Who is a pediatrician?
A pediatrician is a medical practitioner who is an expert in treating infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. A child receives pediatric care from birth until their 21st birthday or beyond. Pediatricians work to prevent, identify, and treat childhood physical, behavioral, and developmental diseases.
Pediatric specialists are qualified and permitted to perform procedures like circumcision, splinting fractured bones, treating ear infections, giving immunizations, treating dislocated shoulders or elbows, etc.
Educational qualifications of a pediatrician
Aspiring pediatricians receive extensive training and education. They must first complete a four-year undergraduate degree, where they take up pre-medical courses like biology and chemistry.
Aspirants then go on to complete four years of medical school, where they study the basics of human anatomy and physiology. They must also participate in clinical rotations and train in the many specialties of medicine. These specialties include radiography, neurology, psychiatry, pediatrics, and emergency medicine. Many medical professionals select their future specialties based on their interests during these clinical rotations.
Following medical school, doctors enter a three-year pediatric residency program. Further training in various pediatric disciplines, including neonatology, critical care, general pediatrics, and developmental-behavioral pediatrics, is provided during residency. Pediatricians must acquire the information, skills, and experience necessary to treat a wide range of illnesses in children throughout their residency.
Some physicians enter general pediatric practice after residency, while others enter a fellowship to focus on a particular subspecialty of pediatrics. Neonatology, pediatric cardiology, adolescent medicine, child abuse, and pediatric surgery are some of these subspecialties. Training in subspecialties requires an additional two to six years.
Types of pediatric subspecialties
There are various kinds of pediatric specialists. As mentioned above, some pediatricians are generalists providing primary care and addressing children's fundamental requirements, while others focus on a specific field. Here are a few different subspecialties in pediatrics:
Adolescent medicine: Teenagers have significant academic and social pressures. During this phase of life, some kids may also develop potentially fatal addictions and behaviors. Specialists in teenage health can assist children, adolescents, and young adults between 11 and 21 years with their complex physical, behavioral, and emotional health requirements. They also provide reproductive and mental health care.
Pediatric cardiology: Pediatric cardiologists focus on identifying and treating heart conditions in children. Most heart conditions are congenital and manifest right after birth. Adequate care under a good specialist can help improve an infant's life significantly.
Child abuse: Pediatricians specializing in child abuse have training, experience, and expertise in assessing children who may have experienced neglect or abuse.
Pediatric critical care medicine: If your kid is in an unstable and critical condition due to a severe illness or injury, hospital-based pediatric critical care specialists offer specialized treatment and management.
Developmental-behavioral pediatrics: These specialists have the education and experience to consider the psychosocial and medical components while analyzing children's and adolescents' behavioral and developmental issues. These issues include developmental disabilities like cerebral palsy and autism spectrum disorders, delayed development, habit disorders like tics, regulatory disorders like feeding or discipline issues, learning disorders, and other chronic illnesses and disabling conditions.
Pediatric emergency medicine: These specialists care for acutely ill or injured children in emergency-based settings. They usually manage cases of burns, seizures, and acute diarrhoeal episodes.
Pediatric endocrinology: Pediatric endocrinologists treat children who face problems with growth, puberty, diabetes, or other disorders associated with hormones or the glands that produce hormones.
Pediatric gastroenterology: These specialists treat children and adolescents with digestive difficulties. This includes cases of congenital megacolon, intussusception, etc.
Pediatric hematology-oncology: They treat children with blood disorders and cancers like leukemias, lymphomas, etc.
Infectious diseases: These professionals assess and care for kids with inherited or congenital immune system abnormalities, predisposing them to infections. These include infections caused by bacteria, fungi, parasites, or other uncommon diseases.
Pediatric rheumatology: These specialists treat children with autoimmune diseases or illnesses where the immune system affects the body's healthy cells. Rheumatic disorders can cause internal organ damage, fever, joint pain, and rashes. Examples include systemic sclerosis, lupus, etc.
What should you expect from a well-child visit?
