The first thing I thought about when opening a child clinic was to make this a place that children wouldn't dislike. As part of that, I do not conduct inspections or treatments that unnecessarily burden children, and I constantly seek out treatments that keep the burden to a minimum, as much as possible. The stress that is placed on a baby and child must kept to a minimum."Don't do anything that they will dislike". That idea eventually developed into "I want this to be a place where children want to come". Even at other clinics, there are decorations that children will like as well as toys, but those are simply bonus features at the end of the day. Meanwhile, my clinic regards it as just as important as the actual medical treatment. Make an "aquarium" (tropical fish tank) in the waiting room, having arcade game machines (which I picked up and fixed myself), and placing "gacha" (a child can pull once after the treatment. All of these are here to make this a place where children want to come.
At the beginning, the staff did not fully agree on all of my methods. But now children come to our clinic even if they are not sick, and the staff also understand the meaning of "a place where children want to come". I also believe that hospitality, which was for whatever reasons considered taboo in medical care up to this point, is also necessary if that helps the children and their parents.
There was a recent event which confirmed that my way of thinking was not wrong. A child came to the clinic with the parents, but apparently the child told the mother, "I think I'm sick so I'm going to go see Dr. Kitahama." The numerical values cleared showed an abnormality after taking a blood sample. It was pneumonia.The child thought, "It's a place I usually go to play, so I'm not scared if I can get treated there. I should have Dr. Kitahama fix me." As a result, nothing serious happened. I was extremely happy.Whether or not the child will be cooperative. I think this is an eternal task for all pediatricians. Hold down a child out of necessity if the child is not cooperative. Certainly this is the easy way. But this is not how I want to do it.
Regarding how to communicate with children, I think that being in the middle of raising my own children is helping me out. Actually, I have a very painful past in that I lost my first child as a premature baby. It was before opening up the clinic. As a pediatrician, I have seen and treated a lot of premature babies, so why could not I help my child? I was suffering from such a thought and at the same time became able to truly understand the sufferings and pain of parents who have a sick child. After that, all my children are growing up healthily.
I chose this place when I started the business, because I received word telling me parents were having a problem because there were very few pediatric departments in the area, despite there being many families with young children. In this way, I started the clinic for the area, but recently patients and parents who hear about the clinic via the internet and social networks have come to visit from afar. There was even a mother from Okinawa whose child was suffering from atopic dermatitis. I first asked, "Can you keep coming back?" Then the mother told me with bloodshot eyes, "I will come, of course." I felt her desperation at this moment.While continuing treatment, the symptoms of the child improved, while the expression of the mother became calmer. I think that also an important part of our job to understand the feelings of parents and make it easier for them.
I sometimes consult parents with trivial concerns regarding raising children, and the other hand, an E.R. medic who responds to triage to preferentially diagnose patients with serious symptoms has been enrolled from the very beginning of our clinic. We are always here when you need us - this is the message I am conveying by preparing as such.Recently I have also been emphasizing the treatment of enuresis, and I have begun learning from a specialist and studying its cure. Before that I also studied otolaryngology and ophthalmology. Accept all children with various discomforts. I believe that being such a general hotline is the role of a pediatrics department. That's why studying is indispensable.The clinic holds events once a month. It is because I love whatever kids love. An astronomical observation event, Halloween, and soon Christmas preparations. We will begin decorating, preparing gifts, games, and costumes for our staff, and I am hoping that everybody will come and visit.
