Pediatrician
The pediatrician is engaged in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in children and adolescents until they reach the age of 18. Each age period of a child has its own anatomical and physiological characteristics, which the pediatrician takes into account in his work.
A narrower specialization is carried out on the basis of pediatric training. So, a pediatrician who monitors the development and health of a child from birth and during the first 28 days of life is a neonatologist. This pediatrician most often works in the hospital, helping the baby immediately after his birth. Diseases of a newborn child have their own specifics and differ from diseases of older children. The neonatologist has to deal with conditions such as hemolytic and hemorrhagic disease of newborns, the consequences of birth trauma, asphyxia, conjugational jaundice, etc.
Children can receive medical assistance at the reception of a pediatrician on an outpatient basis of a polyclinic or in a specialized pediatric hospital. The pediatrician is part of the pediatric ambulance team, he provides emergency assistance to sick children. In children's institutions (schools, kindergartens, camps), there should always be a pediatrician on the staff.
District pediatrician
On an outpatient basis, a district pediatrician monitors the development and health of children. He observes children from the moment they are discharged from the maternity hospital until they reach the age of 18. The principle of continuity plays almost the most important role in the work of a pediatrician, because it allows one to assess the development, growth and morbidity of a child in dynamics, which greatly simplifies medical work. The more one pediatrician knows about a child, the more effectively he can deal with issues of his treatment.
The implementation of continuity is helped by the principle of division, when a certain territory with children living on it is assigned to one doctor. According to the reviews of pediatricians, this system has shown the greatest efficiency.
The duties of the district pediatrician include:
- Assessment of the neuropsychic and physical development of children;
- Appointment and assessment of the necessary laboratory and instrumental examination;
- Drawing up an individual vaccination calendar;
- Treatment and prevention of various diseases;
- Rehabilitation of children with chronic diseases;
- Organization of rational feeding of children of the first year of life.
In the event that the child is sick, the pediatrician visits him at home. The most common reasons for consulting a pediatrician at home are high fever, rash, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Respiratory and intestinal infections, pneumonia, bronchitis, urinary tract infections, allergic dermatitis, food intolerance prevail in the structure of acute morbidity at the site.
As soon as the child's well-being improves, the parents independently bring him to the clinic for an appointment with the pediatrician.
Epidemiological work in the opinion of pediatricians is important in preventing the spread of infectious diseases. The pediatrician controls the timing of isolation of a child with an infectious infectious disease (quarantine), gives recommendations to parents on organizing care for a sick child in order to recover as soon as possible, and informs the surveillance authorities about the case of infectious morbidity.
A pediatrician doctor conducts dispensary observation of children with chronic diseases:
- Hearts (defects, myocarditis, etc.);
- Kidney (malformations, hydronephrosis, pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis, etc.);
- Lungs (cystic fibrosis, bronchial asthma, tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, etc.);
- Endocrine glands (diabetes mellitus, impaired growth and puberty), etc.
Such children undergo an in-depth examination and rehabilitation treatment courses. According to pediatricians, only regular treatment of chronic conditions is effective. Complex rehabilitation often includes spa treatment.
Parents regularly seek advice from a pediatrician on the prevention of diseases, proper nutrition, and organization of the child's regimen. Also, consultation with a pediatrician and permission from him are required before a child travels to a camp, sanatorium or sports competition.
Pediatrician assistance in a hospital setting
When the child's condition requires special examination and treatment, he is hospitalized in a pediatric hospital. The pediatric department can be of a general profile (as part of multidisciplinary hospitals) or specialized (gastroenterology, pulmonology, allergy), if the hospital is only for children. In such departments, pediatricians have a corresponding narrow specialization.
The medical work of a pediatrician in a hospital is that he:
- Gathers anamnesis of the child's life and illness;
- Examines it objectively;
- Assigns and evaluates analyzes and instrumental examination;
- Prescribes drugs and procedures, calculates the dosage of drugs;
- Monitors the course of treatment and the child's condition in dynamics;
- Maintains medical records.
If necessary, the pediatrician for advice from other specialists, he calls them to examine the child. In some conditions, it is required to exclude surgical, infectious, allergic diseases.
Some of the medical and diagnostic procedures can only be performed by a pediatrician.
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