If you have kids, then you know how it can be to take them to the doctor. When they come down with something nasty, a pediatric doctor is the only one that can see your kids without terrifying them to death. However, there might be a few things about pediatric healthcare that you didn’t know about. Here’s a few interesting facts to think about.
Going to School
If you didn’t already know, pediatric doctors go to school for over 11 years total. This includes their extensive training, initial schooling, and specialty training. They start by taking four years of undergraduate studies in their program. This will include all the general biology course, psychology course, and general studies courses. After graduating with their bachelor’s degree, the student then takes four years of medical school courses, which are more specific to becoming a doctor. After their medical school graduation, the student then goes on to complete a minimum of twelve months at an internship for pediatrics, followed by minimum of two years in their residency program at the hospital for their specialty.
The Types
Many people think that there is just one type of pediatric doctor, but there are actually several specialty levels just like with an adult doctor. In fact, there are 33 different types of pediatric doctors out there that treat everything to do with children. There are specialists, hospital pediatrics, and family practices that employ pediatric doctors. Two of the most common types are general pediatricians and child neurologists. When pediatric doctors get to their second round of schooling, in medical school, they begin to pick their specialty for their internship and residency programs later.
Preventative Care
One of the important parts of pediatric health care is issuing vaccinations and immunizations to children when the time comes. This means that pediatricians spend a great deal of time focused solely on any preventative care possible. This means that many of their patients, generally newborns and infants, are given precautionary things like vaccines to avoid any serious illnesses that these younger children are prone to. A major part of their job, specifically general pediatricians, is spending the day administering immunizations and vaccinations to the children to provide preventative care to the kids.
Disease Fighters
Since we are discussing their preventative care, it is only fair that we mention how pediatricians work to stop the spread of diseases. They spend most of their time giving vaccines, which in turn stops diseases in their tracks. Many of these diseases include things like tuberculosis and smallpox. Since vaccines help stop the spread of diseases, pediatricians are kind of like superheroes that can help stop disease as well. It’s no wonder that kids tend to look up to their pediatric doctor. Pediatric doctors also provide parents with information on how to prevent serious illness from attacking their children and what to do show the children come down with any of these ailments.
Patient Growth
Perhaps the most exciting fact, and one that you already know, is that pediatricians grow along with their patients. Being a pediatrician, you see many of the same patients on a regular basis. When you see them so often, you get a front row seat to watch them grow and develop. This is also exciting to watch their personalities develop as they grow too. Unfortunately, when a child gets too old for the pediatrics office, it is sad to watch them leave, but the doctor’s know that when a child is old enough and healthy enough, they can move on without too much trouble.
Conclusion
While pediatric doctors are not uncommon, there are many facts that common people, like you and me, simply do not know about them. From their education to their specialties, pediatric doctors are pretty incredible people in general. They provide preventative care to children of all ages, and they even get to watch children grow and develop from the time they are born until they are too old to be there. Pediatric doctors have a special job caring for children, but their knowledge and training make them the perfect people to care for and guide children into adulthood. Ranging from general pediatrics to child psychology, pediatric doctors are the superheroes in the medical world.
