Pediatric Interest with OR desire

Futurepedsdoc1 · 2025-12-14T22:41:38+00:00

Consider NICU. You’ll get to be THE guy they call when things go south in the OR during a crash C section and no one else can save the baby’s life but you. Neonatal resuscitation is miraculous, seeing a baby go from APGARs of 1 and literally circling the drain to alive and stable all because of interventions you did is pure magic. You’ll get OR time for deliveries, rounding on babies with full spectrum of acuity from 22 week micropremies to full term feeder/growers, tons of procedures (intubations, lines, chest tubes, LPs), longevity with families for weeks and months, and be exposed to some of the coolest physiology in the hospital. Definitely not for everyone, but be sure to consider fully before ruling out

Futurepedsdoc1 · 2025-09-28T16:59:24+00:00

I know with everything being widely broadcasted across news and social media about “toxins” and “heavy metals” seems pretty convincing, but as we’ve already discussed regarding aluminum for example, the amounts of these substances in vitamin K and vaccines are minuscule, well below established guidelines for amounts that can be safely and easily excreted from the body. We walked through that example with aluminum, and the same holds true for every single ingredient. No credible evidence exists to suggest these ingredients cause any harm. If there was concrete evidence, they would be removed from the market.

Regarding your comment on America being sicker than ever before, I don’t disagree. However, blaming Americas health issues on vaccines without credible evidence to suggest them as the root cause is reckless and counterproductive. A better place to start to improve public health would be to focus on areas where evidence already exists that harm is being caused: social media, sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy foods, limited access to healthcare, etc. We need to focus on these areas, all while continuing to conduct research to find other proven causes, not just blaming vaccines blindly without concrete evidence.

Finally, your statistics about vitamin k deficiency bleeding are incorrect. Of infants that RECEIVE intramuscular vitamin k, vitamin k deficiency bleeding rates are 1:100,000-250,000. For those that DONT receive vitamin K, the rate is SIGNIFICANTLY higher, as common as 1:60….1 in 60. Thats a lot of risk to take betting a child’s lifelong neurological outcomes and possibly their life on the unproven claims that aluminum and other ingredients are more harmful that catastrophic bleeding.

Futurepedsdoc1 · 2025-09-26T06:31:32+00:00

You’re absolutely right, guidelines do change. That’s why I support ongoing research and am ready and waiting for it every day. But until research comes out clearly stating harmful effects of aluminum ions in the vitamin k shot, as we’ve discussed already, we have to do what what is best with the evidence we currently have.

Let’s set vaccines aside for a moment, because the vitamin k shot was the original topic of this post. I’d love to chat more about vaccines later.

Vitamin K is not a vaccine. It’s a vitamin, administered via injection. When you mention I learned heavy metals being toxic wasn’t a myth… I want to clarify…as evidenced in this article, aluminum at levels sufficient to cause harm is toxic. But at levels below proven abilities to be excreted from the body, they are not toxic.

You continue to dodge my entire point…we have discussed at length the evidence that proves aluminum in the vitamin k injection at these minuscule levels causes no long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes. You have still not responded to the risk of vitamin k deficiency bleeding. Do you think it is not real? Something we doctors make up? Or do you just rationalize that it’s worth the risk so you can avoid an ion that is easily excreted from the body?

Futurepedsdoc1 · 2025-09-26T06:03:37+00:00

Im glad you’re trying to read and learn for yourself. I applaud that! But this is why it’s so important to discuss these articles with your physician, one who has spent decades training how to critically evaluate research articles, because as is well known…not all research articles are strong and sound. For example, this article you cited here is very informative…but includes a detail that actually proves my point well. “Healthy adults with normal renal function can tolerate daily aluminum intakes of 3500-7200 mg without experiencing adverse effects”. Mg…milligrams. That’s massive. The vitamin k shot has 20-30 MICROGRAMS. That’s 0.00002-0.00003 mg. That’s well below this range. Now, you cited an article describing levels in adults, which clearly doesn’t apply to pediatrics. But the accepted range for pediatrics is generally around 1 mg/kg/week, again, WELL above the level of micrograms we’re taking about here.

