Pediatrics , caring with love, supplemented with nutrition. The cries of sick children are like the cries of their parents. Caring for sick children therefore requires dedication, attention, and support to help children get through the point of suffering. Caring and attention, solving problems through prevention, both creating good health for children and managing good nutrition, will make children strong and not have to be sick children again.
From the previous episode, the admin took everyone into the world of urgency, where even a minute cannot be delayed, such as the Accident and Emergency Center, which the name already tells you how urgent it is. Plus, they are divided into teams to work urgently and completely and quickly. From now on, we probably won’t wonder what they’re doing when we go to the hospital and see doctors, nurses, and all the staff running around.
After traveling far with the general story of patients, today it’s our little kids’ turn. The reason I have to be so specific is because now I’m going to introduce everyone to a department that specifically deals with children, the Pediatrics and Nutrition Clinic, which has medical personnel who love children such as Ms. Kananan Phontan, Head of Pediatrics Nursing, Ms. Kanokwan Buacham, Special Pediatrics Nursing, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sukravarn Inthrakhao, Head of Pediatrics, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Patcharapa Thaweekul, Lecturer (Doctor) of Pediatrics, Chudamas Thonglim, Nutrition Specialist, Nutrition, and Lieutenant Commander Wanna Chansawat, Head of Special Pediatrics Nursing, Thammasat University Hospital, to introduce us today.
“Pediatrician”
Pediatricians or pediatricians In addition to treating children in general, this section also has pediatricians who take care of children’s diseases in a specialized manner. What is outstanding about Thammasat University Hospital is that it has an allergy center, child nutrition, treatment of respiratory diseases, digestive system, heart disease, and within the next year, there will be a child and adolescent development center as well, which is what makes the child service better and more comprehensive. It also gives more importance to the group of teenagers.
“The Role of Nutritionists”
Being a clinical dietitian will involve planning and providing knowledge about nutrition and diet therapy to patients, which must be planned in relation to the disease and condition of the patient. The service is in terms of providing advice on nutritional problems, such as obese patients who need to lose weight, how to plan their meals in order to lose weight safely, or pediatric patients who are both malnourished and overnourished.
- Malnutrition is the lack of nutrients or insufficient nutrition. Children are difficult to eat, have problems with eating since childhood, which affects the child’s growth, such as being too thin or abnormally short.
- Malnutrition is when children are obese. It comes down to weight loss and adjusting food to be appropriate for their age.
“Nutrition is not the root cause of disease, but it is a component that causes disease.”
Nutrition is a component of many diseases. It may not be the precursor to disease itself, but it is a component or a consequence of disease. Nutrition can be divided into two types.
- Prevention Preventing children from getting sick or becoming malnourished, such as in Healthy Children Clinic, where children come for vaccinations and receive advice on eating properly according to nutritional principles.
- Treatment Some children do not seem to have any problems when we look at them from the outside, but they have eating problems due to their abnormal lifestyle, causing them to be overweight or underweight.
“Half of them are obese children because they eat too much.”
Before COVID-19, the problem that Thailand faced, similar to other countries, was that the number of obese children increased, while there were still thin children. However, it has improved from previous years, so malnutrition caused by lack of nutrients has decreased. Most children who come for treatment and are obese are obese because they eat a lot and do not exercise. There are very few who are obese for other reasons.
“Adjusting from the parents, which is the starting point, will improve everyone’s nutrition.”
Nutrition is one of the four basic human factors. It is something that humans must use to survive. In fact, it is like medicine. If you don’t want to get sick or have to go to the hospital often, you have to adjust your nutrition. Nutrition starts when a mother is pregnant. It affects children, teenagers, and adults. If we tell children to maintain good nutrition when their parents can’t do it, it won’t be effective. Therefore, adjustments should start from parents. Then everyone’s nutrition can really improve.
When COVID-19 came
Screening from initial symptoms has become a very important step. In the past, the OPD did not have a separate treatment area. All children who came for treatment would be together here. But with COVID-19, separate examination rooms were required. There were both patients with respiratory symptoms or fever, and normal patients who received general examinations. In addition, the hospital system separates groups of children with a clear history of COVID-19 risk into groups with those at clear risk of infection, which is a large department of the hospital. Therefore, in the children’s OPD, patients with symptoms or at risk of infection will not be allowed into this section. However, for the peace of mind of children and parents, separate examination rooms were provided in the OPD, maintaining distance, and additionally screening children who came for treatment.
“The child can’t tell where he’s feeling unwell?”
The important thing in the pediatrics department is to accept that children’s expressions are natural. Most doctors who come to take care of this will accept and understand children’s nature and already love children. If we understand children’s development, their crying when they are sick, their laughing when they are happy and their yawning when they are sleepy, we will be able to understand what they want to communicate even though children cannot tell their symptoms.
“Dealing with child pity”
Choosing to work in the pediatric department requires at least a heart that loves children because when we love children, we will understand their nature and it will show itself through our actions, eyes, and concern. In the beginning, children will be disinclined to accept and distrust nurses. Therefore, we must find a way to play with children in order for them to trust us. This may involve telling stories, communicating, or playing games to make them feel comfortable being with us and accepting our treatment.
“Remember that every child is like the heart of their parents.”
When providing services, always remember that every child has a father and a mother, and is like the heart of the child. You must be attentive, meticulous, and require higher nursing skills when compared to nursing adults. They are bigger, so they have bigger organs. Childrกมารเวชกรรมen have organs that are like miniature versions of adults, such as smaller blood vessels, so drawing blood requires higher skills and more experience.
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Dealing with parental concerns is something that is done every time, not just during COVID-19. Providing information is the most important part. Parents must be confident in bringing their children for treatment. Doctors, nurses, and all personnel must be able to provide information to ease concerns. There must be a preliminary screening for illnesses. Most importantly, they must have the knowledge and ability to pass on this knowledge to parents to create more confidence for parents to be able to return to take care of their children by themselves.
Conclusion
As we have seen, the roles of pediatricians and nutritionists, even though it is said that this episode is about children, it is not as childish as you think. Even the solution to the problem of children’s nutritional deficiencies or excesses starts with the family. If there is a family that takes good care of their food, the children will also be healthy. Because you can’t imagine how the parents can tell their children about the taste of vegetables if they don’t eat vegetables. This also includes the general treatment of children, which doctors and nurses must take care of and cover the parents’ feelings. It is not easy, right? They intend to provide the best care because they do it from the heart. These things are clearly shown. Just a small thank you from a child or a sincere thank you from a parent can help brighten up their day.
“It is a joy to see children recover from their illness. They will be cheerful and able to play normally again.”
Pediatrics: Caring with love, supplemented with nutrition | Thammasat University Hospital
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