Saba Fatima is a pediatric hospitalist.
I was standing outside the patient room, feeling slightly restless that day. A few days ago, I had just received some news from my doctor that I was not expecting. My mind sifted through the various possibilities and directions this could take me. When will I get to see my doctor to discuss this? What does this mean? As my brain was walking through the various unknowns, my physical body …
“Your child should always sleep on the back, by themselves, in their crib, bassinet, or pack and play with no stuffed toys or loose blankets.”
These words are ringing in my ears as I put my newborn baby in the bassinet for the millionth time, only to get a shrill cry in return. She screams and screams as tears roll down my exhausted face, just hoping to get an hour of …
I held back my tears as I headed home that day from work. A sense of impending doom and fear of the future was clutching my heart, something like I have never experienced before. For the first time in my medical career, my mind was preoccupied with thoughts about my own safety and how it could be at stake. What had started off as a regular day at work, had …
I did my medical school training in a country where I saw many children die every day from preventable illnesses. Measles, diarrhea, and malnutrition were the norm. I still have vivid memories of a young child dying in my arms of severe diarrhea and dehydration. He had so much to see in this world. We had limited resources to help him. Those poor parents did not have access to clean …
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” I see their eyes light up as they smile, and get prepared to answer this very important question. For some of them, it is the only smile I have seen during the entire visit. And for me that makes the entire visit worth it.
I move my eyes away from the computer and solely focus on their face as I hear …
Two months into my pediatric residency, while working on an overnight call, I encountered my first medical mistake. We, fortunately, had had a very good night, and all patients had remained stable. It was an hour before sign-out to the morning team, that I received a page. I quickly held my pager and dialed the 4-digit number, only to find a busy dial tone. I was a little surprised and …
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