A Pediatrician is a primary care doctor specializing in treating infants, toddlers, children, and teenagers until a person is 21.   

In a recent study, researchers discovered that the upper age of pediatric care is trending upwards. This is likely due to very high vaccination rates in developed countries, which has led to a considerable drop in infectious diseases, which used to be an enormous burden on Pediatricians. Therefore, most pediatric interventions happen when a patient is in their teen years. Teen health is a field that is still developing as its own sub-field of medicine. You should be prepared to work with teenage patients and inform yourself about their specific health needs.   

Pediatrics is a vast field of medicine. Once Pediatricians finish their residencies, it is common for them to go on to more specialized sub-disciplines fellowships. They include adolescent health specialization, pediatric immunology, or neonatology, among other disciplines.

Personality of a Pediatrician
Beyond appreciating and caring for children's needs, Pediatricians need to be patient, communicative, and committed to learning.  

• Patient

Children can often be unruly, frightened, or otherwise stressed when they are in the Pediatrician's office. Being patient, calm, and reassuring with children is critical to ensure you can provide them with the highest level of care possible.  

• People Skills

When it comes to the children's health, parents are understandably very cautious and have many questions. As their Pediatrician, you need to have good people skills to make parents comfortable and confident in your medical abilities.  

• Level-headed

Children can sometimes be challenging to diagnose. Taking the time to look over tests, do research, and dig into the issue will help you make accurate diagnoses. If a child comes in with an emergency, you need to be level-headed to calmly and quickly assess and treat the situation. 

• Committed to Lifelong Learning

Medical research publishing is constant in the medical community. As such, new guidelines, protocols, and technologies are frequently integrated into medical practices. You need to be willing to attend training and read journal articles to stay on top of the latest research developments. This is not a career where the learning ends after graduation.