September 2007
This edition:
Letter From Our Chair
 |
L. Lyndon Key, MD
Professor and Chairman
Department of Pediatrics |
Dear faculty, Children's Hospital staff and other friends,
As I have been reading the statements of many of our students that are applying for residency programs in pediatrics, I am touched by the fact that so many applicants start and end their statements discussing their desire to help others. Over the last decade, I have felt that there has been a cheapening of life, both in America and around the world. Perhaps, the balance is shifting. The question is: "Can we find a way to mix morality and humanity?" In each of the statements that I have read, it seems "caring" for those we know, and those we do not, is seen as a way not to further a particular ideology, but to provide love to each other.
[read more]
Feature Story
Easing back into school: Tips from a school psychologist
Schedules tend to become lax during the summer, so try to ease into school by reestablishing bedtime and mealtime routines even before school begins. Turn off the television and encourage reading, quiet games, crafts or flashcards instead. Give your child increasing responsibility, such as setting his own alarm clock, and establish rewards for getting up independently and getting ready for school on time.
Older children will also need guidance and boundaries so they get enough sleep. "Research suggests that adolescents need eight to ten hours a night, and many are not getting that," says Dr. Kral. To make sure they do, parents should establish clear expectations about when their pre-teen or teen should go to bed, as well as consequences for not doing so, she advises.
|
 |
| Dr. Mary Kral |
|
[read more]
Message From Our Medical Director
|
As the new school year starts again in South Carolina, the Children's Hospital prepares for some changes in our patient population. During the summer break, many families plan elective procedures while the kids are out of school. Consequently, our interventional services - orthopedics, ENT, cardiology, etc - add these cases to the usual patient load causing them to be extremely busy. Once school starts, there is often a brief "lull" in the hospital until we start treating the viral illnesses that come with the cold weather. This lull creates time to catch upon much needed renovations. This year, we are in the process of renovating rooms on our 7B inpatient unit, and will soon be renovating our nurses' station on the 7C inpatient cardiology unit. Nonetheless, we are still open for business as usual, and ready to take care of those who need our care. Please bear with us if you are inconvenienced in any way by our efforts to improve the Children's Hospital facility and have a great new school year.
|
 |
J. Philip Saul, MD
Medical Director
Director, Pediatric Cardiology |
|
Darby Children's Research Institute News
 |
Bernard L. Maria, MD, MBA
Executive Director
Darby Children's
Research Inst. |
|
 |
Inderjit Singh, PhD
Scientific Director
Darby Children's
Research Inst. |
|
New recruit intent on cilia's role in skeletal tissues
New assistant professor Dr. Courtney J. Haycraft has always wanted to be an independent researcher, and by joining the DCRI in July she's achieved that goal.
An affiliate in the renal biology lab, Dr. Haycraft brings a great amount of mouse genetic experience to Dr. Darwin Bell's group.
"My work complements his work in kidney physiology," she notes. Dr. Haycraft completed her graduate and post-doctoral work at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, under Dr. Brad Yoder, a former colleague of Dr. Bell.
[read more]
Evidence-Based Tip
The Obesity Epidemic: Is there evidence about what can help our children?
I was listening to the news this morning, as I got ready for work. Between blasts of my hair dryer I heard "Since 2003... not one state has reported a decline in obesity." It was a story about the Trust for American's Health report "F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America." The report states that our South Carolina youth have the 7th highest rate of obesity in the country, at 18.9%. I wondered as I listened, has any program or any therapy been shown to be effective in preventing or reducing obesity?
I knew that there would be a lot about obesity in the medical literature. So I decided to be very precise, and start in the MeSH (Medical Subject Heading) Database of PubMed.
|
 |
Laura Cousineau, MLS
MUSC Library
Dept. of Pediatrics EBM Faculty |
|
[read more]
A special thanks to the following individuals for their efforts in putting together Kids Connection each month.
Editor: Bernard L. Maria, MD, MBA, Jennifer Cherock, Trio Solutions Inc.
Publisher: Brian Cendrowski, Trio Solutions Inc., Roxanne Hicks, Trio Solutions, Inc.
Feature Writer: Mary Sue Lawrence
Contributing Writers:
Lyndon Key,
Bernard Maria,
Inderjit Singh,
Philip Saul,
Laura Cousineau
|
|
