As a pediatrician and mother, Dr. Pamela Gallin has spent years fielding questions from patients and friends, such as: Should I tell my pediatrician that I'm getting a second opinion? Do you think our local suburban hospital is good enough for my baby's hernia operation? Why won't my doctor prescribe antibiotics over the phone for my kid's ear infection? Why does my pediatrician always ask him how he's doing in school?
Nothing makes a parent feel more frightened or vulnerable than a sick child. But parents don't need to know how to practice medical care, they need to know how to arrange it, because most parents still rely on the doctor when their children are sick. As a physician, Dr. Gallin has realized that many parents don't know how to question their doctors about diagnoses and symptoms. Sometimes parents have to leap in and make demands, no matter how outrageous they may seem, and other times they need to step aside and listen to the experts. The Savvy Mom's Guide to Medical Care helps parents differentiate between the two, covering everything from choosing a pediatrician and well-child visits to more serious concerns such as handling the emergency room, surgery, or hospitalization.
Written in a warm and reassuring style, The Savvy Mom's Guide to Medical Care addresses the most common situations that arise with children's health. It encourages parents to have a list of questions prepared when they do need to call the doctor and offers a checklist of symptoms for times when they're concerned with the frequency of a child's illnesses. Sidebars throughout the text highlight practical advice such as:
--Bring along the phone number of your pharmacy to the doctor's office so that a doctor can immediately phone in a prescription and you can pick it up on your way home.
--Refrigerate "yucky" medicines because they taste better cold, or give your child a half teaspoon of pancake syrup first.
--Have a spouse or friend accompany you when you interview a surgeon, in case you are preoccupied and may not register everything the surgeon explains.
The Savvy Mom's Guide to Medical Care includes quick tips on everything from remaining calm and watching for signs of shock in emergency situations to remembering to bring your pediatrician's phone number, your health insurance card, and your child's immunization record to the emergency room. It also covers common diagnostic tests and what they mean, how to choose an emergency room and take a practice drive ahead of time, and key facts about the health-care system, as well as resources for doctors' qualifications, health organizations, and parent support groups.
The bottom line of pediatric medicine is that the parent is the most critical figure in the child/doctor/parent triad. Whether your child has chicken pox, a mysterious stomachache, a frustrating chronic illness, or something far more serious, you, the parent, are the advocate that your child depends on. The Savvy Mom's Guide to Medical Care arms parents with the information they need to ensure the best medical care for their child.
