pediatrics

Pediatrics is the branch of medicine focused on the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents, from birth through the end of adolescence. Pediatric care emphasizes not only diagnosis and treatment of illness but also prevention, growth and development monitoring, and health maintenance. Pediatricians aim to support families in promoting healthy physical, mental, and social development and in managing acute and chronic conditions.

Care spans from well-child visits to the management of acute illnesses and chronic diseases. Activities include growth monitoring using standardized growth charts, vaccination, nutritional guidance, safety counseling, and anticipatory guidance on development and behavior. Immunization schedules and screening tests for vision, hearing, and development are central components. Pediatric care often coordinates with subspecialists and allied health professionals.

Common pediatric conditions include infectious diseases, respiratory illnesses such as asthma and bronchiolitis, allergic diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, dermatologic conditions, obesity, type 1 diabetes, congenital anomalies, and neurologic or developmental disorders. Neonatology, a subspecialty, focuses on the care of newborns, especially preterm or ill infants. Other pediatric subspecialties include cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, neurology, oncology, pulmonology, nephrology, rheumatology, infectious diseases, and surgery.

Training and practice: becoming a pediatrician requires medical school followed by a residency in pediatrics, typically three years, with board certification available and subspecialty fellowships. Pediatricians work in hospitals, outpatient clinics, and community settings, and often engage in research, education, and public health. The field emphasizes ethics, consent and assent, and family-centered decision making.