Pediatric Workshop

Did the workshop meet or exceed your expectations?
The pediatrics workshop exceeded my expectations by helping me work through a full pediatric exam on children of various ages with demonstrations and guidance from an experienced pediatrician.

What did you like best about it?
I am interested in a future in pediatrics so I loved being able to play with the kids and practice exam techniques in a stress-free environment.

Do you look forward to the additional workshops?
I look forward to the additional workshops because they give us a chance to put our knowledge and skills to the test. I’m a hands-on learner so the workshops add an invaluable layer to my learning.

What did you learn?
I learned how to do a head-to-toe exam and a focused exam on children of various ages as well as some tricks of the trade for getting through a pediatrics exam.

Would you recommend it to other students?
I would highly recommend experiences like the pediatrics workshop to future students. These opportunities help you to build confidence in you skills while working through encounters you will see in your clinical year. Practice makes perfect, especially with pediatric exams!

Did the workshop meet or exceed your expectations?
The workshop did meet my expectations. It was very educational on how best to perform physical diagnostic techniques on a patient population who we otherwise would not see during our education process. In school, we learn many of our physical diagnostic skills on our fellow classmates or on real world actors, so actually getting to see children who may not take too kindly to us students poking and prodding them is beneficial on learning how best to do so in real life.

What did you like best about it?
I loved getting to interact with the professors' kids! It was a lot of fun getting to play with the children, while also learning how to best get them to cooperate and do exams with them

Do you look forward to the additional workshops?
While I’m out of the didactic portion of the PA program and I don’t believe I will be having any other workshops, all of the workshops that the PA program does for us have been extremely worthwhile for my education and I have learned a lot from. All of the clinical skills workshops that we did after this were very worthwhile and taught us many skills that we will be doing in practice.

Have you been able to put into action what you learned during this workshop?
The workshop definitely helped me with where I am at now, since I am currently on my pediatric rotation and am using many of the techniques learned from the workshop on the patients that I see daily. Without the workshop, I don’t think I would be enjoying the rotation as much as I am now!

Would you recommend it to other students?
I absolutely would recommend this workshop to other students! Not only was it fun to interact with the kids, it also helped us learn how best to do exams on the kids. For example, when listening to bowel sounds on younger children, I now do what one of the professors taught us during the workshop and ask the children if instead of listening to their belly, I listen to see if I can find out what they had for lunch. Or when I look in their noses, I instead say I’m looking to find Spiderman or Batman. Just to make it a more fun experience for the kids and help them not be as scared.

Did the workshop meet or exceed your expectations?
I wasn't sure what to expect going into the pediatrics workshop because I have never worked with children before. However, the professors went above and beyond my expectations to set up a great environment in our simulation lab for us to chat with, examine, and play with children of varying ages.

What did you like best about it?
My favorite part of the pediatrics workshop was having the opportunity to talk with parents about their child's care and what they look for in a good pediatrics provider. Having the space and opportunity to ask questions like these helps me better understand firsthand what people look for in their healthcare providers and what I can focus on to promote healthy patient-provider relationships in the future.

Do you look forward to the additional workshops?
Yes! Workshops were the highlight of my didactic year of Salus's PA program, and I look forward to having more during our clinical year transition days. The opportunity to get hands-on experience in a low-stakes environment with trusted professors has been and continues to be extremely helpful and a great form of learning.

What did you learn?
This workshop gave me the opportunity to learn physical examination skills that are unique to managing small, wiggly patients, as well as how to communicate and examine pediatric patients of all different ages.

Have you been able to put into action what you learned during this workshop?
The physical examination tips that were given to me by our professors with experience working with children have been invaluable during my pediatrics rotation!

Would you recommend it to other students?
I would absolutely recommend Salus's pediatrics workshop to other students. Having the opportunity to work with kids and their parents before rotations helped to build my confidence and patient communication skills before rotations.

Did the workshop meet or exceed your expectations?
The pediatric workshop exceeded my expectations — I was able to work with kids of various ages and even had the opportunity to hear a benign heart murmur! We were allowed plenty of time to get comfortable and make sure each kid was comfortable with us for the exams.

What did you like best about it?
The trust our professors put in us with their own children! This workshop was student-led and the professors did not step in to help unless it was needed. The kids were excited to hear their own heart sounds or interact with the medical equipment in a stress-free environment with their parent there if needed. It gave the professors a chance to focus on being the parent while observed the PA students combine everything they had learned so far. I also loved that we got to see the children interact with each other and play on their own. There’s a lot to learn, such as milestones and general development, just from watching them in their own environment!

Do you look forward to the additional workshops?
I’m more of a hands-on learner so the workshops have always been something I like about the Salus University PA program. I look forward to more in the future and am glad the PA program incorporates them into our lessons.

What did you learn?
A surprising lesson I took from this is to break concepts down simply based on the age group you’re working with. Throughout the program, we get taught a lot of medical terms and sometimes forget that to most they don’t understand that terminology. Explaining why you’re doing something to someone much younger forces you to break it down into simpler words and focus on what’s important. Most children are very curious and want to know what’s happening! Even something as simple as letting them listen to their own heart sounds helps them feel comfortable and understand why you are doing it.

Have you been able to put into action what you learned during this workshop?
Absolutely! I am currently rotating at a pediatric emergency room where I work with lots of different age groups. Learning different approaches to examining children has been very helpful and going into the rotation I felt less nervous knowing I had working with children before. I feel confident in my physical exam and my ability to make my patients and their caregivers feel comfortable. I’ll be going to a clinic to perform well-child visits later on where I’ll complete a full examination similar to the ones we did in this workshop.

Would you recommend it to other students?
Yes. The best way to learn is by doing, and this workshop gave the opportunity to see how others also adjust themselves to work with children. I feel every student has something to be gained from this workshop.