Pediatrician


 * Pediatricians **


 * Pediatricians manage the physical, mental, and emotional well being of their patients, in every stage of development - in good health or in illness. **
 * Generally, pediatricians focus on babies, children, and young adults from birth to age 21 years to: **
 * ** Reduce infant and child mortality. **
 * ** Control infectious disease. **
 * ** Foster healthy lifestyles. **
 * ** Ease the difficulties of children and adolescents with chronic conditions. **


 * Pediatricians diagnose and treat the following: **
 * ** Infections **
 * ** Injuries **
 * ** Genetic defects **
 * ** Malignancies **
 * Organic diseases and dysfunctions **


 * Although nearly 60%of pediatricians are involved in the provision of primary care for their patients, many others choose to continue their education in pediatric subspecialties such as the following **


 * ** Adolescent medicine **
 * ** Cardiology **
 * ** Critical care medicine **
 * ** Emergency medicine **
 * ** Endocrinology **
 * ** Gastroenterology **
 * ** Hematology/oncology **
 * ** Infectious diseases **
 * ** Neonatal/perinatal medicine4 **
 * ** Nephrology **
 * ** Pulmonology **
 * Rheumatology **


 * The Schooling needed to become a Pediatrician is… **
 * You must be a Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) to be a pediatrician. In other words, you must complete pre-med and medical school. It takes a total of about 11 years after high school: **
 * ** 4 years in college for a bachelor's degree ("pre-med") **
 * ** Take the MCAT (a test to get into medical school) **
 * ** 4 years in medical school **
 * ** 3 years in residency **