Advertisement
Advertisement
|
Home :: More Career Profiles
Pediatric Physical Medicine Physician |
Career OverviewTreating children from birth until they are twenty, a pediatric physical medicine physician, also called a pediatric physiatrist, provides specialized physical medicine treatment along with rehabilitation when necessary. They examine patients to determine what type and the extent of physiotherapy needed to treat a patient’s mental and physical needs.
A pediatric physical medicine physician concentrates mainly on treating, restoring function related to muscle, skeleton or musculoskeletal conditions and problems from infancy up to young adults. They train pediatric physiatrists to treat all the major systems in children’s bodies along with a broad range of other conditions and problems.
A pediatric physiatrist works with a family physician or pediatrician to treat, evaluate and rehabilitate a variety of muscle and skeleton disorders, injuries and conditions, including the following:
- Spinal cord injuries – This major and important part of the central nervous system conducts the motor and sensory nerve impulses to and from the brain. It is a tube like structure extending from the upper lumbar region through the vertebral canal to the base of the brain. Partial or complete paralysis often results from spinal cord injuries.
- Traumatic brain injuries.
- Musculoskeletal problems – injury or damage to a child’s muscles and skeleton that often restricts function.
- Sports related injuries.
- Back and neck injuries and pain.
- Fibromyalgia – This common group of rheumatoid disorders causes stiff muscles, tenderness and achy pain.
- Orthopedics/injuries/conditions – medical treatment dealing with deformities and disorders of the joints and spine.
- Tendonitis/arthritis – inflammation of tendons, inflammation of joints or a joint.
- Pinched nerves.
- Multiple sclerosis – A progressive chronic nervous disorder affecting certain nerve fibers and loss of myelin sheath around them.
- Spinal cord injuries.
Pediatric physical medicine physicians treat children that have suffered catastrophic and severe trauma with these injuries often resulting in partial or complete paralysis, leaving a child a paraplegic or quadriplegic. They deal with disorders that cause severe functional restrictions such as birth defects, amputations and brain injuries.
A pediatric physical medicine physician works with other health care professional to coordinate a long-term or short-term physical rehabilitation process in patients with amputations/prosthetics, neurological disorder and other conditions.
|
Career RequirementsPediatric physical medicine physicians, also called a pediatric physiatrist, are medical physicians who have completed four years of medical school and another three years of residency training in general pediatrics. An additional three additional years of pediatric physical medicine training follows this.
|
Advertisement
|
Job OutlookThey project that the need and employment opportunities for physicians and surgeons, including pediatric physical medicine physicians, will continue to grow faster than for any other occupations over the next eight years. Opportunities for new physicians are particularly good in low income and rural areas as some experienced physicians prefer larger metropolitan areas.
|
Career TrackFor an experienced pediatric physical medicine physician, the options for career advancement and changes are promising. Many move into private practices, head up rehabilitation centers, work in private hospitals, or teach at colleges and universities. In addition, some pediatric physiatrists choose research based careers or as rehabilitation consultants on research projects.
|
CompensationDepending on their experience, years of service and other factors, a pediatric physical medicine physician’s salary ranges from approximately $224,500 to over $300,000 annually.
|
|