Housemanship postings
Housemanship: paediatrics
The paediatrics posting teaches house officers to care for sick babies and children and to talk with worried parents. It underpins child and adolescent psychiatry and the understanding of normal development.
Depth by stage, Pre-U → Consultant (details)
What is it?
House officers in paediatrics work in children's wards, neonatal units and paediatric emergency areas. They clerk sick children, calculate drug doses by weight, insert drips in small veins and resuscitate newborns.
Common problems include fever, dengue, asthma, gastroenteritis, jaundice in newborns and seizures. Doctors also learn to check growth charts, immunisation records and developmental milestones.
Talking to children at their level and supporting anxious parents is a core skill learned here, and it is exactly what a child psychiatrist needs.
Why does a psychiatrist need it?
Autism, ADHD, intellectual disability and many anxiety and mood problems start in childhood. A psychiatrist must know what normal development looks like, how child protection works, and how to work with paediatricians, who often see these children first.
What level is expected at each stage?
Scale: 1. Aware → 2. Understands → 3. Applies → 4. Masters / Teaches. What the levels mean.
- Pre-UNot expected
- Pre-clinicalNot expected
- ClinicalUnderstandsLearns paediatric history, examination and developmental assessment as a student.
- HousemanshipAppliesManages common paediatric illnesses and emergencies under supervision.
- Medical officerUnderstandsRetains developmental and safeguarding knowledge for family-oriented work.
- Psych traineeUnderstandsUses developmental knowledge in child and adolescent placements.
- Specialist / consultantUnderstandsChild and adolescent subspecialists work at level 4 alongside paediatricians.
What are the key topics?
Acute paediatrics
- Fever in children and sepsis recognition
- Dengue in children
- Asthma and bronchiolitis
- Dehydration and fluid calculation
- Febrile and non-febrile seizures
Neonatal care
- Newborn examination
- Neonatal jaundice
- Basic neonatal resuscitation
- Feeding problems
Growth and development
- Growth charts and failure to thrive
- Developmental milestones
- Immunisation schedule (National Immunisation Programme)
- Early signs of autism and developmental delay
Child protection and family
- Recognising suspected child abuse and neglect
- Hospital child protection teams and referral
- Communicating with parents
- Adolescents: confidentiality and risk-taking behaviour
How is it learned and assessed?
- Ward and on-call work with paediatric medical officers and specialists
- Procedure logbook
- End-of-posting assessment
- Neonatal resuscitation training
Typical textbooks and resources
- Oxford Handbook of Paediatrics — Oxford University Press
- Paediatric Protocols for Malaysian Hospitals — Malaysian Paediatric Association / MOH
- Illustrated Textbook of Paediatrics — Elsevier
Titles are widely used examples; editions change. Use university libraries or legitimate purchases.
Common questions
Do child psychiatrists need paediatric experience?
Yes. Paediatrics teaches normal development, child safety and how to work with families. Child and adolescent psychiatrists rely on this daily.
What is the Malaysian paediatric protocol book?
Malaysian hospitals use a widely known set of paediatric protocols produced with the Ministry of Health. House officers use it as a quick guide on the ward.