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Pediatricians specialize in the care of children from birth to age 18, with some continuing to see patients into their twenties. They offer vaccinations, general health exams, and treatments for minor conditions, and refer patients with serious problems to specialists. Pediatricians work in a variety of medical specialties and must also work with parents and family members.
The pediatrician is a doctor who specializes in the care of children. Pediatrics is a very broad medical specialty, encompassing everything from general practice to childhood oncology. Just like other medical specialties, pediatrics requires a medical school education followed by several years of residency in pediatrics, or “pediatrics” as it is affectionately called. A pediatrician who wishes to specialize in a particular field such as oncology or orthopedics must complete an additional residency in her specialty.
A pediatrician can care for a child from birth until about age 18, and in some cases, the doctor may agree to continue seeing a child well into their twenties. Child care is markedly different from adult care, as children have unique medical conditions and issues that adults don’t have to deal with, and their differing body sizes pose some unique treatment challenges.
Until the late 20th century, many serious illnesses caused death in infancy, and some pediatricians became experts in illnesses that other doctors almost never saw. With advanced medical treatment options, these diseases have become more common in adults, leading some doctors to turn to pediatric specialists to learn about diseases such as hemophilia and cystic fibrosis. A general practitioner pediatrician typically refers patients with these diseases to a doctor or hospital who specializes in them; there are also many funds for research into childhood diseases, and pediatrics made great strides as a medical field in the late 20th century. For example, premature babies have a better survival rate than ever before, thanks to the field of neonatology.
Basically, pediatricians offer vaccinations, general health exams, and treatments for an assortment of minor conditions and injuries. When a patient experiences a more serious problem, a general practitioner will refer the patient to a specialist. Pediatricians can be found working in ophthalmology, rheumatology, surgery, anesthesiology, psychology, neurology, and an assortment of other medical specialties. Many teaching hospitals have very good pediatric programs and very sick children are often referred to such hospitals for the best care available.
People who work in pediatrics sometimes say the job is very rewarding and also downright frustrating. A pediatrician must work not only with the sick patient, but also with parents and other family members who may be extremely concerned. Like all physicians, he or she also has certain ethical responsibilities, such as a mandate to report suspected child abuse, a problem most frequently encountered by pediatricians because they work exclusively with children.
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