Don’t forget that Pediatrics is about kids
When kids are sick they get sick in very different ways than adults. They have different symptoms, different diseases and they are treated differently.
This should translate into the psychology of pediatrics as well.
All nurses have in their education the science of child development, as part of their pediatric module. How come we then sometimes forget how differently all age groups of kids should be treated.
A 2 year old should not have many choices, but very clear instructions and consequences. A 6 year old most definitely need to be a part of any process involving him/her and be given choices. A teenager is very concerned how his peers might react and how any procedure or image might affect his/ her image.
Child life specialists spend their whole career revolving around child development. Nurses spend the majority of their time at the bedside of the ill pediatric patient. Maybe we should merge the two?
My wish is that we as nurses will remember what we learned in nursing school and incorporate more age appropriate strategies of coping into our pediatric care taking. Let’s bring the Child Life Specialist to the bedside.
Let us remember what it was like to be 2 or 6 or 14 and treat our patients with the professionalism and pediatric angle that is the true magnetic status of a great pediatric nurse and hospital.
Sincerely,
Sofie
Support your child’s immune system
Working in the ER I am frequently asked how I manage to not get sick. Not sure how parents of patients know that fact, but it is true. So I educate them, which is actually just as great a responsibility and job in an ER, just as much as saving lives. We all have an immune system. It builds memory in how to fight germs, which is why we get immunizations (shots) to help trick the immune system into building antibodies (germ fighting memory). So as we are exposed to each germ by getting sick or getting shots, our body remembers how to fight it next time and not get sick from it. That is the reason why babies have to be protected from germs and why toddlers get sick over and over. The baby’s immune system doesn’t have any memory yet and the toddler is building memory after memory. The thing is that some germs change so our bodies don’t know it quite as much any longer. Just as the Trojan horse. So we have to keep our immune system on its toes. There are many books out there on how to avoid germs, but the fact is that there are germs everywhere and if we keep our immune systems healthy and don’t over expose ourselves to germs that cause sickness, then we will almost never get sick. Avoiding germs that gets us sick means washing your hands before you eat, because you never know when you touched a phone or door handle etc with a germ that makes you sick. Or stay away from people who are sick, if you can. Most people do not know that 75% of our immune system is in our gut, so it is very important to the immune system that you and your child eat healthy foods that gives you strength and energy and doesn’t poison the body. Healthy foods are non- processed low sugar foods with high fiber content and healthy fat. A lot of sugar at once stresses the immune system (such as candy, cakes, soda etc) High fiber makes the gut healthy (such as fruits and veggies, brown bread/rice/pasta instead of white) Healthy fat makes the body run smoothly just as oil in a machine (such as avocado, salmon, no cooked olive oil, raw nuts etc) Were as unhealthy fats such as cheese, steak, butter etc does the opposite. Non- processed means from nature…wasn’t made in a factory (try to avoid the isles in the supermarket and shop mainly in the perimeter) And don’t forget a lot of water. It makes everything work quicker and better. There are many recommendations’ out there but a general rule is that you and your child need 1 ounce of water per 2 pounds of bodyweight per day to function at an optimal energetic level. Fruits and vegetables give you the enzymes, vitamins and phytonutrients to help your immune system fight germs, protects all your cells from attacks and can actually help repair damaged DNA. This is why “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is almost true…it just takes a little more than one apple. Actually American Heart association and many other organizations recommend eating 7-13 servings of non-cooked fruits or veggies a day! Just try your best. Besides eating healthy it has also been documented that how you feel actually makes a different in the function of your immune system. So if you or your child is stressed, you might get sick, if you are exposed to an illness causing germ at that time. The good news is also that a well functioning immune system doesn’t only fight germs. It fights cancer cells and doesn’t over react to the body, causing auto immune diseases and allergies etc. So do your child a favor and make them aware what they can do to not get sick. In my attempt to help with this issue I have created a “Good stuff to read” list at www.bastianadventure.com, with lots of books for your child to read on a healthy diet. If you need any suggestions or help, you can always email me at sofie@educasiacorp.com All the best, Sofie
Please Tell Children the Truth
In the ER where I work as a Pediatric RN, we recently opened a new extension. We are currently short staffed and very busy. I have learned over and over again that when nurses are busy, there may not be time to ask pertinent questions and probe into situations.
Still in this stressful environment I used the IV book 4 times in a day for younger kids, keeping in mind that the Bastian Adventure booklets are only used for kids that are not critically ill or panicked already.
Using Bastian’s IV Experience, I was able to insert IV’s without help, even on 4 year old children.
