Hi All! I’m Iréal Fusco, a pediatric resident training at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami. I’ve been very excited about participating in the Issa Trust Pediatric rotation as a way to expand my Pediatric training.
My first day was this last Friday, March 10th, 2017 at the A&E in Port Antonio. It was a long drive to the location but there was gorgeous scenery along the way. Mr. Campbell is an administrator at the hospital. He picked me up and drove me to the hospital himself!
Once there, I felt a bit like an intern all over again starting at a new place. I was thrown right in seeing patients so I had to learn how the system worked as I worked. The overall pathology was similar to what I’d see back home at our ER. There was a bronchiolitis that I wound up admitting for further treatment. Some viral URIs, Constipation, Hand, Foot and Mouth disease as well as an AGE.
There was an infant with a new onset fever after several days of URI & diarrhea who looked great but the fevers were high! I was concerned for UTI (especially with the large water stools she was having and I witnessed) but we didn’t have the bags available to get a urine specimen and there were no catheters. I had to make a decision on whether to treat empirically or manage conservatively. That was a tough one.
I had another young lady presented with severe left sided abdominal pain with difficulty ambulating. She was diffusely tender on exam but her pain localized to the left. Urine pregnancy was negative. Urine dipstick was WNL (no blood). No flank pain and denied constipation. She had me very concerned for a surgical emergency and I was unable to obtain ultrasound for diagnosis. After a bit of discussion we got a flat and upright abdominal X ray which showed a large stool burden and after a glycerin suppository she felt much better. She even ran up to hug me and said thank you before she left. It was a reminder that I am helping in some ways (even if I’m not as efficient in the setting I was in.)
Overall, I had a wonderful but busy day! Coupled with the long drive home, I didn’t have the energy to write this post that day, but I’m excited to explore the other two clinical sites!
~ Iréal
Once there, I felt a bit like an intern all over again starting at a new place. I was thrown right in seeing patients so I had to learn how the system worked as I worked. The overall pathology was similar to what I’d see back home at our ER. There was a bronchiolitis that I wound up admitting for further treatment. Some viral URIs, Constipation, Hand, Foot and Mouth disease as well as an AGE.
There was an infant with a new onset fever after several days of URI & diarrhea who looked great but the fevers were high! I was concerned for UTI (especially with the large water stools she was having and I witnessed) but we didn’t have the bags available to get a urine specimen and there were no catheters. I had to make a decision on whether to treat empirically or manage conservatively. That was a tough one.
I had another young lady presented with severe left sided abdominal pain with difficulty ambulating. She was diffusely tender on exam but her pain localized to the left. Urine pregnancy was negative. Urine dipstick was WNL (no blood). No flank pain and denied constipation. She had me very concerned for a surgical emergency and I was unable to obtain ultrasound for diagnosis. After a bit of discussion we got a flat and upright abdominal X ray which showed a large stool burden and after a glycerin suppository she felt much better. She even ran up to hug me and said thank you before she left. It was a reminder that I am helping in some ways (even if I’m not as efficient in the setting I was in.)
Overall, I had a wonderful but busy day! Coupled with the long drive home, I didn’t have the energy to write this post that day, but I’m excited to explore the other two clinical sites!
~ Iréal
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