A pediatrician is a doctor who treats newborns, children, adolescents and young adults. Pediatricians play an important role in the health and wellbeing of your child. They have a wide range of responsibilities from conducting regular well-child checkups to diagnosing and treating illnesses, injuries and other health conditions.
What is a pediatrician?
A pediatrician is a doctor who focuses on the health of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. Pediatric care starts at birth and lasts through a child’s 21st birthday or longer. Pediatricians prevent, detect and manage physical, behavioral and developmental issues that affect children. Some pediatricians work in general practice. Others specialize in treating children with specific health conditions.
What education does a pediatrician need?
Pediatricians undergo extensive education and training. First, they must get a four-year undergraduate degree. During undergrad, they take pre-medical courses such as biology and chemistry.
Next, pediatricians must attend four years of medical school. In medical school, they take coursework such as anatomy and physiology. In addition, they take part in clinical rotations where they learn about the different areas of medicine. These areas include pediatrics, emergency medicine, neurology, psychiatry and radiology. It’s during these clinical rotations that many doctors decide what they want to specialize in.
If a doctor decides to specialize in pediatrics, they move on to a three-year pediatric residency program. Residency includes extra training in various pediatric specialties such as newborns, newborn intensive care, general pediatrics and developmental-behavioral pediatrics. During residency, pediatricians must gain the knowledge, skills and experience they’ll need to treat a broad range of conditions in children.
