Life at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
I have spent a lot of time as a pediatrician in the emergency department and a brief period of time rotating through the local poison center. While there, I witnessed firsthand the unfortunate perils facing children who accidentally ingest toxins. The biggest takeaway I learned from these experiences is that all too often, these encounters […]
Sylvia Owusu-Ansah ⋅ A Day in the Life children, e-cigarettes, nicotine, poison ⋅
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents over the last 30 years. In 2012, alone more than one-third of all children and adolescents were considered overweight or obese. As health professionals, we are aware that patterns of daily behavior begin in […]
I recently took care of a young infant who was found to have eaten a single-use detergent sac, otherwise known as a laundry pod. The child’s mom called 911 because of vomiting, but by the time the paramedics brought the patient to the emergency department, he was barely conscious, breathing hard and fast, intermittently gasping […]
Imagine you are a pediatrician working in an emergency department when a young female patient who was recently diagnosed as bipolar is brought in by her mother. She is visibly angry upon arrival, and her mother looks tired and distressed. When you enter the room, the young girl begins the interaction with foul language. She […]
Sylvia Owusu-Ansah ⋅ A Day in the Life mental health, pediatrics ⋅