Pediatrician

So, You Want To Be A __Pediatrician__?

 =DESCRIPTION: When you are a pediatrician, it can be both rewarding and challenging. You get to help sick children but you must have a lot of patience. Pediatricians get to help children and infants everyday to get better and stay healthy plus it is a lot of fun to see their faces every day.Pediatricians go through 8 years of medical school to make their yearly salary of $163,000 in New York. They are partly responsible for the mental and physical growth and development of children. They direct and coordinate nurses and specialists to give a child the best medical attention they need. = = = = They work in small private health care facilities and in hospitals usually individually and work 40 hours a week. If you don't want to work full time, you could be like 15% of pediatricians and work half time. Pediatricians are very careful with their work because of the fragility of young children and infants. They are hardworking people that really make a difference in this world. Pediatricians are very kind and noble and one of the best physicians in the medical field. When you decide to become a pediatrician, you get to learn about the fascinating features of the human body such as the skeletal structure which is very improtant to know when you decide to take up this important and rewarding career. Pediatricians are compassionate, smart, honest, loyal, and patient people. Some skills they have would be good listening skills and communication skills. =  

PROS AND CONS  PROS · You help/save sick or dying kids · You can keep your patients for a long time (from birth to 18 or 21 in most cases) · Good salary ($163,000 in NY state) · Make a difference in the world by saving lives · Medical benefits

CONS

<span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· Because medicine has its limits, you may not be able to save every child’s life <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· Parents usually put the blame on the pediatrician if something goes wrong <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· 8 years of school after high school and 3 years of residency (4 years of undergrad school and 4 years of medical school) <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· Exposure to life threatening diseases <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· Malpractice insurance has skyrocketed   <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #a73af2; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #a73af2; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">WHAT YOU NEED TO BE A PEDIATTRICIAN

In order to be a pediatrician, you must have had completed many years of medical school. You must have compassion, empathy, great listening skills, able to understand the parent and the child you’re working with, honesty, loyalty, but over-all, patience is the most important thing. You must also have your undergraduate degree, masters in pre med, and specialize in pediatric medicine. You must also not be afraid of giving a child a vaccination and you can't faint at the sight of blood. Pediatricians need to be able to recongnize if a child is physically or mentally ill and be able to quickly prescribe something to cure it. Pediatricans must know a lot about chemistry and the different structures of the bones and other body parts. They must also have great problem solving skills to properly diagonos a child.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #a73af2; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">LIST OF RESOURCES You can look at websites, books, and magazines to find out more about being a pediatrician. Some examples would be:

The American Academy of Pediatrics (aap,org)- This is a website that provides everything you need to know about being a pediatrician such as the current virusus going around and the correct vaccinations to give the children, about the current health care, and tips on what to give a child with a certain illness.

Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics by Robert Kliegman, Richard Behrman, Hal Jenson, and Bonita Stanton - another great source because it was voted #1 on the top 10 pediatric books and has the newest principles on antibiotic therapy

Helium.com/pediatricans- tells you all about becoming a pediatrician, the requirements, what you need to do before/during/after med. school, and more.

AllBookstores.com- if you type in "pediatrician" it gives you a very long list of all the kinds of pediatrics you can study and what that job entails

Pediatric Audiology- this is a book that talks about the diagnosis and educational management of children or infants

GLOSSARY

Allergy- a factor caused when the immune system mistakenly identifies a normally harmless substance as damaging to the body

Antibiotic- chemical organism created by living organisms for the purpose of killing other organisms that cause disease

Colic- a condition in an otherwise healthy baby characterized by excessive crying

Epilepsy- a condition in which there is a problem with the brain that contains long term seizures in the child

Fever- an abnormal temperature of the body

Fractures- a partial or complete break in a bone

Measles- <span style="font-family: Jester; font-size: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">a very contagious viral illness characterized by a distinct rash and a fever; spread through airborne droplets of nasal secretions. Pediatrics- the branch of medicine that deals with diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases in children

Vaccines- a set of shots given to children at different ages to keep them from developing dangerous childhood diseases

X Ray- a diagnostic test which uses invisible electromagnet energy beams to produce images of internal tissues, bones, and organs onto film

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nicole is 13 years old and attends Rye Middle School. She lives with her grandma in Rye, New York and is inspired by pediatricians. Nicole plays field hockey and basket ball for CYO. Nicole has 2 dogs and every day, she attends her Beyond Rye Middle School class to learn about other careers that could be right for her but she is quite sure she wants to be a pediatrician.