IN PRACTICE

Pediatrics

The four women in this section practice in the area of pediatrics, but each comes from a different vantage point. Dr. AA is a nurse who has "evolved" into a physician. Karen Wilson had to live away from her family while she went to medical school. Joan Finch grew up thinking she would be a doctor, but she became a nurse. Dr. O.W. is a third year pediatric resident who has never been a nurse.

Does every nurse wish she were a doctor? Joan Finch considered the roles of nurse and doctor prior to her training and subsequently. She explains why this was the right choice for her, and of where her views coincide and depart from the physicians with whom she works.

Does a young doctor view medicine differently than a nurse or a nurse/doctor? Dr. O.W., starting out a little older, takes a more mature look at medicine than her classmates. But her view of nurses and doctors, of responsibility and care conferences, has a different slant than the nurse/doctors AA and Karen Wilson. Karen Wilson fortuitously ended up in pediatric nursing, and her curiosity to know more was one of the reasons she decided to become a doctor. But even more than the knowledge, she wanted an ongoing, long-term relationship with the family. She had found that, as a nurse, you only know one facet of your patient.

Dr. AA's evolution has encompassed many roles and she has experienced the frustrations and rewards of each. When she aimed to become an MD, she planned to be a psychiatrist. With many options before her she asked her husband, "Where did I laugh the most?" He said, "In pediatrics."

Since each of these women is dealing with pediatrics in a different way--neonatal intensive care nurse; a pediatric resident who has no previous nursing experience; a primary care pediatrician in a group practice; and a subspecializing pediatrician in solo practice--we have a chance to make some interesting comparisons between them. In this section some of the differences in role and attitude are aired with refreshing candor. And some of the difficulties on both sides of the fence are clearly pointed out. These are not, as many people think them, uncomplicated and easily delineated issues.