The Pediatrician

What is a pediatrician?

• preventive health maintenance for healthy children.
• medical care for children who are acutely or chronically ill.

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, adolescents, 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

However, 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 the following:

• 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.

Education:

Pediatric residency training emphasizes care of the whole infant, child, adolescent, and young adult. Following the pediatric residency, the pediatrician is eligible for board certification by the American Board of Pediatrics with successful completion of a comprehensive written examination. Recertification is required every seven years.

Although nearly 60 percent 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 medicine
• nephrology
• pulmonology
• rheumatology

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Online Resources page of this Web.

Pediatric Care at Rush

Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, is a leader in caring for children of all ages, from newborns through young adults.

At Rush, physicians from more than 30 specialties address the full range of pediatric diseases and congenital problems, from the common to the complex. Rush pediatricians, pediatric surgeons, nurses and other health professionals provide care that aims to fulfill community needs, empower parents and advance pediatric care.

For more information about the pediatric care at Rush visit the Rush Children’s Hospital home page.

Or phone (888) RUSH-KID or (888) 787-4543.

Looking for More Health Information?

• Visit our Health Information home page.
   
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• Visit Discover Rush’s Web Resource page to find articles on health topics and recent health news from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. You will also find many helpful links to other areas of our site.

Looking for a Doctor?

Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, is a leader in caring for people of all ages, from newborns through older adults.

Just phone (888) 352-RUSH or (888) 352-7874 for help finding the Rush doctor who’s right for you.