ABSTRACT
In their role as advocates for children and families, pediatricians are in an excellent position to support and guide parents during the prenatal period. Prenatal visits allow the pediatrician to gather basic information from parents, provide information and advice to them, and identify high-risk situations in which parents may need to be referred to appropriate resources for help. In addition, prenatal visits are the first step in establishing a relationship between the pediatrician and parents and help parents develop parenting skills. The prenatal visit may take several possible forms depending on the experience and preferences of the parents, competence and availability of the pediatrician, and provisions of the health care plan.
Subject(s)
Parents , Pediatrics/organization & administration , Physician's Role , Adult , Comprehensive Health Care/standards , Female , Humans , Infant Care/methods , Infant, Newborn , Male , Office Visits/statistics & numerical data , Parents/education , Pediatrics/education , Pediatrics/standards , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Pregnancy , Professional-Family RelationsABSTRACT
When children come to court as witnesses, or when their needs are decided in a courtroom, they face unique stressors from the legal proceeding and from the social predicament that resulted in court action. Effective pediatric support and intervention requires an understanding of the situations that bring children to court and the issues that will confront children and child advocates in different court settings.
Subject(s)
Child Welfare , Jurisprudence , Child , Child Abuse , Divorce , Humans , Juvenile Delinquency , Pediatrics , Physician's Role , Psychology, Child , United StatesABSTRACT
Natural and human-caused disasters, violence with weapons, and terrorist acts have touched directly the lives of thousands of families with children in the United States.1 Media coverage of disasters has brought images of floods, hurricanes, and airplane crashes into the living rooms of most American families, with limited censorship for vulnerable young children. Therefore, children may be exposed to disastrous events in ways that previous generations never or rarely experienced. Pediatricians should serve as important resources to the community in preparing for disasters, as well as acting in its behalf during and after such events.
Subject(s)
Disasters , Pediatrics , Physician's Role , Child , Disaster Planning , HumansABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is to point out that although the incidence of ruptured splenic artery aneurysm is a rare occurrence, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute abdominal pain. The case reported is a 21-year-old white woman who presented with acute abdominal pain for 24 hours. While being evaluated in the emergency room, her splenic artery aneurysm ruptured. The diagnosis was made by use of ultrasound, computerized tomography, and exploratory surgery. In spite of a critical and life-threatening episode, the patient survived. Even though there is disagreement about the necessity for surgical intervention for asymptomatic aneurysms, this case reinforces the recommendation for surgical excision.
Subject(s)
Aneurysm, Ruptured/diagnosis , Splenic Artery , Adult , Aneurysm, Ruptured/etiology , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Fibromuscular Dysplasia/complications , HumansSubject(s)
Adolescent Health Services , Genital Diseases, Female/diagnosis , Adolescent , Congresses as Topic , Female , HumansABSTRACT
The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that pediatric health care be extended through the adolescent years. Thus, there is a need to refamiliarize the physician with the pelvic examination. Formerly, workshops used simulated plastic models ("Ginny") to accomplish this goal. Such workshops have been conducted at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics for several years. At the 1987 meeting in New Orleans, La, two workshops involving live models (gynecologic teaching assistants) were planned and implemented with great success. Following a didactic segment, each participant was given an opportunity to perform the pelvic examination with immediate feedback from the gynecologic teaching assistant as to the completeness and appropriateness of the pelvic examination. The immediate response of the attendees was overwhelmingly positive. A questionnaire was sent to the enrollees 8 months after the meeting to determine whether this experience had affected their attitude toward and approach to the pelvic examination. Eighty-three percent of questionnaires were returned with an affirmative response. This positive response suggested that such workshops be continued in an effort to reach as many pediatricians as possible.
