[MUSIC PLAYING]
SOPHIA: I chose this job because I've always
loved working with kids.
I find them to be so full of energy, and so fun.
I work at a clinic that's part of UCSF.
And I get to see all sorts of patients.
I see little babies, children, adolescents,
18-year-olds for checkups.
And then I see kids when they're sick as well.
I went to Stanford and I majored in human biology.
And then I knew I wanted to do primary care.
So I was looking for a medical school
that had like a really good primary care program,
and that ended up taking me to University of Washington.
And then I have a lot of family in the area,
so I decided to come here for residency.
I was at Oakland Children's, which is now part of UCSF.
So today is kind of like a typical day.
I have a few young kids who are here for checkups,
and a few older kids who are here for checkups.
I have two babies on this schedule,
and so I'm really looking forward
to seeing how the parents are adjusting to being
new parents for the first time.
Oh, my goodness.
Look at this beautiful baby.
Hi, all smiles.
Hi.
How's the sleep going?
AUDIENCE: Good.
I mean, he still will only really sleep
if I'm next to him.
SOPHIA: I think it's really important when you're
doing this job that you really ask the parents what
their concerns are, and really take time to listen.
Parents, especially want to feel heard,
and want to be able to voice all their concerns.
I think you also just have to really enjoy
interacting with people.
It helps if you're really excitable, and enjoy
playing with kids, because they feed off of that energy.
So it makes it a lot more fun if you can really
be in the moment with them.
So if you want to be a pediatrician,
I think it's a really hard decision.
The hardest part is getting into medical school.
You have to get really good grades in college.
And then you have to take a test called
the MCAT, which looks to see how much anatomy,
and physiology, and chemistry, and biology that you know.
Ad you have to interview to get into medical school.
It's Dr. Herd.
I'm calling you from my office number.
How are you?
So we're going to see a really cute four-month-old.
I always look at the growth chart before I go in.
And this baby is growing super well.
[CHUCKLES] Very cute baby.
We'll see what the parents have on their minds.
She just gets bigger, and bigger, and bigger.
Oh my goodness.
Look how cute.
Hey, how's it going?
Has she started laughing yet?
AUDIENCE: We got her one good chuckle,
like where she was just--
there was like a little toy.
It was like [VOCALIZATION].
Yeah.
And she was just like, ha, ha.
SOPHIA: She'll start laughing at you guys too.
You just have to be funny enough.
AUDIENCE: Totally.
I'll work on it.
SOPHIA: Hi.
Oh, look-- when I'm thinking about how
to engage with my patients, and with parents, I'm
always thinking about the age of the kid,
and who the real focus is for the day.
With the younger babies I'm spending a lot
of time talking to the parents.
It's almost like the parent is my patient.
And as the kids get older, I spend a lot more time
engaging with the kids, and asking
what they're interested in, and what they--
if they have any questions about their health.
You also have to be pretty creative to do this job.
You have to find ways of getting the kid's attention,
and keeping them calm, especially
with the young babies.
Sometimes I give them my tools to play with,
or sometimes I'll put stickers on my visor
so they have something to look at.
It's pretty fun trying to figure out ways
to get the kids to cooperate.
OK.
I have a trivia question for you.
How many years of schooling does it
take to become a pediatrician?
I'll have that answer for you later in this video.
So my next patient is a newborn baby, only 10 days old,
super fresh and cute.
The parents are pretty tired.
So we try to keep this appointment simple.
Talk about feeding, and sleeping, and the essentials,
so they don't get too overwhelmed.
Good morning, guys.
The weight looks amazing.
AUDIENCE: I know.
SOPHIA: Tell me what you ended up doing?
AUDIENCE: Just doing the formula for every feed
just to get him up to the birth weight,
and then we can reassess again.
I think--
SOPHIA: Yeah, I think that's fair.
I think you have to have a lot of patience to do this job.
It can be really hard delivering bad news to parents.
In recent years, I became a parent,
and it's really shaped the way I think about my job.
I had twins, and when my son was four months old,
he had to be hospitalized, and he had
to undergo open heart surgery.
And I remember the doctors at the hospital
making such a difference.
The way they listened to us, and they really reassured me,
and my family that things were going to be OK.
And I realized I'm in this position where
I can do the same thing for other families,
and it's pretty powerful.
It's a really humbling experience.
I heard the big news.
This is a game changer.
Now that you can eat meat, we don't
have to worry as much about your iron
level, which is really good.
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
They said it was still low but--
SOPHIA: It's a little bit.
But you know what?
I think it's within the margin of error to be honest.
I don't know if I fully believe it.
We could do another little poke if you're down for it.
If you're not too nervous.
AUDIENCE: Yeah.
SOPHIA: When I first entered in at Stanford,
75% of the undergraduate class wanted to be doctors,
and by the time we graduated only 30%
had decided at that point that they
still wanted to be doctors, or actually got
into medical school.
You also have to be able to see things that look funny,
like broken bones, or funny rashes, or wounds in the skin.
You kind of have to have a strong stomach to do this job.
Know that you're going to give up quite a few years, maybe
all of your 20s.
But then in the end, you're going
to have a super rewarding career.
It's super fun, and I really love my job.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Thanks for watching.
Be sure to give us a like and subscribe to our channel.
We'll see you next time.
So there's no bloopers right.
Are there bloopers?
AUDIENCE: Bloopers.
SOPHIA: I'll have that question for you--
I'll have that answer for you.
[LAUGHTER]
I have many questions for you because we're never leaving.
[LAUGHTER]