How to leave your work at work?

It is hard to see children who have been abused. That is something that never gets easier. But you learn to wall off a little bit of that emotion so that you can give good care to the patient. You focus on what you can do right now for that child to make their day better; sometimes it's giving medication for their pain, sometimes it's holding/rocking them, sometimes it's making sure your notes are very detailed so that social services can do their job the best way possible, and there are many other things. Yes, I get very angry every time I care for a child who has been abused. I may cry about their situation on my way home. I hate that they have been hurt by someone who should have been caring for them. But I can also see that most of the time, they are out of that situation now and on their way to being in a safe, loving home.

As far as pediatric death, that is also something that is never easy, but you are focusing again on what you can do for the patient and his/her family at the time. It's okay to be sad; it's okay to cry a bit with them and their parents; as long as the family is not having to comfort you. If you do end up in pediatrics, your co-workers will also (hopefully) be a big support for you in situations like this.

There are threads on this forum and on the PICU forum also that have a lot of people's advice and thoughts on dealing with pediatric death and other difficult situations... Look them up b/c they are very helpful and useful. Take care and good luck in clinicals- Most of the time, pediatrics really is a happy place :)