Working in Pediatrics
By Emelia Krakora ‘24“UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of children, teenagers, and young adults through excellence in patient care, teaching, research, and advocacy.”
This summer I worked for the program First Clinical Experiences in the emergency department at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. I worked alongside the nursing staff to triage patients presenting in the ED to the appropriate rooms based on the acuity of their chief complaint. I collected over 300 gently used books for kids 0-6 from my local community for the ED Literacy Program. I then distributed them to pediatric patients in the ED waiting room.
I learned that I remain calm and think clearly in emergency situations. Additionally, I am able to comfort and support family members during traumatic and stressful situations with their children and loved ones. I am hoping to attend medical school in the future and this experience solidified my career choice. Although my job was minor compared to the physicians, I loved helping people no matter how small the task.
I learned how to empathize and be understanding with patients. There are many difficult and demanding people who want to be seen immediately in the ER. It is important to understand where they are coming from and that deep down, they are scared and want to know they will be okay.
My favorite parts of working in the ED were the fast pace working environment as well as the day-to-day patient interactions. I loved helping the kids who came into the ED in any possible way.
Internship funded by the Gormley Internship Fund.