What is a pediatrician?
A pediatrician is a medical doctor who provides medical care or services to the needs of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. The pediatrician provides the primary care for many young people from birth, perhaps through the age of 18. The word pediatrician comes from the Greek word for child. The pediatrician must have sufficient training and experience in treating childhood injuries and illnesses.
What does a pediatrician do?
- A regular scheduled examination of a child or checking of injury or illness.
- Physical examination, such as weight and measurement of the child; looking into the eyes, ears, nose, and throat; listening to the lungs and heartbeat, and asking general questions about the child’s health.
- Checking for common growth issues, such as joint misalignments.
- Advising additional tests such as X rays or urine samples.
- Regular check-up of a child for annual examinations from the age of 5 until the patient moves on to an adult doctor.
- Check-up of children for enrollment in school or participation in sports.
- Pediatricians take care of a number of infections and injuries as sprains and broken bones, which are more common among children than adults.
- Pediatricians often prescribe such medicines as antibiotics and painkillers.
- They administer regular immunizations to prevent disease of children.
- They may refer the child to a specialist for more serious issues or ones requiring highly specialized care.
- They consult and interact with parents or other caregivers, because younger patients are generally unable to comply with a course of treatment on their own.
- They provide advice to caregivers about the risks associated with a particular condition or treatment.
Subspecialities in Pediatrics
Some pediatricians get additional education, training and experience to become subspecialist who can treat young people with serious or chronic illness, from developmental disorders to childhood cancers. There are 20 subspecialties of pediatrics that are certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and its partners. They are:
- Adolescent medicine
- Pediatric cardiology (treating the heart)
- Child abuse pediatrics
- Pediatric critical care medicine
- Developmental-behavioral pediatrics
- Pediatric emergency medicine
- Pediatric endocrinology (treatment of hormone related issues, including diabetes)
- Pediatric gastroenterology (treatment of the stomach and intestines)
- Pediatric hematology-oncology (treatment of blood disorders and cancer
- Pediatric hospital medicine
- Pediatric infectious diseases
- Neonatal-perinatal medicine (including the treatment of infants and premature babies)
- Pediatric nephrology (treatment of the kidneys)
- Pediatric pulmonology (treatment of the lungs)
- Pediatric rheumatology (treatment of autoimmune illnesses)
- Hospice and palliative medicine
- Medical toxicology
- Sleep medicine
- Sports medicine
- Pediatric Transplant Hepatology (liver transplant)