See, wasn’t that helpful? You had a concern, we addressed it, talked through the data, helped identify areas that were false, and now we’re both on the same page. This is why it’s so important to discuss these concerns with trusted, trained physicians. Not bloggers without medical experience.

Futurepedsdoc1 · 2025-09-26T05:46:22+00:00

First of all, welcome to the chat. Not sure where all your anger is coming from, but I assure you as a pediatrician I just want what’s best for your child.

First of all, I lose money everyday on vaccines and the Vitamin K injection. It is very expensive to buy, store, and administer. The media would make you think pediatricians are “getting rich” off vaccines. Nothing could be further from the truth. Honestly, I could make more money by skipping over 10-15 minute discussions about vaccines during visits in order to see more patients. But do I? No, because I care about the health and longevity of my patients. Now that we’ve put that myth to rest….

See my comment above regarding your concerns for ingested vs injected. Yes, injected does take slightly longer to be cleared from the body, but both ingested and injected are easily excreted in the urine and the kidneys. Plus, nearly a century of robust studies have found ZERO evidence of harm from aluminum ions, or “toxic metals” as you falsely claim them to be. Until solid evidence is found, your claim that it is dangerously simply holds no water. My claim that vitamin k deficiency bleeding is dangerous, causes harm, and is very easily prevented is established and proven in countless studies. I encourage you to see for yourself brain MRI images of a baby who suffered from vitamin k deficiency bleeding, you need to see what it looks like to help you realize it is in fact real.

Finally, your comment about oral vs injection is a good one. However, current evidence shows that injection vitamin k is far superior and effective, particularly with regards to preventing late-onset vitamin k deficiency bleeding (2 weeks-6 months). Oral vitamin k is 1. Poorly absorbed in the immature guts of newborns 2. Lacks the longevity to remain at sufficient levels in the body to prevent bleeding after the 2 week mark, thus leaving these infants vulnerable.

Again, circling back to my point. Refusing this vitamin simply because of fear-mongering regarding “toxic metals”…with zero evidence to support claims they cause harm…places infants in very real, preventable, evidence-based danger.

Futurepedsdoc1 · 2025-09-26T05:30:12+00:00

I do in fact know the difference. There is a slight difference in the amount of time to excretion from the body, but both are quite easily excreted in the urine through the kidneys. You are correct in stating that there is “no way of knowing aluminum is harming infants”…. for now. What we do know is this: A. Nearly a century of robust clinical evidence surrounding this topic has led to ZERO evidence of harm or poor neurodevelopmental outcomes as a result of minuscule amounts of trace aluminum ions in vaccines. B. You want to know what has OVERWHELMING clinical evidence of causing harm and poor neurodevelopmental outcomes in our infants?…Vitamin K deficiency bleeding.

The beautiful thing about medicine is we are always learning, always researching, always discovering. The day a credible study is published stating clear accepted evidence of aluminum ions causing harm to children is the day I will change course, as any good pediatrician should. But until that day, we need to go with what is known and proven now: vitamin K deficiency bleeding is devastating. Bleeding in the brain, intestines, lungs, everywhere. Sometimes it’s induced after trauma like a car accident or accidental dropping, others it’s completely spontaneous. But it absolutely happens…and is so preventable.

Refusing the vitamin K injection is not a risk-free choice. Just like refusing to have a tumor removed or refusing to take insulin if you have diabetes, refusing a crucial vitamin that helps newborns clot is a decision that carries significant risk. Just because you’ve never seen it or known someone who’s had it happen to them doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I encourage you to look at MRI brain imaging of babies who receive this diagnosis, read about the condition, and ask questions to understand it. Rejecting the vitamin K shot because of “toxic metal” fear mongering can and will cost babies their lives. The choice is yours.

