Comments on Mothers in Medicine: ASS-U-ME

Hi-I am a pregnant medicine resident who is about ...

2009-05-17T20:54:00.000-04:00

Hi-I am a pregnant medicine resident who is about to match in oncology with a physician/military husband-I am so thrilled to find your blog since you address concerns I will have. I am considering withdrawing from the match b/c I want to make family my priority but I love oncology. Do you have any advice for me?
sarahvcolonna@gmail.com

My friend and I had a discussion on the subject of...

2009-05-05T09:50:00.000-04:00

My friend and I had a discussion on the subject of allergies earlier this morning. She has a peanut allergy she developed later in life. Well, it occured to me that since I regularly babysit for her kids, I had better find out what kind of allergies (if any) her kids have.

Its amazing how one little misread on a label can cause so many problems. Its also scary how there are many allergies that go undiagnosed because a person may not have been exposed to a food or medicine which would cause the allergy to surface.

Amen.

2009-04-21T12:07:00.000-04:00

Amen.

What a great post. I am physician mom with a son w...

2009-04-20T20:32:00.000-04:00

What a great post. I am physician mom with a son with a peanut allergy, and this post spoke to my heart and mind more than anything I have ever read. THanks.

I'm a nursing student. I am currently being train...

2009-04-20T01:31:00.000-04:00

I'm a nursing student. I am currently being trained to question EVERYTHING. I hope when I get out into the world, doctors don't feel like I'm being a jerk. I'm just doing what I was trained to do. Case in point: I was testing out on NG tube insertion and removal. Removal comes along and I start getting my stuff ready. Right when I'm about to take it out she asks if I would check if the patient was ready for it to be removed. I had done one thing and she asked what else I would do. She asked if I would just trust the doctor that it can be taken out now or if I would make sure the patient wasn't ganna puke all over me. I definitely don't want to be puked on any more often than I have to be. Great post!

So totally true. I think the most important thing...

2009-04-18T15:50:00.000-04:00

So totally true. I think the most important thing I learned from my last rotation was that if you think something with the patient is off, SAY SOMETHING. Tactfully of course. Fortunately, most of the attendings and residents have been good about listening, though occasionally you get an a**hole who thinks you're too big for your britches if you point this stuff out.

You are right that nobody can assume anything. B...

2009-04-17T20:27:00.000-04:00

You are right that nobody can assume anything.

But you were prepared for the worse. Although this slipped by, you had everything in place to handle the mistake. So things did work out.

The thing to assume is that mistakes will be made. That's why they count those sponges and check that ID bracelet/birthday even when it seems stupid.

I thought the accepted strategy for this kind of situation was for day care/school to have a little supply of treats that you've supplied and when everybody is having the celebration they give your child one of those goodies. It's not quite as fun as having what everybody gets but it beats feeling sick.

I'm so glad he's okay, T. Your nanny sounds really...

2009-04-17T09:07:00.000-04:00

I'm so glad he's okay, T. Your nanny sounds really wonderful and knew just what to do.

But, you're good for the next 4 years, right?

I'm so glad that everything turned out okay with y...

2009-04-17T08:56:00.000-04:00

I'm so glad that everything turned out okay with your son. Thanks for yet another reminder. We've discovered peanut products in orange juice and dairy in asthma medications.

You just never know and can't assume anything.

You're a great mom taking so many precautions. Unexpected things like this happen...to all of us.

Great post, as pertaining to food allergies and in...

2009-04-17T08:11:00.000-04:00

Great post, as pertaining to food allergies and in the medical field.
My son is allergic to wheat, rye, barley, oat, egg, peanut and tree nut. I try never to assume that something is safe, BUT I can think of a handful of times that I've done that. Just last week when we visited the Easter Bunny, they were handing out Safe-T-Pops. He's had those before, but there was no package to check. Were they the SAME Safe-T-Pops? Did manufacturing change? I don't know, but I assumed they were safe (and frankly, I didn't want to say no to a sucker from the Easter Bunny. It just seemed wrong).
I'm glad that your son was fine! Scary though and a great reminder for all of us.
And a great reminder for all of us in every part of the medical field. And as a patient, never assume that the doctors and nurses can read your mind or can remember every detail of your medical history.