Standing up for kids: When one physician's voice changes everything

What if the most important thing you do as a physician happens outside the exam room?

Free N. Hess, D.O., a board-certified pediatrician and pediatric emergency physician, reached this epiphany early in her career when she realized that many of the children she was treating didn't need to be there at all.

"Moving from an inner-city hospital to a rural area opened my eyes to how many injuries and illnesses could be prevented by more community resources and better education," Hess said.

That insight didn't just change how she practiced. It changed her sense of responsibility.

"I wanted to do more than educate one-on-one in the emergency room. I wanted a larger platform."

Hess took action, starting the website Pedi-Mom, launching a podcast, and branching into social media. Now a national expert on child safety, Hess speaks at medical conferences, regularly consults with families, schools, and manufacturing companies, and was even interviewed for the BBC documentary "Childhood 2.0." And her work is making a difference.

Read more at MedicalEconomics.com.

Music Credits
Medical Education by Art Media - stock.adobe.com

Editor's note: Episode timestamps and transcript produced using AI tools.

0:17 — Dr. Free Hess introduces herself and her background in pediatric emergency medicine
1:18 — From the Bronx to rural Florida: How the move changed her perspective on preventable injuries
4:33 — Frustration with one-on-one education in the ER and the decision to build a larger platform
4:49 — Launching Pedi-Mom, the podcast, and expanding to social media including TikTok
6:09 — Safe sleep: Explaining the difference between bed sharing and room sharing, and why "co-sleeping" is a problematic term
8:18 — Why safe sleep generates so much backlash, and working with parent advocates who have lost children
11:15 — Expanding into speaking, documentaries, and consulting on child safety and online predators
12:03 — Why physicians need to be on social media and how to get started
13:25 — Practical advice for overcoming the fear of criticism and imperfection online
16:16 — Discussion of a viral post on teenage pregnancy and the broader threat of child sexual exploitation
20:11 — How advocacy opens doors: BBC's "Childhood 2.0" documentary and collaborating with outside influencers
21:22 — The scope of child sexual abuse and how social media and AI have expanded predators' reach
23:15 — Explaining sextortion: How it works, why teen boys are the primary target, and the link to suicide
25:01 — Advice for parents and physicians on protecting kids online
25:44 — The sextortion story that changed everything: A mother's message and a Department of Homeland Security arrest
28:18 — Saving parent thank-you messages as motivation, and the impact of getting just one physician online
30:19 — Advice for physicians on reaching out to peers when things go wrong on social media
33:22 — Closing thoughts on why the benefits outweigh the risks of speaking out