♥ Saying Goodbye to Paediatrics with a heavy heart.. ♥

As i walked out of the paediatric ward yesterday after work, my heart was heavy and filled with sadness.. It was my last day in paediatrics. Yesterday was a day with mixed feelings. Part of me was happy and relieved that i finally finished the posting succesfully without getting extended but part of me was reluctant to leave the department where it has been a comfort zone for me now.

I still remembered when i first entered paediatrics, i was so lost and blur. Was pretty lucky to start my posting in Ward 7D, where the workload was not that much and sometimes HO even outnumbered the patients ;p.. Started learning how to clerk and manage cases like Dengue and AGE; calculating urine output, assessing hydration status and calculating fluid requirements became day in day out jobs. Was sweating away and struggling with the kid first time i inserted a branula in a child.

Then had to deal with neonates which is totally new for me in terms of examination and diagnosis because neonatal peadriatrics wasn't a main focus back then in medical school. Handling a neonate case can be pretty scary actually. I will have palpitation everytime a baby comes in with high VSB level; will pray hard that i get the blood fast and send it down stat, and inform the MO as soon as possible.. Or when a newborn comes in tachypnoeic and saturation does not pick up, i will be super worried too.. But taking blood with a blue needle and drop method is quite an eye opener and it's fun when u get it=)

Being in paediatrics actually brought me a roller coaster of emotions. Kids can be very cute and seeing them smile and playing around can just make your day better, especially when you see them improve day by day. But at times, it can be rather annoying, especially when all babies cry at the same time like an orchestra in the neonatal ward when it comes to feeding time.. or when they become so fretful during examination. But i can understand why.. it's because we keep poking them with needles and everytime they see us, we are just like scary monsters that will harm them; crying is their only weapon and defence mechanism towards us..haha=p.. Seeing sick kids can also be rather depressing, especially seeing those babies in NICU and how their parents must have felt so helpless seeing their baby that way, it just makes my heart ache.. or when a child needs prolonged hospital stay and isolation and he keeps asking me when he can go home and go to school, i feel so sorry for him because he is deprived of the normal and happy life that a child at his age should have. The sight of child dying in front of your eyes and the mother weeping beside the child is always painful to watch.

4 months of being in the department, i had my share of ups and down but i think i am pretty lucky because most of my memories were good ones. The workload might be overwhelming at times but the team and people you work with will make all the difference. I am glad to work with a group of nice specialist who has always been my great teachers. I am happy to have nice MOs around where i can call for help or consult when i need. I am lucky to have a group of nice colleagues who were ever helpful and seniors who offer me good advice. I am thankful to have nice nurses who will offer to help when i fail to set a line or trace the results for me when i am having a busy day. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

It's very satisfying when u manage a patient and when your MO or specialist sees the patient, they just say " continue as planned" because you know you have made the right decision. It is also very happy and excited when u see backflow of blood through the blue needle or when u get to flush the branula without fail because you know that you've succeeded in taking blood and setting the line. It's also very honoured to have 4 MO telling you at different times on the same day that you did a very good presentation. I believe that God was with me every step of the way because i have encountered miracles when things seem so impossible; like how i needed to perform an SPA and i was lucky enough to get one during my oncall day, or how i manage to get 2 LP just within 2 days when i desperately need one.

I am going to medical next, one of the posting i dread the most because of the workload and the ward's condition, but i know God has everything planned out for me and there is a reason why the next one he wants me to go is medical. One of my MO once told me:

You will learn something in each posting.

In Paediatrics, you learn to be Responsible,

In Medical, you learn to be Hardworking

In Surgical, you learn Teamwork

In O & G, you learn to Document well

In Ortho, you learn to be Independent

In A & E, you learn to be Confident

Take everything from each posting and you will be a good doctor.

It is very inspiring and i will definitely remember this good advice. My ward specialist asked me on my last day " What would you tell others about paeds?'" and my answer was " I will miss paeds" and i really mean it. I will be missing Paeds and everyone in the department a lot!! Thank you for the wonderful memories and experience. Do remember me too!! =) ♥♥♥