LEADER DR. MA. LOURDES G. LAGUNILLA REFLECTION PAPER #3 What is your passion (what is it that you love doing? How is it reflected in you work, daily life, and life's journey.

LEADER DR. MA. LOURDES G. LAGUNILLA
REFLECTION PAPER #3
What is your passion (what is it that you love doing? How is it reflected in you work, daily life, and life's journey.
MY PASSION and ADVOCACY in Life : My life and love for children

As a child I was sickly. Coming from a family with history of allergy, I had asthma, allergic rhinitis and skin allergy. This conditions are recurrent hence my mother will always bring me to a pediatrician the late Dr. Ramon Lao. I can still remember my mother pays for the pink medicines in brown bottles which did not taste good, but I should take without choice. It was these several consultations when I dreamt to become a doctor. I should learn to treat myself and I know I will be the best doctor for myself because I can feel what it is to be patient in need of treatment . A dream I never thought will come true.
Given the chance to study with a GI Bill of rights scholarship I thought then I must enroll in the most expensive and highly coveted profession. That was my chance to become a doctor .
My interest in science, my passion for lifelong learning, and my need to incorporate benevolence within my profession is why it was a natural progression to combine two passions of mine, my affection for children and medicine, into my chosen specialty of Pediatrics. Working with children is often funny and challenging; you never know how they will react or what they will say. I learned that children thrive on attention and require a significant amount of patience while generously sharing their great capacity to love and zest for life. Children are innocent and they only tell the truth. These experiences generated my desire to pursue a vocation working with children.

Experiences throughout my clerkship have solidified my aspiration to become a pediatrician. One of my first shifts in the pediatric rotation was the Delivery room where I witness the birth of a premature baby, so fragile and helpless. Every baby born is a miracle, a blessing from GOD. The father is worried for the baby and the mother. It made me think me that I must learn to bring an environment in my practice where children can live in a nurturing world.

If I become a pediatrician, I must make a difference. There are times when children cannot voice their concerns or speak for themselves, and I will become their advocate. I will keep my focus on how my young patient's health or circumstances are going to affect him or her. I believe that working with the team and the parents is in the best interests of the child and is an important part of being a pediatrician. This was particularly evident in intensive care rounds during my pediatric neonatology. Every member of the team has an important role in the patient's care. I work together with a team to ensure proper nutrition, adequate cardiopulmonary care, proper dosing for the numerous drugs each patient required and adequate social support. Meeting the child's medical needs, while doing my best to give the child and parents a normal life, was a big challenge that could only be managed by working together. In pediatrics, the wide variety of age groups, interesting congenital syndromes and neonatal issues will provide me with unique challenges. From my previous experience, I know how to approach children of varying ages and I am comfortable working with them.

Working in the NICU brings to the forefront decisions about commencing and terminating treatment. These difficult decisions are controversial and much debated. Completing research in jaundice in babies and a rotation at the neonatal intensive care has given me insight into neonatal issues. It has stimulated my thinking about how far medicine can offer.

Completing my community service in pediatrics provided exposure to a wide variety of clinical childhood diseases. They provided insight into sub-specialty practice and also trained me to treat many common pediatric conditions. I also worked with children who were very sick, on dialysis or in the ICU. These experiences not only taught me how to deal with complex cases, but they provided an opportunity to hone my skills to diffuse difficult and emotionally charged situations.

Being a pediatrician I have the opportunity to build relationships with children and their parents while helping them live healthier lives.
I interact with both kids and their parents. Pediatricians need especially strong interpersonal skills. "You need to bond not only with the child but also with the child's family," "This is challenging because when a child is sick, the family is under a lot of stress."
Very fulfilling moments are when the parents are so excited to have their children perform their talents like to singing , dancing or telling their stories at your clinic.

Playfulness and imagination help pediatricians establish rapport with wary or frightened young children. But pediatrics is far from being all fun and games. From a clinical standpoint, the field is as intellectually demanding as internal medicine. Since infants and young toddlers cannot describe their symptoms, diagnosing childhood illnesses can be particularly challenging.

What sets pediatrics apart from other specialties, however, is the huge education and advocacy role pediatricians play. On the front lines of preventive medicine, pediatricians champion immunizations, healthful eating and exercise, as well as safety precautions, such as wearing a helmet while bike riding and knowing what to do in a house fire. This often means asking difficult questions that may seem intrusive to parents.

I love the age spectrum; from the newborn period helping moms with breastfeeding and other common newborn issues, to the fun yet trying toddler years, to our adolescents where I feel we as pediatricians can have such a positive impact during one of the most challenging times of their lives. It's a journey and I feel blessed to be a part of it."

While pediatricians do commonly care for adolescents even up to 18 , some specialize in infants, babies and toddlers. During routine well-child visits throughout the first few years of a baby's life, the pediatrician gets to know the personality and character of her patients. Assuming the baby is in reasonably good health, this can be a very endearing part of the job. I get to share in the development and growth of the baby from first cries to the memorable moments of their lives, when they learn to walk, talk and develop their full potentials as future leaders.
I especially enjoy being able to be a part of the lives of so many children and families. Whether it's a warm hug or a picture drawn for me by a patient, I treasure the moments I spend helping them in their time of illness and celebrating their accomplishments in times of wellness.