Who is a pediatrician?
A pediatrician is a medical professional in the pediatric branch of medicine. Pediatrics is a medical field that examines the biological, social, and environmental factors that affect children as they grow. It also focuses on the disease impact and dysfunction on development. A pediatrician is the first point of contact when your child gets sick. Their primary interests and training qualify them to focus on children's health, welfare, and development. They care for infants, kids, teenagers, and adults and can also perform general medicine.
What do pediatricians do?
Pediatricians' duties span widely, from performing routine well-child exams to identifying and treating diseases, wounds, and other health issues. A child receives pediatric care from birth until 21 years or beyond.
Pediatrician visits are frequent during the birth years of a child. It is usually from being a newborn to being two years old. After this, it becomes annual when the child is older than two to five years of age. These visits are often known as well-child visits. Some daily responsibilities of a pediatrician are:
- Conducting physical examinations
- Identifying and treating diseases, injuries, and other medical issues
- Administering timely vaccinations
- Prescribing medicine
- Addressing parents' queries and concerns
- Offering health tips to parents
- Directing or referring families to specialists if necessary
Educational qualifications of a pediatrician
Pediatrics demands extensive education and training. The primary step of being a pediatrician is a four-year undergraduate degree followed by another four years of medical school. Several schools compress the initial study period from eight to six years by combining undergraduate and medical studies.
After this, aspiring pediatricians enroll in a three-year pediatric residency program. The residency entails advanced training in multiple pediatric specialties. Examples include adolescent medicine, child abuse pediatrics, hospice and palliative medicine, medical toxicology, cardiology, critical care medicine, emergency medicine, endocrinology, etc. The residency also allows the doctors to acquire the knowledge, experience, and skills required to handle the broad range of conditions in children's health.
Some physicians choose to work in general pediatrics after completing their residency. Others go for fellowship programs. Here, they undergo rigorous training in pediatric subspecialties. Pediatricians must fulfill a minimum of 12,000 to 14,000 hours of hands-on patient care as part of their training.
Board-certified pediatricians are the doctors who clear the American Board of Pediatrics exam. Such pediatricians must adhere to frequent continuing education requirements to maintain their certification.
What are the different pediatric subspecialties?
The American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) recognizes the following subspecialties:
- Adolescent medicine
- Pediatric cardiology
- Child abuse pediatrics
- Pediatric critical care medicine
- Developmental-behavioral pediatrics
- Pediatric emergency medicine
- Pediatric endocrinology
- Pediatric gastroenterology
- Pediatric hematology-oncology
- Pediatric hospital medicine
- Pediatric infectious diseases
- Neonatal-perinatal medicine
- Pediatric nephrology
- Pediatric pulmonology
- Pediatric rheumatology
Additionally, ABP co-sponsors the following subspecialties with other American Boards of Medical Specialties:
- Sleep medicine
- Sports medicine
- Medical toxicology
- Pediatric transplant hepatology
- Hospice and palliative medicine
Reasons to see a pediatrician
There are numerous reasons to see a pediatrician near you.
A pediatrician can ensure your child's health and well-being. They examine your child's general physical and mental health during well-child visits. As pediatricians only treat kids, they typically have more experience diagnosing and treating childhood issues and conditions. They monitor your baby's growth to make sure everything is on track. Moreover, you can put your faith in a pediatrician if your child requires special attention at birth or has a medical issue requiring close supervision.
Moreover, you can discuss any issues about your child's health during your child's pediatric session.
How often should you take your child to a pediatrician?
You should take your baby to a pediatrician for the first time within 48-72 hours of them leaving the hospital after birth. The second visit must be when they are 2-4 weeks old. Next, they should see a pediatrician at the following ages - 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 24 months. After that, annual checkups might suffice, but discussing the frequency with your doctor is better. Children with chronic health conditions would require multiple visits a year.
Well-baby checkups help pediatricians ensure your baby meets all the standard developmental milestones. Each milestone focuses on four aspects of your child's growth:
- Social skills
- Motor skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Language development
Most doctors suggest 6-7 visits during the first year. The goals of these visits include:
- Vaccinations
- Health screenings
- Physical examination
- Growth measurement
- Assessing developmental milestones
- Guidance about how to prepare for your baby's upcoming milestones
Pediatric examinations are excellent opportunities to enquire about your child's health and well-being. Before each checkup, identify any concerns you might have ahead of time. Discussing them in-depth with your child's pediatrician will allow them to accurately assess if your baby is experiencing developmental delays and devise a treatment plan accordingly.
How to locate a trusted pediatrician near you in Humble, Texas?
Childhood is a crucial period of rapid growth and development. During this time, children experience tremendous changes. They begin to acquire their cognitive, social, and life abilities. Also, the behaviors and routines they develop affect their long-term health. Hence, having a qualified and trusted healthcare expert can make the process smoother and healthier. But how do you find such doctors in Humble, Texas? The answer is simple: use Zocdoc!
Zocdoc helps you locate top healthcare providers within minutes. First, register for a free Zocdoc account. Next, choose your condition or specialty, the time, and the place. You will have a comprehensive list of highly qualified practitioners as soon as you enter your preferences.
Each Zocdoc provider has a distinct profile. Here you can learn about their educational background, board certifications, clinical interests, areas of expertise, work experience, and spoken languages. You can even include your insurance carrier's name on the Zocdoc website to find the best doctors who accept your insurance plan.
Furthermore, Zocdoc allows access to all previous patients' reviews and ratings. It can help you choose the most suitable pediatrician in your vicinity. You can filter the search by gender if that suits your needs best.
Before an in-person visit, Zocdoc also enables you to schedule a video session to get to know your provider better. Just look for a purple video icon on the profiles of any pediatrician near you; the presence of the icon indicates they offer online consultations. All appointments made with Zocdoc are quick, secure, and cost-free!
Statistics for pediatrics in Texas
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics underlines the total number of active pediatricians in Texas for May 2021. The figures for the same remain at around 3,130. The data also highlights that Texas has the highest level of employment in pediatrics in the U.S. It ranks three, only next to California and New York.
Texas Health and Human Services states that the state has around 6,919,588 children under 18. Almost 40% are between the ages of 5 and 11, while 28% are between birth and 4. These projections come from the Texas Demographic Center report for 2019.
UTHealth School of Public Health brings key statistics for child obesity, nutrition, and teen vaping in Texas.
The 2019 report, updated in 2023, indicates that Texas ranks 10th regarding youth obesity. There is no doubt that childhood obesity is dangerous. Obese youth have a higher lifelong risk of developing several medical conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and depression.
The 2019 report, updated in 2021, suggests that more than 1.8 million Texas children skip eating vegetables during a typical school day. Also, over 90% of kids consume one or more sweet or salty snacks daily. It raises awareness of Texas' children's critical need for nutrition improvement.
The 2020 report stresses the problems and rate of teen vaping in Texas. Teenagers who vape have a higher likelihood of developing and sustaining cigarette smoking. The estimates show that around 498,000 Texas teens under 18 will die prematurely from tobacco if not curbed. Vaping expands teens' risk for nicotine dependence. Nicotine exposure during adolescence can damage brain development. It can also reshape young people's moods, memory, and learning.
Sources
WebMD
Cleveland Clinic[1]
Cleveland Clinic[2]
American Academy of Pediatrics
Children's Specialty Care Coalition
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Texas Health and Human Services
UTHealth School of Public Health[1]
UTHealth School of Public Health[2]
UTHealth School of Public Health[3]
UTHealth School of Public Health[4]
The American Board of Pediatrics
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