A paediatrician with high moral values will always try to help parents focus on their children’s optimal level of physical, mental, spiritual, and social health.
For Dr. Jahja, the most interesting thing about paediatrics is that he does not practice it in the same way as other medical sciences which focus on curing diseases. Dr. Jahja doesn’t want to solely give medicine to children who have the flu or a fever. Instead, negative tendencies in the attitudes and characteristics of his young patients are something to focus on. Being impudent towards others, whiny, or having temper tantrums is clearly detrimental for the child and for the parents. For Dr. Jahja, a good paediatrician is more than just prescribing medicine, they need to be a counsellor too.
In Bahasa, people who already have children are called orang tua (lit: old people). Dr. Jahja regards this as something poetic with a deep meaning. Those who become parents have 9 months to “improve themselves” to become wiser, self-sacrificing, resourceful and develop a strategy to welcome their child. As the child is expected to achieve the best version of themselves, parents must also be their best version. Dr. Jahja regards curing an illness as a relatively small and trivial matter from the child’s perspective, a small obstacle in reaching their greater potential. Throughout his career in the paediatrics, Dr. Jahja encountered many cases of early pregnancy, abuse of narcotic and psychotropic substances, sexually transmitted diseases, and neglect which have potentially extraordinary effects for his patients.
In terms of age, paediatricians cover the newly conceived up to 18 years of age. A pregnant patient is recommended to consult an obstetrician, but if congenital medical abnormalities in the foetus are found, for example during an ultrasound, the obstetrician will also consult a paediatrician. Several congenital medical disorders that are discovered in the womb have a good chance of being fully treated if treated in time and with the latest medical breakthroughs.
The paediatric medical services at Jatinegara Premier Hospital (RSPJ) are divided into three categories; Primary Services (minor illnesses, immunizations, monitoring of nutritional status), Secondary Services (hepatitis, inflammation of internal organs) and Tertiary Services (other emergency medical procedures that require intensive supervision). Paediatric services are supported by NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) facilities for new-borns to adolescents. RSPJ also separates the Paediatrics Polyclinic into two, for healthy and sick children where the Healthy Child Paediatrics Polyclinic focuses on immunization and child development with an increased scope to include mental development and speech delays.
