A pediatrician provides health care to infants, young children and adolescents.
On a larger scale, they plan and carry out programs to promote the mental
and physical growth of children from birth to young adulthood.
In past years, pediatricians spent most of their time treating children
with infectious diseases like polio, mumps, diphtheria, measles and rubella.
But because of the decline of these diseases, pediatricians can now devote
more time to other issues. These include preventive medicine and managing
the long-term needs of children with disabilities and developmental problems.
"It's a medical/scientific field, so you have to be able to interpret
scientific data, and take it to the personal level and use it to treat the
people in front of you," says Dr. John Moore. He's a pediatrician in Virginia.
"So you have to be able to interpret data and remember things," says Dr.
Moore. "[And] you really have to be able to handle a great deal of chaos around
you and not get too confused, because kids never do what you want them to
do. So you really have to be able to handle that well."
As specialists in the care of children, pediatricians practice preventive
care and guidance to ensure healthy growth and development. They stress the
care of well babies and children through immunization and proper nutrition.
Pediatricians may choose to pursue a subspecialty in a number of areas.
These include:
- Neonatal medicine (care of a sick newborn)
- Pediatric cardiology (care of children with heart diseases)
- Pediatric critical care (care of children that require advanced life support)
- Pediatric dermatology (care of children with skin problems)
- Pediatric endocrinology (care of children with hormonal or endocrine problems)
- Pediatric hematology-oncology (care of children with blood disorders or
cancer)
Pediatricians must have strong communication skills. They spend most of
their time getting information from parents and giving them advice.
"In order for me to get good rapport with my patients, and to get a good
understanding of what's going on with them and what's important with them,
I have to be able to talk to elementary school children, teenagers and their
parents on levels that they can understand and that they can all relate to,"
says Dr. Moore.
It's especially critical that pediatricians be sensitive to the feelings
of their patients, from toddlers to young adults. They need patience and a
sense of humor. They must be able to withstand stress and make sound and quick
decisions. "I think there is a temperament that's required -- somebody who
has sufficient empathy but is not going to fall to pieces every time he or
she deals with a child who is quite ill, because it can be pretty heartbreaking,"
says Dr. David Speert. He's the head of a center for understanding and preventing
infection in children.
"So, there's a balance of empathy and stoicism, I think, and that balance
is often hard to anticipate," says Dr. Speert. Empathy is the ability to
identify with another person. Stoicism is having self-control in tough times.
"And I think curiosity is another feature that's essential. If you continue
to be curious, and continue to be a lifelong learner, you're going to be a
better physician than somebody who tends to do things by rote after just a
short period of time."