Description
MN 581
Unit 6 Discussion
Shelly Dillon
Because we have both a discussion and a paper on collaboration this week, I thought I would be more casual in the discussion on this topic.
Arguably the first and most important collaboration in pediatric care is between the provider and parents of the pediatric patient. Providers cannot access pediatric patients without parental/guardian permission (McNary, 2014). Permission to treat and permission to have interactions with them. And with only a few minutes per visit spent with the patient, parents can easily override any information that is not agreeable to their family philosophy. Sharing appropriate health information and guidance is an important tasking.
Pediatric patients are normally a very healthy population. A large amount of time is spent during pediatric well-child visits is spent in anticipatory guidance. Discussing the patient’s growth and development and upcoming milestones to help parents support growth and milestones (APA, 2017).
Other collaborations will require this first collaboration with patients and families to be therapeutic. A strong relationship will help all other collaborations go smoothly and with better outcomes. Collaborations I have experienced in pediatric care include specialty care for cardiac, nephrology, orthopedic care, and behavioral health for the evaluation and treatment of various medical concerns. My preceptor does a great job reviewing and using the referrals during follow-up visits. This is another reason the first collaboration of patient, family, and provider is important so that the loop of care is closed.
Recently we referred a 9-year-old male patient to counseling for cognitive behavioral therapy to be evaluated and treated for some OCD tendencies, anxiety issues, and focus. He is a gifted student with no academic concerns. The student and parents have tried to make adjustments and work out issues since school started but have continued to have behaviors. Parents are engaged and teachers with a solid foundation of knowledge. They will be solid collaborators in the patient’s care. Collaborations improve access for patients, and families to specialty care (Parkhurst et al., 2022).
I look forward to the varied experiences you all have had in your rotations.
References:
Bright futures pocket guide (4th ed.). (2017). American Academy of Pediatrics {APA}
McNary A. (2014). Consent to treatment of minors. Innovations in clinical neuroscience, 11(3-4), 43–45.
Parkhurst, J. T., Ballard, R. R., Lavigne, J. V., Von Mach, T., Romba, C., Perez-Reisler, M., & Walkup, J. T. (2022). Extending collaborative care to independent primary care practices: A chronic care model. Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology, 10(1), 32–43. https://doi-org.libauth.purdueglobal.edu/10.1037/c… (Supplemental)
