Empathy is a requirement in the medical field. As a mom, it is more of a luxury.
Written By: Jenniffer Estrada
When you work in the medical field and have children, without fail, there will be a time when your children complain about not feeling well and you will not give them the benefit of the doubt.
My poor children each have at least one memory of a time they came to me telling me something hurt and I told them they would be fine…. I think my exact words may have been “rub some dirt on it, you’ll be fine”.
One time my son pulled his hip flexor playing baseball. The ER physician came out after his X-ray and asked us about his healed pelvic fracture…. We had no clue. Mother of the year award right there folks!
One of the girls at work had a 12yr old who in all fairness might be a bit of an exaggerator….. I believe the word she used was hypochondriac. He “hurt” his wrist during PE (dodgeball incident). It was swollen, but the Doctor (AKA, Mom) prescribed elevation, ice, and rest. She wasn’t going to miss work for a sprained wrist…luckily it was Christmas Break and he didn’t have to go to school, or I’m sure she would have sent him. After work, he was still complaining about the pain. She took him in and surgery was scheduled for 7 days later.
In all fairness, kids complain. Not every complaint is going to turn into an ER or Urgent Care visit. We are all just doing the best we can. We both felt horrible about what happened, but our kids survived and they have their own “horror story” about growing up with a mom who works in the medical field.
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