Pediatrician Career

The Career of a Pediatrician
As a child, if you had ever felt sick, your mom probably took you to see a pediatrician. Pediatricians are doctors who work to diagnose, treat, and manage a child's illness. Pediatricians work with both the child, and the parents of the child, informing them of the illness they are dealing with. They spend their days talking to the patients, their parents, and many others from different medical fields. This career interests me because of my desire to help and work with children. Being a pediatrician is something I see myself investing my time and efforts into. Most importantly, when I got home from work, I would love to say that I made someone’s day by helping them and that I saved a life.
Career Details
Pediatricians

perform many things on a daily basis, including working with the child and their parents.

Everyday they work with infants, children, and teens. Along with diagnosing and treating the patient, they track and administer the immunizations that will be given. According to Study.com, pediatricians must communicate well with the child and his/her parents to provide detailed explanations of treatment course options and to appease their fears (“General Pediatrician: Job Description, Duties and Requirements.”). Good bedside manners are very important and crucial to satisfy and calm the patient. Because pediatricians are doctors and work to save lives, they have high expectations. Medical knowledge, shown by earning a medical degree, are some major things that pediatricians are expected to acquire. As stated on Learn.org, pediatricians must learn to perform duties in critical care, ambulatory care, and inpatient settings. Part of which being they must be able to make decisions in emergencies or high pressure

situations. Pediatricians must work closely with other medical professionals to ensure the best care for their patient. To maintain good knowledge, they must willingly study throughout their career (“What Are The Duties and Responsibilities of a Pediatrician?”). Work hours vary depending on the job, work circumstances and patient requirements. According to About.com Health, internship and residency may require you to work between 80 to 120 hours in a week, with 36 hour shifts (“Is a Career in Pediatrics Right for You?”). An internship is a temporary position where you are on-the-job training rather than merely employed. Residency is the next step up in your training for becoming an attending. On Average, pediatricians work about 80 hours a week.
Qualifications for Pediatricians
Workers in this field can be any gender and any age, as long as you have your educational requirements.

As for health and physical requirements, you should be physically able to complete the tasks obligated for the job. Being a pediatrician is a physically demanding job, walking around to check on patients all over the hospital and many more things. Personality wise, pediatricians must be good with kids and have a desire to want to work with them, considering that they are around kids every day. Having patience and understanding is necessary as you will be working with kids, who may be slower and more confused. As reported by Work, good bedside manner is important in patient care because they will be more willing to discuss what they are feeling or what is hurting them. Patients, especially children, are less likely to open up to a stranger. Some aptitudes that are fundamental are communication, intuition, and problem solving (“Aptitudes & Abilities Needed to Be a Pediatrician.”). Communication is important because it is how you let the patient and their parents know about the child’s illness. Although, how you communicate is equally important, through your facial expressions. Intuition is the ability to detect a child’s body language and mannerisms leading to emerge their health issues. Children can be difficult when it comes to hospitals and having these abilities can be very helpful. Pediatricians specifically need the ability to problem solve because diagnosing patients

can be extremely difficult. According to ACT Profile, the education required to become a pediatrician is four years of undergraduate school, then by four years of medical school, followed by three to eight years of internship and residency. With this, they should have at least a bachelor’s degree, but many pediatricians have advanced degrees (“Pediatrician”). Before practicing medicine, they must be licensed and certified by the American Board of Medical Specialists. Majoring in biology, general chemistry, medicine, and medical scientist can prepare you for a career in pediatrics.