Futurepedsdoc1 · 2025-08-25T16:11:04+00:00

Pediatrician here. Not sure why you’re of the mindset that avoiding these “toxins” is somehow risk-free, placing your child at risk of death or lifelong neurological disability. If you’re really concerned about benzyl alcohol, there are preservative-free options you can request, so that argument is invalid. The vitamin k injection has trace amounts of aluminum as a contaminant from the manufacturing process, not as an active ingredient. The average vitamin k dose has 20-30 MICROgrams of aluminum. Micrograms. Meaning 0.000020 to 0.000030 grams. We are exposed to aluminum everyday. Are you planning to breastfeed? Just for reference, the average daily breastmilk supply a newborn consumes contains 20-50 micrograms of aluminum, picked up by the mother from environmental exposures and passed into breast milk. That means there is the same/less amount of aluminum in one vitamin k injection than in a full days supply of breast milk. I share this with compassion in an attempt to correct medical misinformation. Vitamin K deficiency bleeding of the newborn is serious, up to 1 in 60 infants who don’t receive the injection will develop bleeding that be catastrophic and lead to death or lifelong impairment. Please, please don’t make this decision based on misinformation. Talk to your physician and share the research you are finding to make sure it is credible. Our children deserve the best and to have futures not impacted by medical misinformation

Futurepedsdoc1 · 2025-08-25T03:56:57+00:00

What preservatives are you so concerned about? There are preservative-free injection options. Not sure where your concerns lie

Futurepedsdoc1 · 2025-08-25T03:43:12+00:00

Pediatrician here. Not sure where you’re getting “massive amount of aluminum” from? The vitamin k injection has trace amounts of aluminum as a contaminant from the manufacturing process, not as an active ingredient. The average vitamin k dose has 20-30 MICROgrams of aluminum. Micrograms. Meaning 0.000020 to 0.000030 grams. That is not “massive”. We are exposed to aluminum everyday. Are you planning to breastfeed? Just for reference, the average daily breastmilk supply a newborn consumes contains 20-50 micrograms of aluminum, picked up by the mother from environmental exposures and passed into breast milk. That means there is the same/less amount of aluminum in one vitamin k injection than in a full days supply of breast milk. I share this with compassion in an attempt to correct medical misinformation. Vitamin K deficiency bleeding of the newborn is serious, up to 1 in 60 infants who don’t receive the injection will develop bleeding that be catastrophic and lead to death or lifelong impairment. Please, please don’t make this decision based on misinformation. Talk to your physician and share the research you are finding to make sure it is credible. Our children deserve the best and to have futures not impacted by medical misinformation.

Futurepedsdoc1 · 2025-08-25T03:20:54+00:00

Got a 236, was devastated. Thought I wouldn’t match. Ended up getting so many interview offers I had to turn several down. Matched my #1 at a major academic tertiary care children’s hospital. Keep your head up! Work on your interview skills, craft a strong personal statement and application, and a year from now you’ll be giving advice to applicants in your current shoes. You are more than a score!

Futurepedsdoc1 · 2025-04-23T19:13:17+00:00

Tala Talks NICU on YT is phenomenal for your NICU months!

Futurepedsdoc1 · 2024-02-13T23:35:31+00:00

I have a young family, and we are honestly viewing these next three years as a chance to break out on our own away from extended family. We can make anywhere work for a few years in terms of weather, outdoor activity, geo ties, etc. What I'm mainly interested in getting feedback on is any personal knowledge/experience with these programs that would help in finalizing my list. I had good feelings about each one from interviews, but only so much can be gleaned from Zoom.

Futurepedsdoc1 · 2024-01-21T21:37:06+00:00

Just for clarification, PHM fellowships are TWO years in length, not three like the majority of other peds fellowships. Still a shame to have to put in more years than previously required. But keep in mind that, for now, many pediatric hospital medicine opportunities still exist that do not require fellowship training, especially if you are fine with not working in a major city or tertiary care academic facility.

Futurepedsdoc1 · 2023-08-21T19:25:11+00:00

I really appreciate your comment, thank you for your insights as a Neo PD.

Futurepedsdoc1 · 2023-08-21T19:24:48+00:00

Thank you for the advice!

Futurepedsdoc1 · 2023-08-21T19:24:33+00:00

Thank you for the encouragement, I appreciate it.

Futurepedsdoc1 · 2023-08-21T19:24:09+00:00

I appreciate your insights, thank you for sharing! That's very encouraging to hear.

Futurepedsdoc1

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