How to advocate for your child’s health care

One of the unknown and often scary parts of parenting is navigating being your child’s health care advocate. I began writing this blog post while we were admitted in the hospital for my 3 month old son. As I left Children’s Urgent Care with orders to go straight to Children’s ER for possible admission, I was singing out loud “I’m gonna see a victory. I’m gonna see a victory. For the battle belongs to you Lord”. I kept singing as I pushed the stroller to the car and put my son in the car. I continued singing and felt fire growing as I got to the part “You take what the enemy meant for evil and you turn it for good” because I knew that God would turn this situation for our good. And didn’t He do it! All is well with Korede, and I immediately saw the ‘why’ for that hospitalization. Not always the case in difficult situations, but that’s where faith comes in. God has called us to walk by faith not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). He has plans to prosper us… to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). He is faithful. 

These tips may be helpful for well or sick appointments, ER/ urgent care visits, and hospital admissions.

1. Know the timeline of events

It is helpful if you have a detailed account of symptoms including when they started and pictures to assist the provider in making a diagnosis. They usually have a list of possible diagnoses (differential) but your interview in addition to physical exam, labs, and vitals will help them to move certain ones to the top and cross others off. Diagnosis drives treatment. And if they are unable to definitively diagnose, they will likely begin treating for all depending on risk vs benefit.

2. Infection control

It is very possible that you go for a routine well appointment then come home with a stomach virus that can only be tied back to the doctor’s office (true story and while 4 months pregnant). Keep your child in a stroller or strapped to your body if possible to reduce contact to germs and bring your own toys/distractions. If anything falls on the floor, quarantine it until it can be properly sanitized. Hand hygiene is so important. You can ask the provider to perform hand hygiene prior to our child’s physical exam. They usually do perform this in your presence, so you should not have to assume whether or not it was done.

3. Be the parent

This may sound obvious, but I would sometimes adjust my actions so much to allow for the professionals to do their jobs that I was no longer doing my job! Continue to nurture your child like only you can. You can ask if there are any precautions that need to be taken, but oftentimes we should be able to sing, hug, hold, kiss our babies. I have asked for vitals on my stable child to be done later when he was sleep deprived and just fell asleep during an inpatient stay. The request was approved and the nurse even requested that the vitals frequency be adjusted due to his stability the previous 24 hours.

4. Ask questions and follow-up

Ask questions to gain understanding (with the medical team and during the nurse orientation to your room, if admitted) and to direct the course of your child’s care. Write them down as they pop in your head so you have a list to refer to when the provider comes in. You do not need to be in the healthcare field to be a part of the healthcare team. You are the most valuable player because you know your child’s baseline. YOU give the most pertinent perspective.

5. Know your area

Know where your closest pediatric urgent care and ER are located especially important if you’re traveling with your child. Know the urgent care hours and check-in online if available to reduce your wait. This is such a great feature!

Clinical Pearl: You are at someone’s job. This is the place they go to everyday. It’s routine for them even if it is an emergency for you. Share your story.  Become an individual.

Lastly, you never know who else is being cared for in the room next to you. As you continue to pray for your child, pray for those children and their families as they are possibly navigating an extremely difficult period. Share smiles when you can and share your gratitude with staff when they exceed your expectations. You will be a highlight in their day.

Which tip do you plan on intentionally implementing during your next visit?