‘I never start a shift without bubbles’
A bubble gun might not be a vital part of every doctor’s kit, but for Caroline Ponmani (above with young patient Shaheer), children’s emergency medicine consultant at our Trust since 2014, it can be just the thing to turn things around with an indignant toddler.
She said:
Paediatrics is a magical speciality where unpredictability is the norm - children have no filter and that’s one my favourite things about my job.
When you’re negotiating with a three-year-old over a throat examination, they make it clear how unhappy they are with you. So, we bring out the bubbles and get what we need during a brief interval when they’re fascinated by them – examination with play! We have lots to work with, iPads, colouring and stickers. Children are forgiving and once they feel better, they quickly forget how unhappy they were with you and come over to make friends.
To celebrate her 26 years looking after children and families, Caroline, who has a son, 23, and daughter, 18, has written a book, The Glorious Life, under her married name, Rajesh, to share her experiences in a children’s A&E department.
She added:
I’ve been writing for many years; it’s an escape into another world. Some moments are so beautiful, you must capture them.
Usually, I just share my writing with friends and mentors. They encouraged me to publish, and I thought I’d give it a go, but I felt very vulnerable.
The book, which Caroline self-published, is a collection of her writing over the years.
Caroline, above with her book, said:
Children are so engaging; working with them is therapeutic, they heal us as we heal them. You could be having a difficult day, then along comes a child who makes everything different. It makes the work so worthwhile.
We take the whole family under our wing. Having your child in hospital is very frightening, I remember how I would transform from doctor to worried mum when I took my children to the hospital.
I still find my job fascinating after so many years, and no matter how long you do it, you never become immune to the loss of a patient, it really hits you.
Since publishing the book, Caroline had found herself doing things she never expected – she’s appeared on the BBC Upload show on BBC Radio London, to talk about her writing, and performed her first a stand-up routine in front of 150 fellow doctors.
You can find Caroline’s book for sale on Amazon.