- The parents were very engaged in the process and were flipping through the pages throughout the procedure, referring to what was going to happen next.
- The parents were less anxious, making their child less anxious.
- Parents and child had a reference point to talk about after the procedure, which allowed for the child to process the experience.
- The child had something to take home to their friends and family members showing them how brave they had been and what they went through during their ER stay.
- The children were scared but not anxious anymore and they held still and cooperated throughout the procedure, holding their arm still when asked to etc.
- I gained their trust before the procedure by handing them a book and being truthful with them.
I would like to emphasize to all health professionals and parents out there:
Please give your children the benefit of the doubt when it comes to being truthful with them.
I promise they will live up to your expectations and make you proud. They are capable of understanding much more than you expect. Don’t tell them things will not hurt, when they will. The distrust after the fact is worse than the anxiety and pain during the procedure.
I am so proud of all the little kids that have sat through IV Insertions with me and made their parents proud. They surprise me over and over again and I can feel the thankfulness from them that I told them the truth, knowing that there might be a chance they would panic.
The kids are always scared before medical procedure. But if you tell them the truth and trust that they can handle it, my experience is that they will 90% of the time.
Man always tries to live up to the expectations put to him. That also goes for 2-6 year old children.
My hats off to all the little souls out there that proved this to be true.
With respect and admiration,
- Sofie
Hello,
I wanted to share some of my thoughts and experiences from the 29th Annual Child Life Conference in Chicago.
Kids, families, and pediatric hospital staff would benefit by having a Child Life Specialist with a degree in Child development on staff.
But the fact of the matter is – especially in the ER – this cannot possibly be achieved due to the number of basic medical procedures performed every minute of the day. This is how the Bastian Adventure series fills this gap. As an ER nurse and mother of two young children I know that parents would do anything to help their child in a critical situation if informed and equipped to do so. The Bastian Adventure series is for Child Life specialists and nurses to provide to parents and guardians of young children. This will give families a tool to prepare and connect with their child in a critical and difficult situation. From my own experience working with “Bastian’s IV- Experience” in the ER, parents are now able to help their child during the procedure when given the right understanding, wording and expectations regarding what is happening.
The booklet gives the child a tool to process the IV experience by talking to their parents while flipping through the pages of the book, after the fact.
Bastian Adventures helps the parents and children connect because they now have a ‘toolbox’ and feel capable in taking care of their own children, while freeing valuable staff resources.
That being said, as for any standardized educational materials, it will always be the nurse, radiology techs or Child Life Specialists responsibility to explain what might be different in each patient’s particular circumstance.
What crossed my mind sitting in on a class about medical procedures is that even when a child is prepared properly, we cannot always expect a calm child. Second, we can’t always prepare properly if the child has had previous traumatic experiences and is already anxious.
Then distraction, breathing, and many other excellent Child Life techniques come into play.
With this in mind I have decided to create a page at www.BastianAdventure.com with handy tools for parents AND nurses of techniques to help children that are beyond preparation due to anxiety and/or critical illness.
I would love any comments and suggestions for this site.
This has been my experience in the ER, where the nurses can’t always use the IV book if the situations t are too critical and requires urgent attention or when the child is extremely scared already .
The best use of the Bastian Adventure series and other preparation tools is BEFORE the child becomes so terrified that they panic the minute they step into the hospital.
For one last comment I would like to add what I experienced on the airplane coming back from Chicago, reminding me why I love working with kids.
A little 4 year old girl was standing up in her seat, completely oblivious to the world around her and playing with the over-head air vent. The air would hit her face and she would move her face around in great enjoyment while it blew her hair, drinking it in and in a world of her own imagination. Not caring whatever anyone might be thinking.
My wish is that we could all retain this playfulness and carefree attitude whenever appropriate in life. I am forever grateful for children reminding me of what we could do, if we only dared a little and for bringing out that same playfulness in me when I work with them.
Until next time.
- Sofie
Hi, I’m Sofie!
Welcome to my blog!
As the founder of Educasia Inc. I know it is important to communicate with as many people as possible about the issues affecting our childrens health.
My blog is dedicated to doing just that and I hope I can count on you for feed-back and questions.
A couple of things you may want to know:
1. I am the author of the Bastian Adventure series. These books are illustrated and help explain basic medical procedures to young children.
2. With the help of my marketing team we have created Bastian Adventure.com it’s a great site where you can show your children some of my books and help them understand more about doctors and hospital visits.
Thank you for reading and check back frequently or feel free to subscribe to my RSS feed.
- Sofie
