What should a pediatrician treat?

In what cases should a pediatrician be involved in treatment? What is his responsibility? You will learn the answers to these questions from this article.

What should a pediatrician treat?

This doctor should monitor many of the components of a child’s health. For example, to evaluate not only the physical condition and development of children, but also pay attention to the neuropsychic sphere. The pediatrician should evaluate the child’s readiness for school, determine which health group the patient belongs to, give relevant recommendations on nutrition and education. Also in the competence of this doctor are preventive measures to prevent the development of chronic diseases in children.

The pediatrician needs to know the clinical picture that is inherent in the main diseases and borderline conditions characteristic of childhood. Such a doctor should own modern methods of therapy, know the basics of pharmacotherapy (taking into account childhood), the causes of the onset and development of diseases.

Job: pediatrician

All the duties of a doctor are defined and approved by the Ministry of Social Development and Health of the Russian Federation. According to this document, a pediatrician is required to:

• receive information about the patient’s health status;
• organize and carry out activities aimed at preventing an epidemic in the focus of infection;
• provide medical examination services (medical and preventive care);
• observe the condition of the child;
• organize and carry out immunoprophylaxis procedures. This is done according to the vaccination schedule;
• to develop and implement individual programs aimed at the rehabilitation of children with special needs;
• to carry out preventive and sanitary-hygienic measures to protect the health of children;
• issue certificates and disability certificates (for child care).

What does the pediatrician do at the appointment?

During the visit, the doctor should collect an anamnesis (find out all the data about the current disease, study the patient's complaints and his medical history), and also conduct an examination.

Further, the pediatric pediatrician issues a referral for studies (laboratory and diagnostic). After studying the results of tests and examinations, the doctor makes a conclusion about the health status of the child. If necessary, a referral is given for a consultation conducted by a doctor of narrow specialization. For example, if visual impairment is detected, an ophthalmologist does this. If there is a suspicion of the presence of heart disease, the child is referred to a cardiologist.

What can a pediatrician treat?

The main task of this doctor is to correctly diagnose. He also prescribes competent treatment in case of the presence of infectious diseases (acute respiratory infections, flu, whooping cough, dysentery, measles, scarlet fever, rubella, mumps, chickenpox), food poisoning, etc.

In the treatment of other diseases, the doctor’s task is to make the correct diagnosis and give direction to the doctor of a narrow specialty. In the future, the pediatrician boosts the overall course of treatment. This applies to diseases of blood vessels and the heart, liver, respiratory system, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract and nervous system. Such diseases also include infectious lesions and metabolic disorders.