What It"s Like to Be a Pediatrician - A Firsthand Account
Updated December 11, 2014.
There is more to knowing about a career than how much you work, what you do and how much money you make. You should also research and ask about job satisfaction and what people like and dislike about their career choice.
1) What do you like about being a pediatrician?
I actually like just about everything about being a pediatrician, and I think that most people who choose a career in pediatrics feel the same.
In fact, a survey from the American Academy of Pediatrics 'found that 81.5% of pediatricians were either "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with their professional hours, income, skills, and interest level.'
2) What do you not like about being a pediatrician?
Of course I don't like it when sick kids don't get better, but fortunately that doesn't happen very often.
It can also be difficult to deal with insurance companies and HMOs.
3) Do you ever get tired of your job?
There may be bad days when you get tired of what you are doing, but in general, I don't get tired of what I am doing.
People often think that pediatrics is just ear infections and crying babies, but it is actually a very challenging field. In any one day, you might see newborn babies, sick toddlers and teens with school problems.
And if you do get tired of seeing a specific problem or if you have a special interest in another problem, you can 'specialize' in that field, for example, concentrating on seeing teens with behavior and school problems, or younger children with allergies and asthma.
If you want an even bigger challenge, set up your practice in a small town, away from a big city, so that you will have to take care of the majority of problems that come up, without the benefit of sending every sick kid to a specialist.
4) What is the future for pediatrics?
In general, I think that pediatrics has a strong future. As long as people keep having babies, there will be a need for pediatricians to take care of them. And there are still shortages of pediatricians in many parts of the United States, especially in rural areas.
There is more to knowing about a career than how much you work, what you do and how much money you make. You should also research and ask about job satisfaction and what people like and dislike about their career choice.
1) What do you like about being a pediatrician?
I actually like just about everything about being a pediatrician, and I think that most people who choose a career in pediatrics feel the same.
In fact, a survey from the American Academy of Pediatrics 'found that 81.5% of pediatricians were either "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with their professional hours, income, skills, and interest level.'
2) What do you not like about being a pediatrician?
Of course I don't like it when sick kids don't get better, but fortunately that doesn't happen very often.
It can also be difficult to deal with insurance companies and HMOs.
3) Do you ever get tired of your job?
There may be bad days when you get tired of what you are doing, but in general, I don't get tired of what I am doing.
People often think that pediatrics is just ear infections and crying babies, but it is actually a very challenging field. In any one day, you might see newborn babies, sick toddlers and teens with school problems.
And if you do get tired of seeing a specific problem or if you have a special interest in another problem, you can 'specialize' in that field, for example, concentrating on seeing teens with behavior and school problems, or younger children with allergies and asthma.
If you want an even bigger challenge, set up your practice in a small town, away from a big city, so that you will have to take care of the majority of problems that come up, without the benefit of sending every sick kid to a specialist.
4) What is the future for pediatrics?
In general, I think that pediatrics has a strong future. As long as people keep having babies, there will be a need for pediatricians to take care of them. And there are still shortages of pediatricians in many parts of the United States, especially in rural areas.
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