Reflection Of Care Case Study

One instance that comes to mind from several years ago, involves advocating for the parent of a pediatric patient regarding their child’s plan of care. I can recall a seven-year-old patient being brought in by her mother, who happened to be a Spanish speaking, Hispanic woman. The mother had brought the child with complaints of tactile fever off and on for 3 weeks, along with body aches, headaches, and a generalized rash. The mother expressed concerns about the child’s inconsistent recovery. However, under the impression that it was a viral illness, the same provider saw the child on three different occasions. However, on the third visit, the mother, indicated frustration over the persistence of the illness, additionally; indicating that the child was constantly complaining of

Although, the parent was in agreement with the treatment plan, she also requested to be referred for specialty care, a request that the provider was hesitant to approve. After speaking to the parent and listening to her concerns, it was evident that she was distressed about the ongoing illness. The mother pleaded with me to ask the physician to agree on referring the child to a specialist, which I proceeded to request on her behalf. I humbly and respectably approached the physician in his/her office and requested that he/she agree to the referral based on the mother’s request and my own indescribable intuition that something else was going on. The physician, whom I had been working with for approximately five years, looked at me and asked if I truly believed that something else was going on; accordingly, I responded that the mother had legitimate concerns, that her job and mine was to advocate for the patient, and that yes, I indeed felt the referral was necessary. Three weeks later, the patient returned for a follow up, post-rheumatology evaluation; hence, the mother confirmed that a systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) diagnosis had been made and the patient had been started