Posts Tagged ‘pediatrics’

October 5th, 2017

An Old Procedure, A New Beginning

“My heart hurts,” said Brooklyn, then three years old, as she grabbed her chest and sat down. Quickly checking the girl over, Brooklyn’s parents felt her heart indeed pounding in her chest, and took her to the emergency department. There, they were shocked to hear that their daughter was in cardiac arrest. Shortly afterward, Brooklyn […]


September 1st, 2017

Obesity Counseling: Getting Real

“Your BMI puts you in the obese category. You need to limit weight gain to 10 pounds this pregnancy.” As the obstetrician’s words sunk in, I was overcome with embarrassment. Sure, I knew I was overweight, but I was pregnant. And according to my BMI, I have been “obese” for years. But this was the first […]


July 26th, 2017

When a Child Receives Care at a non-Children’s Hospital

In a recent post, I wrote about my niece’s episode of appendicitis. Another part of that story relates to her post-op course. When my sister first called asking my advice on whether or not her daughter needed to be treated, I didn’t specify where she should take her. She ended up going to a general […]


June 9th, 2017

How Giving Friends and Family Medical Advice Made Me Sick

The other night, my sister called me asking if she should take my niece to the emergency department.  She had been complaining of abdominal pain with on-and-off vomiting and diarrhea for a couple days.  According to my sister, she had gotten to the point where the pain was unbearable. I quickly ran through my niece’s […]


April 27th, 2017

Getting Worked Up Over Kids’ Fevers

Few things worry a mother more than a baby with a fever. With my own girls, I am naturally uneasy and do not like when they have fevers, even though as a health care provider I know that fevers are natural. But it wasn’t until my three-year-old started having chronic fevers that I realized how […]


April 4th, 2017

Of Little Hearts and Little Teeth

Recently, I had to cancel a child’s heart surgery because she had multiple cavities. I recall spending close to an hour explaining the surgical process and obtaining a complete history and physical only to then discover obvious caries on multiple teeth during an oral exam. Turning to the parents, I asked when their daughter had last […]


November 30th, 2016

A Colicky Conundrum

After my first baby, I always said that my second one was bound to be clingy, colicky, and skinny, as my first daughter was fat and happy. Aside from a few bursts of crying between 4 and 6 weeks of age, she was the perfect baby. My second daughter is now 3.5 months old. When she […]


September 29th, 2016

Why I No Longer Tolerate Anti-Vaxxers

One may ask why I am all of a sudden fixated on vaccines. I have always been a pro-vaxxer. In graduate school, I once prided myself for talking a whole family into getting vaccines. And I certainly have always promoted vaccines when practicing. But I used to think that the decision to vaccinate, although important, was […]


NP/PA Bloggers

NP/PA Bloggers

Elizabeth Donahue, RN, MSN, NP‑C
Alexandra Godfrey, BSc PT, MS PA‑C
Emily F. Moore, RN, MSN, CPNP‑PC, CCRN

Advanced practice clinicians treating patients in a variety of settings and specialties

Learn more about In Practice: Reflections from NPs and PAs.