Pediatrics

A pediatrician is concerned with the physical, emotional, and social health of children from birth to young adulthood. Care encompasses a broad spectrum of health services ranging from preventive health care to the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic diseases.

A pediatrician deals with biological, social, and environmental influences on the developing child, and with the impact of disease and dysfunction on development.

Training required: Three years.

Certification in the following subspecialty requires additional training and examination.

Adolescent Medicine: A pediatrician who specializes in adolescent medicine is a multi-disciplinary health care specialist trained in the unique physical, psychological, and social characteristics of adolescents, their health care problems and needs.

Clinical & Laboratory Immunology: A pediatrician who utilizes laboratory tests and complex procedures to diagnose and treat disorders characterized by defective responses of the body's immune system.

Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics: A developmental-behavioral specialist is a pediatrician with special training and experience who aims to foster understanding and promotion of optimal development of children and families through research, education, clinical care, and advocacy efforts. This physician assists in the prevention, diagnosis, and management of developmental difficulties and problematic behaviors in children, and in the family dysfunctions that compromise children's development.

Medical Toxicology: A pediatrician who focuses on the evaluation and management of patients with accidental or intentional poisoning through exposure to prescription and non-prescription medications, drugs of abuse, household or industrial toxins, and environmental toxins.

Important areas of medical toxicology include acute pediatric and adult drug ingestion; drug abuse, addiction and withdrawal; chemical poisoning exposure and toxicity; hazardous materials exposure and toxicity; and occupational toxicology.

Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine: A pediatrician who is the principal care provider for sick newborn infants. Clinical expertise is used for direct patient care and for consulting with obstetrical colleagues to plan for the care of mothers who have high-risk pregnancies.

Neurodevelopmental Disabilities: A pediatrician who treats children having developmental delays, or learning disorders, including those associated with visual and hearing impairment, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, autism, and other chronic neurologic conditions. This specialist provides medical consultation and education and assumes leadership in the interdisciplinary management of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. They may also focus on the early identification and diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disabilities in infants and young children as well as on changes that occur as the child with developmental disabilities grows.

Pediatric Cardiology: A pediatric cardiologist provides comprehensive care to patients with cardiovascular problems. This specialist is skilled in selecting, performing, and evaluating the structural and functional assessment of the heart and blood vessels, and the clinical evaluation of cardiovascular disease.

Pediatric Critical Care Medicine: A pediatrician expert in advanced life support for children from the term or near-term neonate to the adolescent. This competence extends to the critical care management of life threatening organ system failure from any cause in both medical and surgical patients, and to the support of vital physiological functions.

This specialist may have administrative responsibilities for intensive care units and also facilitate patient care among other specialists.

Pediatric Emergency Medicine: A pediatrician who has special qualifications to manage emergencies in infants and children.

Pediatric Endocrinology: A pediatrician who provides expert care to infants, children and adolescents who have diseases that result from an abnormality in the endocrine glands (glands which secrete hormones). These diseases include diabetes mellitus, growth failure, unusual size for age, early or late pubertal development, birth defects, the genital region, and disorders of the thyroid, the adrenal and pituitary glands.

Pediatric Gastroenterology: A pediatrician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the digestive systems of infants, children, and adolescents. This specialist treats conditions such as abdominal pain, ulcers, diarrhea, cancer, and jaundice and performs complex diagnostic and therapeutic procedures using lighted scopes to see internal organs.

Pediatric Hematology-Oncology: A pediatrician trained in the combination of pediatrics, hematology and oncology to recognize and manage pediatric blood disorders and cancerous diseases.

Pediatric Infectious Diseases: A pediatrician trained to care for children in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases.

This specialist can apply specific knowledge to affect a better outcome for pediatric infections with complicated courses, underlying diseases that predispose to unusual or severe infections, unclear diagnoses, uncommon diseases, and complex or investigational treatments.

Pediatric Nephrology: A pediatrician who deals with the normal and abnormal development and maturation of the kidney and urinary tract, the mechanisms by which the kidney can be damaged, the evaluation and treatment of renal diseases, fluid and electrolyte abnormalities, hypertension, and renal replacement therapy.

Pediatric Pulmonology: A pediatrician dedicated to the prevention and treatment of all respiratory diseases affecting infants, children, and young adults. This specialist is knowledgeable about the growth and development of the lung, assessment of respiratory function in infants and children, and experienced in a variety of invasive and noninvasive diagnostic techniques.

Pediatric Rheumatology: A pediatrician who treats diseases of joints, muscle, bones, and tendons. A pediatric rheumatologist diagnoses and treats arthritis, back pain, muscle strains, common athletic injuries, and "collagen" diseases.

Sports Medicine: A pediatrician who is responsible for continuous care in the field of sports medicine, not for the prevention of injury and illness. A sports medicine physician must have knowledge and experience in the promotion of wellness and the prevention of injury. Knowledge about special areas of medicine such as exercise physiology, biomechanics, nutrition, psychology, physical rehabilitation, epidemiology, physical evaluation, injuries (treatment and prevention and referral practice), and the role of exercise in promoting a healthy life style are essential to the practice of sports medicine. The sports medicine physician requires special education to provide the knowledge to improve the health care of the individual engaged in physical exercise (sports) whether as an individual or in team participation.