Well I had been in my job for almost a year, and my evaluation is later this week. I didn’t think it was fair to quit a job before the year mark. I felt like I needed to give it time. But now my deadline was approaching, and I needed to make a decision. Should I look for a more glamorous job with some higher pay? Or do I stick with my gut, and stay with the job where I really think I can make a difference?
Before lunch, I have a high risk visit. It’s s a follow up with an overweight child. The last time we had met, Matthew was at the 100th percentile, which is not good. His mom admitted to me that he was not very active, and that he was drinking chocolate milk all day. I always look at my notes before I call a follow up back. I figure it’s good to know what I’m following up with.
I called them back and got a new weight and height. It’s amazing how quickly children grow. We went to my office and as I typed in the updates, I asked the same question that I ask at all my follow up appointments.
“So mom, why don’t you tell me what’s changed since last visit?”
I know what I want to hear, and I know what our goals were. We discussed them, and we agreed on them together. But half the time they look at me like I’m stupid and reply with “nothing really.”
But before this mom can even answer, I glanced at the growth chart and saw the percentile drop down to the 78th. That doesn’t mean he lost weight or anything, but it means that his rate of weight gain slowed down. That was our goal. I never make a weight loss goal for a child. I was more than pleased as I looked back at Matthew’s mom with a smile. She still looked nervous. I hate that. Sometimes I feel like the principal-like the mom’s are scared that they’re somehow going to get punished if the growth charts don’t look better.
“Well, we cut back on the juice and now he only drinks six ounces a day. I did like you said. Instead of him getting his milk servings with all chocolate milk, he gets maybe one every other day or so and then eats other foods with milk like yogurt. And we’ve switched to one percent milk. He’s also in school now so he’s a lot more active than he was before.”
I looked at her in disbelief. Sure, this does happen sometimes. But it’s so rare that when it does, I’m overjoyed.
“Well Ms. Monroe, what you’re doing is working beautifully.”
I turned my monitor so that she can see the difference on the growth chart. She smiled with satisfaction.
“Thank you so much for all your help. I realize now that this is a lifestyle. Not a diet or any type of depriving. You know, my mom had diabetes before she died, and Matthew’s dad is obese. I don’t want that for him. I don’t want him to be sick, and I don’t want him to be made fun of.”
“Well you’re moving in the right direction. And now that you know what will work, keep up the excellent work. Let’s follow up at his recertification in three months just to see where he is.”
We finished our conversation and I felt completely satisfied. Most visits don’t end that way. But the one in ten that do end up that way make me feel happy with what I do. Everything else comes with the job of being a pediatric dietitian working in a public counseling setting.
Before I checked for another chart, I decided to glance at the schedule to see how many people we had left to see for the morning. I saw a name that looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember the specific details.
I put her name in the computer and right away I remembered her. That’s mostly because of her boyfriend. He was listed as the proxy in the computer, and I recognized it right away for some reason.
Apparently the nurse, Gina, saw her earlier this morning. I read through her notes and noted a couple things. First, little Nick Jr. here was born early. But seems like he was in the NICU for a couple days and then released. Next, she was partially breastfeeding. Apparently, the hospital started giving Nick some formula to help get rid of the jaundice. It made her milk supply decrease. I hate when hospitals do that, but at least the baby is healthy. That’s great to know.
I love to follow up with people that I remember. It’s especially fulfilling when I was the one who educated them and talked to them about the pregnancy the first time they were in the clinic. As I sat there reading through everything, it all seemed to click and as soon as I got home, I discussed everything with Kristin. She didn’t have class tonight. We put Mason to bed and decided to take a bubble bath together. It was a perfect ending to a slightly stressful day.
“So baby, how do you feel about work now?”
“I wanted to talk to you about that. I know what I want to tell Ms. Charlotte at my evaluation. I’m going to be honest about the logistics of the job, and I’m going to let her know about Judy. She’s the only one that gets paid salary, and she honestly does the least amount of work. If I were the administrator, I’d want to know if my coordinator wasn’t doing her job.”
She nodded.
“I’m going to tell her how passionate I am about this job. Kristin, I’ve just had some really great, rewarding experiences lately. I’m sorry because I know this isn’t the best paying job, but it’s good enough for now.”
“Well I think you’re doing a great job, Kev. This is your passion. I think you need to stick with it. Those kids need you.”
“I guess I’ve never thought about it like that before, Kris.”
Truth is I feel for these families. And regardless of how these parents act, my job is to act in the best interest of the patients, especially the infants and children.
“I guess I just need to not take it personal. I just have to swallow the fact that some people don’t want to hear anything from me. They want their vouchers and that’s it. I’m still going to do my job to the best of my ability and continue to challenge myself.”
“I think that’s a great idea.”
We stayed there a bit longer, and then she went to bed. I had a little bit of trouble sleeping. As I lay in bed, I thought about everything we talked about. I was reminded of a conference I went to for WIC not too long ago.
The short little brunette stood at the front of the class describing counseling in the WIC clinic by comparing it to planting seeds. We thought it was a bit corny. But now, I can hear this part clear as day in my head.
“Every time we give information at these visits, I want you to think about planting seeds. Just like plants, not every seed will grow. Some people will hear the information but not really listen. They’ll continue to do the same thing they’ve always done until it does become a problem in the long run. Instead of preventing the situation, they’ll have to correct it. Or not. And some people, just like some seeds, will take the information and sprout. They’ll grow as people and learn more about themselves in the process.”
You know what…this job was worth my time even if only two people all day cared about what I had to say. As for the rest, I would just continue to plant those seeds and hope that some of them would sprout someday. If not with this child, maybe another child, or even a grandchild.
I used to think that I needed to be doing something bigger to feel important. Truth was, my something bigger was right in front of me. All it took was a different outlook.
