How would you define the Pediatric Service of the Policlínica Comarcal?
It is a Service that prioritizes Primary Health Care, that is, prevention, control of the child’s growth and development, the promotion of healthy habits and the early diagnosis and timely treatment of congenital and acquired diseases. We control patients from the first days of life until their entry into adolescence, performing routine check-ups of the child’s health and attention to acute pathology when the child and his/her family require it.
What are the points that you would highlight in the consultation?
Our premise is this: first, know how to listen, give time and attention. It is the key that generally opens the doors to diagnosis. Then we go to look and examine the child and finally talk; In this last phase it should be noted that there are no parents who do not understand what they are told, but doctors who do not choose the right words for them. The pediatrician should say what is necessary. Parents seek the best advice, not to be shown what the doctor knows. It is necessary to teach them “alarm signs” so that the family knows when to advance the consultation and, also, to inform about the expected evolution to avoid unnecessary anxieties and visits.
Does the current pediatrician only use the stethoscope and the otoscope? Or do you have more resources?
The current consultation has evolved compared to previous years. We are currently trained to diagnose children with hypertension from one year of age, alterations in visual acuity from 6 months of age, or perform imaging studies such as ultrasound.
On this last point it should be noted that in Spain there is no training in ultrasound during the MIR training, so it is usual that the doctor who performs an ultrasound to a child is a medical specialist in images but not a pediatrician. In this sense, as of November of this year, the pediatric service of the Policlínica Comarcal Vendrell will be able to offer pediatric ultrasound to its patients by the pediatrician. The main benefit of this new initiative is to interpret the ultrasound from the pediatric point of view, which increases the diagnostic quality and allows to decide the therapeutic behavior in the same medical act.
Finally, we would like you to tell us about your Pediatrics Days, which this year will reach the seventh consecutive edition.
The Pediatric Service, together with the directors of the Policlínica Comarcal del Vendrell, take into account the importance of continuous medical training, and believe that it must be accessible and of first quality. Therefore, we have implemented the Annual Pediatric Update Days since 2012, which take place during the month of November. They are taught by doctors of national relevance in their specialty, and pediatricians from all over Catalonia and neighboring areas such as the Valencian Community and Aragon. These conferences have received the recognition of the Catalan Society of Pediatrics, which has granted its annual sponsorship, and the Spanish Association of Pediatrics, which has validated them as of high scientific interest through the Committee of Evaluation of teaching and scientific activities. They are held in the “Dr. Isaac Contel” assembly hall, with capacity for 150 people.
Dr. Novoa, Pediatric Unit
