February 23, 2009

Toddler Makes Friends with the Doctor

This was a great day and a great visit.

I had my first visit with a 16-month-old girl today. Her mother interviewed me a week or so ago. When her mother called today, I told her that I was surprised I passed the audition.

I didn't think she'd pick me as she looked for her new pediatrician. My practice is very grounded in practical science, and in general I am reluctant to intervene unless necessary. This is a luxury of good access to the physician and a willingness to see patients whenever they need it. It's a luxury of good follow-up. So I don't routinely give a prescription to every kid with a cold. This parent liked that, but I know she would have preferred a doctor who was ambivalent about vaccination but a cheerleader for something more alternative. It took a lot of humility for her to return to me with her child when it would have been easy to find a practitioner here in Berkeley who could meet every litmus test for alternative medicine. But her daughter had a cough for a few days. When she called, I suggested she bring her daughter in today.

During the interview last week, the girl was exploring the toys I have in the office. They are there for a reason, after all. She was reluctant at first, and didn't know what to make of the balding giant with the tie. It is an anxiety-provoking situation at her age. I saw she was not comfortable, so I took the basket of stuffed animals, turned it over, and let them all fall into a big pile on the floor. I laughed when this happened.

Today it was the first thing she did. She knew just where to go and didn't ask permission. She picked up the fabric basket and dumped out all the stuffed animals. She really laughed. Then she put the basket over her head. For the first 10 minutes or so, I sat on the floor and did silly things with her. When her mom and I were talking, she would sometimes seem bored, so I got up and fetched her a new toy from another room. Her mother looked a little concerned when the floor was covered with toys. I reassured her that this is exactly what will help the child be comfortable.

Eventually, of course, it was time for the exam. As I approached, the child backed away into mom's lap. I kept talking to her in a soft voice. I offered her my stethoscope to handle and check out, just to make sure it was OK and nonthreatening. I picked up a stuffed dinosaur. First I listened to the dinosaur, then her mother's leg, then the dinosaur. Back and forth right in front of her just to show that neither her mother nor the dinosaur minded even one bit. Back and forth she followed the movement as if she were watching a tennis match. Then I made a quick stop on her chest--just for a moment--and then back to the dinosaur. Then a longer pause on her right chest, dinosaur, left chest, dinosaur, right back, dinosaur, left back. I took off the stethoscope and handed it to her. She gave a big smile and put it on her ears. I took out my little otoscope and handed it to her. She knew right away! She put it in her own ears and I held on briefly to give myself a quick view. By this time she was laughing a lot and I as able to use one of those opportunities to get a good look at her throat. I felt her neck and we were done.

That was the first time in her life, her mother said, that she ever had a doctor visit in which she wasn't screaming throughout. Her mother said she'd start screaming when they approached the doctor's building.

I've seen doctors examine children who are screaming. Sometimes that's what has to be done and there's no way around it. But I've never met the 1 to 3-year-old who lets a non-parent adult get right into their space and poke around the way a doctor does. I have sometimes read exam notes that say that a kid's heart sounds were normal or their lungs were normal when the only exam was while the child was terrified and wailing. It takes practice and patience, and both only come when the doctor is willing to take the time to let the child come to him.

Medically, a child's uncooperative demeanor is a potentially serious confounder of physical exam findings. Crucial and subtle observations, such as sounds of the heart and lungs and abdomen, are easily eclipsed by the glare of screaming. Indeed, the gestalt of the child is an essential observation of the skilled examiner (ie does the child look sick?). Is the child in distress from the illness or from the situation? The good doctor needs to know these things and figures out how to get the information needed. It may look like play, but I take it very seriously and work very hard at it.

Just as with adults, some kids are a lot more anxious than others. But just as with adults, it's a lot less stressful to have a doctor you like. I believe that this results in better care. The exams are better, the communication is better. Even the communication between 16-month-old and pediatrician.

The kid had a cold, I thought. No need for medicine, I told the mother. Some home-made nose drops might help with the congestion. Nothing for the cough unless it gets to be a problem. And of course, call me anytime if you're worried or if she's not better in a few days. The only time the child was upset was when she was leaving. Her mom and I agreed to make another playdate soon.



The photograph: photographer Arnold Eagle is most famous for documenting the Lower East Side, a tenement area of New York City. In the 1930's he took a series of photographs he called One Third of a Nation, referring to children living in poverty. He made up a book from the prints of this series, and gave it to his wife as a gift. There are no other copies beyond the one that was in my collection.

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Please let me know what you think. Do you know a child or situation like this?