dr. Muhammad Shaukat, a pediatric gastroenterologist who specializes in treating children for digestive problems, has joined Freeman Health System.
Shaukat treats all gastrointestinal ailments including celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, abdominal pain, stunted growth, and others. Procedures differ in the pediatric population and that requires scopes and other special sized equipment.
He said an important aspect of pediatric care is the emotional bond between parents and their children. As a specialist, he has more time to educate parents and help them understand how a disease works and how to help the child, he said.
“Parental anxiety is a factor,” he said in a statement. “They think there is something wrong with their child, and it is my duty to determine whether there is an anatomical defect or abnormality or whether it is a physiological phenomenon. No concern is a small concern. Much of my empathy and love for the patients and respect for parental concerns comes from when I had my own children.”
Shaukat’s son was born with a congenital heart problem and was a patient in a neonatal intensive care unit and a pediatric intensive care unit. He said that personal experience opened up a new side of him that evolves, continues to learn and is more mature.
Shaukat received his medical degree from King Edward Medical University in Punjab, Pakistan. He completed his residency at New York Medical College in New York City and completed the Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship Program at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences in Oklahoma City. He is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and is eligible to serve on the Board of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition.
References are required. For more information, contact the Freeman Children’s Clinic at 417-347-8750.
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