When I was growing up, my perfect role model, the person I most wanted to be in the entire world, was Dear Abby. That woman could solve any problem honestly and succinctly, and she could say what really needed to be said to shake people out of their own personal fog.
It would be so easy if that Dear Abby model could just be applied to caring for pediatric patients and parenting, but most often, the question and the answer are unique for every child and unique for every situation. I try to guide families to find the right strategies for themselves, keep them focused on the big picture, and not let the little details become too overwhelming.
Families ask questions on a variety of topics that, honestly, Grandma would be the best person to answer: How do I communicate with my kids? How much sleep is enough? When should I let them have a cell phone? Hopefully, this blog will open up a conversation, so that we can come to those answers together. I can give you some ideas of what has worked for other families and what has worked for my own family, too.
I am the current Chief of Staff at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. I divide my time between inpatient and outpatient medicine. I am a pediatric hospitalist (a pediatrician who specializes in the care of hospitalized children), and although my area of expertise is in the care of complex/special needs patients, I also am a clinic pediatrician who sees all kids … those with highly advanced needs and those without any needs except a school physical form.
So, let me know what you’ve been interested in talking about. I can give you my motherly/pediatricianly/Dear Abby-like perspective and maybe something will fit just right for your child….
Gigi
Did you know that more than 50% of patients who seek care at Children’s are nonwhite; 20% speak a language other than English in the home; and greater than 40% are from low-income families, insured through Medicaid?
As an unapologetic policy wonk and lover of health policy, I am honored and pleased to be blogging here. I joined Children’s in December 2009 as our director of child health policy and advocacy. Prior to joining Children’s, I spent over 15 years working on state health policy issues, most recently as Assistant Commissioner of Health in Minnesota, with responsibility for health reform.
My teenage children are mortified that I am participating in a “blog”, which to them marks me as a middle-aged techno-wannabe. My hope, however, is that this will enable me to engage in conversations about healthcare with people outside of my usual sphere of influence. I am a pediatric oncologist, or children’s cancer specialist. I care for children with many kinds of cancer, and have a particular interest as well in complementary and alternative therapies, also called integrative medicine (IM). Individuals who have cancer or other life threatening disorders are more likely than other individuals to explore the world of IM, and parents of children who have cancer feel that they should leave no stone unturned in looking for treatments which might help their kids.
Some of the most fascinating trends regarding consumer preferences for medical care for themselves and their kids, have to do with the increasing tendency of our patients and families — that means you — to choose more natural, non-drug, so-called Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) approaches.
