The Pediatrician provides care from the birth of a baby to early adulthood. The Pediatrician is concerned about the health of infants, children and teenagers.
Primary Responsibilities:
- A Pediatrician specializes in diagnosis of ailments.
- A Pediatrician is responsible for treatment of ailments
- A Pediatrician tracks growth patterns of children and provides adequate health care.
A Pediatrician works with different health care workers, such as nurses and other physicians to assess and treat young children. Most Pediatricians normally treat children on a day to day basis diagnosing minor infectious disease, injuries and providing the proper immunizations. A Pediatrician is much like your regular health care provider except that they focus on children instead of adults. There are some Pediatricians who specialize in treating serious medical conditions and pediatric surgery. Unfortunately there are children who have chronic ailments that require a specialist in the field so that is why some Pediatrician focuses on just these types of ailments.
Many Pediatricians work long hours when they are specialized in a certain field because of the condition of the child. Most Pediatricians work in a very pleasant environment being indoors in well lighted exam rooms and hospitals. A Pediatrician works a sixty hour work week and has the problem of being awakened at all hours of the night. When a child becomes sick or has a serious accident it normally happens in off hour times.
A Pediatrician like most doctors is required to have a most demanding formal education. A Pediatrician attends four years of undergraduate school, four years of medical school and three to eight years of internship and residency. There are a few medical schools that offer combined undergraduate and medical school programs that last six years rather than the eight year term. Premedical students are required to complete undergraduate work in physics, biology, mathematics, English and inorganic and organic chemistry. Many premed students do volunteer work at the local hospital in order to gain practical experience in the health profession. All Pediatricians just like Physicians are regulated and must be licensed in all 50 states in America. The requirements in becoming a credentialed and licensed Pediatric Physician are as follows:
- The Pediatrician must have the amount of training and a degree from an accredited school of medicine.
- A Pediatrician must complete the required amount of time as an intern as a Pediatric intern/resident.
- The Pediatrician must pass the national exam that all Pediatricians are required to take.
- The Pediatrician then must apply for licensure in the state that they wish to practice. In some states a test maybe given as a precautionary method.
The Pediatrician is required to work longer hours and get a higher education than most career minded people do but remember they are working with human life and that of infants and children. The pay is one of the highest in the nation and job opportunities are very good since the position is in high demand. New Pediatricians are more likely to enter into salaried employee positions rather than work on their own. Group medical Practices, clinics and hospitals hire new upcoming Pediatricians giving them a great salary. This works out great for both the Pediatrician and the health care position. The Pediatrician is responsible for insurances, supplies, and overhead which can amount to a tremendous amount of money but by working for a group health care organization all these things are taken care of for them. Farther, it is very easy for them to get a second opinion from a Pediatrician who has been in practice for a while working for the same group.
The Pediatrician of today has many more advantages because of group health networks and hospitals that will help sponsor their endeavors. One of the major problems existing in this career is law suits many Pediatricians cannot afford the burden of these episodes and the insurance that goes with a private practice. Remembering that you are working with children and just like all people no two are the same. What might work for one child may not work for another child. The Pediatrician can apply all their skills to help an ailing child with no success. This is not something that any Pediatrician likes to face but when it happens they will usually refer the child to another Pediatrician. The family then may feel that malpractice is happening and sue the Pediatrician. In this event the Pediatrician needs a good insurance in order to cover any misunderstandings or accidents if in case they happen.