Communication with kids and families - how NOT to do it!

Working in a Paediatric Emergency Department that has 52,000 attendances per year, means that at this point I have fallen into almost every possible pitfall associated with communicating with children and their parents, whether it be the seriously ill or the efficient disposition of the worried well and everything in between. The art of appearing to take all the time in the world whilst managing large volumes of patients can be challenging at times. It can be difficult to separate your emotional response to a patient and their parents from your professional assessment. I hope that by hightlighting mistakes I have encountered along the way that others will learn from them.