Ivy Pointer, MD, MPH
Pediatric Intensivist
WakeMed Health and Hospitals
aka Young I.V.
I have never been afraid to act like a fool for a good laugh and if you’ve seen any of my Young I.V. videos, you will have seen plenty of footage of me acting like a fool (I hope you laughed). People often ask me “How did you get the idea to start doing this?”
Well, I wish I could say that I planned it out from the beginning but it sort of happened spontaneously. I had seen many of the Holderness family videos (ed. note - a Raleigh NC family that makes parody videos about various topics) and thought to myself, wow that looks like fun. So I decided to write a rap about my entire family having gastro for 3 weeks. I shared the lyrics with some colleagues at work who thought they were hysterical. Since I really will do anything for a good laugh, I turned the rap into a music video and even enlisted the participation of my entire family.
Fast forward about a year, and I have now produced 23 videos on various pediatric topics, with several more raps written and ready to produce. The topics range from helmets, vaccines, and car seats to food allergies, croup, and reflux.
At first I joked that the goal of Young I.V. was to rap with Jimmy Fallon. Of course, that is still totally a goal, but as the videos started to gain some popularity outside my inner circle, I realized that these videos could have a broader reach and purpose.
In our social media, digitally-driven, entertainment-addicted world, I am hoping these videos can compete with all the other messages parents are hearing about how to keep their kids healthy and safe.
The goal of Young I.V. is to bring awareness to children’s health issues and educate the public in a nonthreatening and entertaining way. I hope you’ll enjoy and share them but most of all, I hope you laugh!
Here is my most popular video:
https://youtu.be/48DOigw98TM
And my newest on Back to Sleep:
https://youtu.be/vghgMc84Zek
Find all of the videos at:
www.youngiv.org
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFwd3xAmX7x0_pa2D34wbIw