A well-child visit, simply known as a wellness visit, is a preventative health appointment with a pediatrician. Wellness visits start immediately after a child is born and continue for the next 20 years of their life. These visits include:
- Physical exam: The pediatrician will weigh the child, measure them, and calculate their body mass index (BMI). They will also measure the child’s heart rate, oxygen levels, and blood pressure, press on their abdomen to check for the state of organs, listen to their lungs, and inspect their ears, eyes, and throat. Further, the doctor can ask the parents about the child’s personal hygiene especially around the genital area, eating habits, and how many wet and dry diapers the child goes through daily.
- Assessing the child’s development: To ensure the child is attaining the expected developmental milestones as they grow, the pediatrician will ask the parents detailed questions about the child’s learning behaviors. These milestones include crawling, rolling over, standing up, walking, talking, following directions, etc.
- Vaccinations: The pediatrician will administer childhood vaccinations as well. These can include vaccines for whooping cough, measles, hepatitis A and B, tetanus, and polio.
Note down the following details about your child to ensure you are ready for the visit:
- Eating habits
- Health and developmental changes
- Changes in your child’s social behavior
- Any crucial details your child’s caregiver or teachers have mentioned
When should you take your child to a pediatrician?
Other than wellness visits, you should take your child to a pediatrician for the following reasons:
- If a baby 2 months old or under has a rectal temperature of at least 104°F.
- Symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea can often signal a viral infection.
- A constant or sharp belly pain.
- A rash that doesn’t go away on its own in a few days.
- Colds and other respiratory infections.
- A constant need to pee, blood in the urine, or burning when peeing.
- Seizures
How do you find the best pediatrician near you in Augusta, Georgia?
As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 6 children between 3 and 17 years has at least one developmental or behavioral problem. Early detection and treatment of these developmental or behavioral disorders can lead to better long-term results for young children. Therefore, parents and caregivers should regularly bring their kids to the pediatrician for well-child exams.
Finding a pediatrician who best understands your children's needs and provides optimal care while patiently addressing your queries is essential. Finding a pediatrician in Augusta who you can communicate with freely can be a hassle. However, Zocdoc makes it easier for you to connect with top-rated medical professionals.
To find the best pediatrician near you, you can use several different search criteria and filter doctors using the Zocdoc application. These include your desired type of healthcare professional, disease or issue, selected appointment day and time, residential address, zip code, and medical insurance carrier plan. After you enter your information in the search field, Zocdoc will run through its database of hundreds of pediatricians in your area and provide a list of specialists best suited to your needs. Using Zocdoc, you may schedule both in-person and online appointments.
Each pediatrician on Zocdoc has a unique profile with details about their training, experience, and work practices. Patients can access this data by clicking on the doctors' names. Each profile presents the pediatricians' years of training, areas of specialization, qualifications and licenses, affiliations and accreditation, and achievements in their chosen field. The profile also includes information on the location and hours of the physicians' services, their gender, the languages they are most at ease speaking, and the types of health insurance they accept.
Choose your existing insurance from the drop-down option on the website to find out which pediatricians are in-network. Verified patient reviews and ratings are also available on the provider pages to assist you in choosing the best pediatrician near you. Zocdoc offers quick, secure, and free reservations.
The burden of child maltreatment in Georgia, US
Children who suffer from child maltreatment early in life, such as physical abuse or neglect, are more likely to engage in peer violence, bullying, teenage violence, and later on, child abuse, elder abuse, intimate partner violence, and sexual assault.
As per the Georgia Department of Public Health, Georgia ranks 38th nationwide for child wellness. One in ten youngsters, according to their data, will experience sexual abuse before turning 18 years old. Georgia's Child Protection Services received around 62,675 reports of child maltreatment in 2020, which corresponds to nearly 121,595 kids.
There were around 33,620 pediatricians present in the U.S. in 2021 to address the growing concern of child maltreatment in the nation, states the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In Georgia alone, there were almost 730 pediatricians.
Sources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[1]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[2]
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Georgia Department of Public Health
Verywell Health
Cleveland Clinic
WebMD[1]
WebMD[2]
