Pediatricians are medical doctors who provide general medical care for people in the age range of infants to young adults. Like general physicians, pediatricians are trained to diagnose and treat health issues but are specifically trained to treat young patients. They also monitor growth and development and administer immunizations.
Education and Qualifications
To become a pediatrician, one has to take a similar educational path as any other doctor except for the internship/residency part (a four-year bachelor’s degree followed by four more years of medical school is common to all MD professions). To get into medical school, the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) is required. After medical school, three years of residency in pediatrics are required to become a pediatrician. In summary, it takes 11 years to become a pediatrician.
Like general physicians, pediatricians can choose to sub-specialize in many areas. Some of them are, Adolescent Medicine, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Pediatric Cardiology, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine (ICU or NICU), Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Pediatric Endocrinology, Pediatric Gastroenterology, and Pediatric Hematology-Oncology.
Pediatricians are mostly board-certified and need a license at the state level. Like other physicians, they also have continuing medical education requirements and renew their licenses and board certification every few years.
Responsibilities and a Day in the Life
Pediatricians work either in a private group practice or work for hospitals. They mostly work regular business hours, 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. But pediatric hospitalists or pediatricians specialized in ER or ICU/NICU may work on a shift basis and may cover more than one hospital. So, the schedule and hours can vary significantly based on the practice, number of pediatricians in the group, number of hospitals covered, etc.
Though daily responsibilities could vary based on the type of practice, number of pediatricians in the group, etc., some of the common ones include the following:
- Performing routine examinations on newborns, infants, and young children and recording health and physical and mental developments.
- Examining sick children to determine their health issues.
- History-taking through family members.
- Diagnosing illnesses, medical conditions, and injuries.
- Ordering appropriate lab tests to confirm the preliminary diagnoses.
- Establishing treatment plans.
- Prescribing and administering treatments, therapies, medications, etc.
- Monitoring treatment progress and taking corrective actions if needed.
- Preparing and administering vaccines according to the vaccination plan defined by the CDC and other government institutions.
- Communicating test results and treatment plans with patients and family members.
- Advising parents on children’s diet, exercise, etc.
- Guiding patients and family members on illness and injury prevention.
- Collecting and recording patients’ information and histories, including illnesses, surgeries, allergies, injuries, immunization, etc.
- Recommending patients to specialists for further treatments.
- Continuing to learn best practices and current developments in pediatrics by attending seminars and conferences.
- Hiring and training clinical staff members.
- Managing the practice and administrative staff to ensure high-quality patient care.
- In an academic setting, supervising residents and fellows.
Other Necessary Skills
- Compassion and understanding to deal with patients and their families suffering from illness or injuries.
- Excellent bedside manners.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Leadership skills.
- Excellent administrative and managerial skills.
- Decision-making and organizational skills.
Salary
Salary could vary based on the practice type, experience, location, etc. According to BLS, the median salary is about $198K.Â
Job Growth
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were about,
- 34K pediatricians in 2021
- BLS does not provide pediatricians-specific data, but overall, Physicians’ job outlook from 2021 to 2031 is 3% which is slower than the average job growth.
Summary
If you are passionate about improving patients’ health conditions, specifically in kids and young adults, and you are willing to invest 11+ years in becoming a pediatrician, you should consider this profession. When patients get better, this does provide great satisfaction, which is just one of the many benefits of this job.
