Pediatrician
Pediatricians diagnose and treat health conditions that affect babies, children and young people.
Day-to-day tasks
In this role you could:
- assess children who are ill, injured or have disabilities
- refer patients to specialist consultants for tests
- prescribe medication, surgery or therapies
- explain diagnosis and treatments to parents and children
- write patient notes, monitor progress and produce medical reports
- supervise and train junior medical staff
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- knowledge of medicine and dentistry
- sensitivity and understanding
- counselling skills including active listening and a non-judgemental approach
- thinking and reasoning skills
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- customer service skills
- the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- excellent verbal communication skills
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
Industry Qualifications
To become a pediatrician you'll need to complete:
- a degree in medicine recognised by the General Medical Council
- a 2-year foundation programme of general training
- specialist training which takes a minimum of 8 years
A medical degree normally takes 5 years to complete.