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Dr. Brooke Lasics: Solving the Patient Puzzle
"When I get to work I realize that that is exactly where I want to be, because each day brings new patients and new challenges," said Lasics, third-year pediatric resident on her last rotation at the Ben Taub EC, a Harris County Hospital District facility. Dropping off her 18-month-old daughter at school each morning has been difficult and it was hard to go back to work after her three-month maternity leave, but she said she would do it all over again in an instant. But not without coffee. This particular Tuesday Lasics discovered that the coffee stand at Ben Taub served her favorite Starbucks coffee. Not that she needed the extra caffeine. Lasics possessed a natural energy and penchant for keeping children happy. Lasics was excited about an offer from Dr. Ralph Feigin, Chair of Pediatrics at BCM and Physician-in-Chief at Texas Children's Hospital. She had been selected as Chief Resident upon completion of her final year as resident, and along with two other Chief Residents, would be responsible for scheduling all pediatric residents. In addition, she would have a BCM faculty position. Most days start slowly in the EC, with plenty of time to discuss the previous night's shift, unusual cases or to haggle over who gets to see a patient. The number of students far outnumbered the number of patients. Lasics' responsibility as a third-year resident is to see patients after medical students and interns examine them. The trainees present their patient's case, history and possible treatment options to Lasics. "I really try to let the student figure out what to do on their own," Lasics said. "It's not fun for me if I just tell them what to do and they really don't learn anything if I do that. It's a two-way street. We learn from the students and they learn from us." Lasic's day had slowed enough to allow her an unhurried walk down the hall to drop off paperwork for a CT scan, but by the time she had returned, the EC had picked up. Waiting for her was a patient who had intentionally overdosed on cold medicine. "I hate to say that we become desensitized to situations like this, but to see it everyday it really loses its shock value," she said, writing in a chart. More than half of the day is spent writing in charts, which is Lasics' least favorite part of the job. The most important thing we can do for patients is to help them find a medical 'home,'" she said. "Anytime we see a patient without a primary care doctor, we refer them to the Continuity Clinic at Ben Taub. We provide tons of educational information for parents and their kids while they are in the EC, but they still need to have a place they feel they can go to for help." Lasics sees each patient case as akin to piecing together a puzzle - but always "with teamwork" and with constant communication about everything - old treatments, new treatments and even techniques on handling crying babies. "That is the great thing about pediatrics, it is very collegial. There are no hierarchies when learning and the knowledge we gain by working together with attending physicians, residents and medical students is invaluable," said Lasics. |
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Volume 1, Issue 2, Summer 2005 |
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| Last modified: October 10, 2008 |
Residents never know what's going to come through the door at the Ben Taub General Hospital Pediatric Emergency Center (EC), but that's exactly what gets Dr. Brooke Lasics out of bed each morning.