Pediatric Neurology Clinic Observation Report

I checked my phone, the screen displayed a missed call from the previous night. Shortly I received a call from the Director of the Hispanic Ministry at my church. A group formed to outreach minorities and provide an environment for personal growth. In that instant, the Director’s call, was about change my view on the importance of compassion. The Director called to inform me that one of the adolescents I was outreaching was presumed to have committed suicide, her name was Rose. Exteriorly she portrayed as carefree and joyful, interiorly she fought a crippling depression. Ironically, every week I would shadow at a pediatric neurology clinic, listening to patients dealing with self-harming thoughts and clinical depression. I would observe the …show more content…
Nonetheless, it was a Physician Assistant named Andrew at pediatric neurology clinic which was the most influential. He was amiable in his character, emitting a certain calmness and confidence. Returning patients would always greet him eagerly in reflection of his personable bedside manners. During one occasion, he treated an adolescent girl suffering from chronic migraines. I watched him empathetically let her voice her concerns, instead of just prescribing a simple solution and moving onto the next patient. At the end of the consultation the young girl thanked Andrew for being, “the first person to have listened to her.” The gesture of being an active listener influenced the patient more than just a prescription because compassion is an inherent aspect of quality health care.
The increased complexity of the diagnostic process is becoming more technical as things progressively intertwine with technology. Too often I have observed patients switching clinics due to impersonal care. In this age of technology, we must not forget to continue ensuring that patients values are what drive the clinical decision process. Through example, Andrew demonstrated how the role of Physician Assistant can actively encompass patient …show more content…
As well as the crucial importance of listening to the person. A patient must be heard in order to integrate them in the care process and provide them with a holistic quality of care. I worked with various youth whom come from fragmented family systems. They have a dire need for guidance and support. Volunteering with this population is what solidified what I learned in the clinic. Above all, the most importance lesson I learned is the one I initially overlooked; that by using compassion you put the person first. The career of Physician Assistant brings a beacon of light to the growing gap between the shared decision making process between the clinician and patient. I see myself devoted to the profession of Physician Assistant since it adopts understanding the patient as a person in its philosophy offering the essential element of compassion to the process of