A pediatrician is a doctor who specializes in the care of children; in Latin, a pediatrician is literally a “healer of children”. Pediatrics is a very broad medical specialty, encompassing everything from broken arms to children’s oncology. Just like other medical specialties, pediatrics requires a medical school education followed by several years of residency in pediatrics or “peds”. A pediatrician who wishes to subspecialize in a particular field like oncology or orthopedics must complete an additional residency in his or her specialty.

A pediatrician can care for a child from birth to around age 18. Caring for children is distinctly different than caring for adults, since children have unique medical conditions and issues which adults do not face, and their different body size poses some unique treatment challenges.

For example, pediatricians diagnose and treat:

• infections
• injuries
• genetic defects
• malignancies
• organic diseases and dysfunctions

But, pediatricians are concerned with more than physical well-being. They also are involved with the prevention, early detection, and management of other problems that affect children and adolescents, including:

• behavioral difficulties
• developmental disorders
• functional problems
• social stresses
• depression or anxiety disorders

Pediatrics is a collaborative specialty — pediatricians work with other medical specialists and healthcare professionals to provide for the health and emotional needs of children.