Advertisement
Advertisement
|
Home :: More Career Profiles
Pediatric Critical Care Physician |
Career OverviewWhen a child has an accident, injury or illness that results in the patient being in a critical or unstable condition, a pediatric critical care physician provides the expertise and care needed.
Many of the conditions that a pediatric critical care physician deals with that are often life-threatening in children include deep diabetic ketoacidosis, severe pneumonia or infection, severe asthma, near drowning and serious injuries caused by accidents such as bicycles, skateboards, cars and scooters.
Although most children are injured or become sick occasionally usually a family doctor or pediatrician cares for these problems. It is the critically ill or injured children that a pediatric critical care physician treats.
The PICU or pediatric intensive unit is where healthcare professionals monitor children that are critically ill or injured. The patient receives careful monitoring by the pediatric critical care physician, critical care nurses, health care specialists and members of the critical care medical team.
Pediatric critical care physicians treat infants through the teenage years and this is the core of their medical profession. Because of their advanced experience and training, they are well equipped to deal with the medical emergencies and care a critically ill patient requires.
Pediatric critical care physician are specialists trained to know how to put children at ease while they use their skills in dealing with injured or critically ill children.
|
Career RequirementsPediatric critical care physicians are doctors who hold a medical degree from an accredited medical school, university, or research center. They complete an additional three years of specialty residency training in pediatrics with three more years of pediatric critical care training.
|
Advertisement
|
Job OutlookWith the job growth for pediatric critical care physicians and surgeons projected to continue increasing faster than average through 2014, the job outlook is extremely positive. With the health care industry expanding along with the growing population, the demand for pediatric critical care physician services continues to increase.
Job openings will become available due to the need to replace pediatric critical care physicians retiring over the 2006 to 2014 period. For individuals interested in becoming pediatric critical care physicians, the outlook and opportunities appear to be very good.
There are shortages in some areas such as low-income and rural, so opportunities there are better than average for a new physician just starting out.
|
Career TrackMost pediatric critical care physicians work in hospital emergency rooms and in the pediatric intensive unit. They may make a career choice to further their education and become a pediatric surgeon or teach at universities or colleges.
Some pediatric critical care physician’s choose to move into research while others work as consultants in a hospital setting. Many pediatric critical care physicians work as department heads, leaders in administration or as medical school administrators.
|
CompensationPediatric critical care physicians are highly skilled, trained professionals that provide valuable service in hospital intensive care and pediatric intensive care units.
Their years working as a pediatric critical care physician, along with location and other factors cause the wages to vary. In the United States the average range for a pediatric critical care physician varies from approximately $225,000 to over $340,000.
|
|