hospital. Some never even go home since the first day of their kid admission. Spending time taking care of them, watching them sleeping, playing with them, feeding them, help them bath, talking with them while they are bored, console them while they are crying. For those kids who are having high grade fever, the parent keeps on wipping their kid's body with wet towel to bring down their temperature. The paediatric ward in the hospital is actually full of beds. I think there will be at least 30-40 beds in a ward. Each day there will be around 30+ kid patients staying in the ward. Just imagine if each of the child was accompanied by 1 of their parent, there will be 60 people crowded in the ward! BEAR in mind that doctors and nurses still not yet included. Most of the parents spent their night sleep in a sitting postition on a chair, in such a hot and crowded environment. The high temperature in paeds ward also due to limited fans. Just imagine a ceiling fans shared by 6 beds, i cant imagine how can they sleep through their nights. Probably some sweat profusely while sleeping. Some even sleep less than 1 hour because the babies keep on crying during the night. While i was clerking case in the ward, i saw some parents walking towards the bathroom with hand holding towel and their clean clothes. I only realized that the parents even bath, eat and sleep in the hospital. It just like their second home now. They will keep on staying until their kid can be discharged from the hospital. Every morning i went to the paeds ward, i can see the parent's face looks more tired day by day.


What really touches me the most is how the parent sacrifice their time and energy taking care of their sick child. In fact, when the kids recovered and can be discharged, they are the most happy person in the world at that moment. All the tiring and worrying look on their face dissapeared spontaneously. What a magic~ Everything when a doctor checking on the kid, the first they will was: " Doctor, how is my baby/son/daughter doing? Taking care of a sick child is the most suffering and most tiring job in the world. They not only feel "ache" within their heart because they are watching their kids crying for pain and suffering. They spent sleepless nights in the hospital for days or weeks. Yet they never complain anything about it. What they hope is their kid can go home healthy. Nothing more.....


Sadly, when you visit Geriatric ward where all the sick old people stay in the hospital. They cant go to the bathroom themselves. They cant even hold the spoon nicely while eating. Their cough interupt most of their sleeping time at night, joint and muscle pain, shortness of breath, their health deteriorates day by day.Who is the one that bring them to bathroom? who is the one that bath them? who is the one feed them during lunch or dinner? who is the one patting their back when they are coughing out thier heart? who is the one talking to them while they are lonely? Sadly, is either the nurse or the maid. Where are their children?? MIA. Although i do see some of their children spending time taking care of them all the time, but majority of them......still MIA. I believe that during their stay in the hospital, the person they hope to see the most, the person they miss, the person they wanted to talk more before they leave the world, the person they want to see during the last few minutes of their life..is definetely their children. Sometimes, we really forgot how much our parent have sacrified for us while we are still dependent on them. I think is good that all of us start loving them back the way they love us, although we can never pay back the amount of their love and sacrifices for us. Because it is priceless.



You were always there to help me
You were always there to guide me
You were always there to laugh with me
You were always there to cry with me
But most important you were always there to love me and
I want to assure you that
I am always hereto love you.

-Poem by Susan Polis Schutz