Post job

What does a pediatrician do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted expert
Janet Williams Ph.D.

A Pediatrician diagnoses and treats childrens injuries and diseases. They examine patients and maintain records such as medical history, reports, and examination results.

On this page

Pediatrician responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real pediatrician resumes:

  • Provide exceptional continuity of care and patient satisfaction by managing patients in both outpatient and inpatient pediatric settings.
  • Work as pediatrician in Al-Ain medical district - PHC - M.O.H of the UAE
  • care with splinting, suturing ,
  • Administer vaccines to babies and kids.
  • Coordinate CME activities for the medical staff.
  • Identify medical rehabilitation needs (hearing aids, low vision aids).
  • Serve in the emergency, infectious disease, neonatology, pulmonary and cardiology units.
  • Educate parents on how to deal with the psychological and developmental issues of their kids.
  • Participate in NASA research project, regarding connection between agricultural pollution and ALL/NHL in childhood.
  • Discuss and observe the decision making process in determining diagnosis.
  • Develop working diagnosis in accordance with establish medical practice and prescribe needed medications.
  • Ensure that patients receive outstanding service provide by a friendly environment, which include greeting and acknowledging every patient.
  • Create educational handouts for patients, including information regarding eczema care, asthma medications, and oral allergy syndrome.
  • Review incoming reports including XRY and EKG.
  • Review incoming reports (e.g., lab, x-ray, EKG) sign, date and follow-up in a timely manner.

Pediatrician skills and personality traits

We calculated that 30% of Pediatricians are proficient in Patients, Primary Care, and ADHD. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Organizational skills, and Physical stamina.

We break down the percentage of Pediatricians that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 30%

    Provided pediatric medical treatment and clinical documentation for patients.

  • Primary Care, 16%

    Assessed, diagnosed and managed acute and chronic medical conditions in primary care clinic serving pediatric and adolescent population.

  • ADHD, 9%

    Assisted provider to ensure appropriate follow-up plans for students with concussions, anxiety/depression, and ADHD.

  • Neonatology, 5%

    Served in the emergency, infectious disease, neonatology, pulmonary and cardiology units.

  • Internal Medicine, 5%

    Called on Oncology Offices, Pediatricians, Gastroenterologist, Internal Medicine and Ophthalmologist.

  • Epic, 4%

    Supported implementation of Epic EMR system

Common skills that a pediatrician uses to do their job include "patients," "primary care," and "adhd." You can find details on the most important pediatrician responsibilities below.

Dexterity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a pediatrician to have is dexterity. Their role and responsibilities require that "physicians and surgeons may work with very precise and sometimes sharp tools, and mistakes can have serious consequences." Pediatricians often use dexterity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "administered screening tests, provided vaccinations and ensured health education through hands-on family planning, lifestyle modification and community-based childcare. "

Organizational skills. Another essential skill to perform pediatrician duties is organizational skills. Pediatricians responsibilities require that "good recordkeeping and other organizational skills are critical in both medical and business settings." Pediatricians also use organizational skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "track individual and organizational metrics on a daily basis to ensure quality patient care, and meet organizational goals. "

Physical stamina. pediatricians are also known for physical stamina, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to pediatrician responsibilities, because "physicians and surgeons should be comfortable lifting or turning disabled patients, or performing other physical tasks." A pediatrician resume example shows how physical stamina is used in the workplace: "back office - interview patients, charted history and physical, vitals. "

Problem-solving skills. pediatrician responsibilities often require "problem-solving skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "physicians and surgeons need to evaluate patients’ symptoms and administer the appropriate treatments." This resume example shows what pediatricians do with problem-solving skills on a typical day: "dissolved partnership to establish solo private practice. "

Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in pediatrician job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what pediatricians do. Pediatrician responsibilities rely on this skill because "physicians and surgeons need to be excellent communicators." You can also see how pediatrician duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "register patient record, medical history, and vital statistics, team work communication with other departments. "

Compassion. Another skill commonly found on pediatrician job descriptions is "compassion." It can come up quite often in pediatrician duties, since "patients who are sick or injured may be in extreme pain or distress." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day pediatrician responsibilities: "delivered high quality and compassionate treatment to indigent and low-income patients. "

See the full list of pediatrician skills

The three companies that hire the most pediatricians are:

Choose from 10+ customizable pediatrician resume templates

Build a professional pediatrician resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your pediatrician resume.
Pediatrician Resume
Pediatrician Resume
Pediatrician Resume
Pediatrician Resume
Pediatrician Resume
Pediatrician Resume
Pediatrician Resume
Pediatrician Resume
Pediatrician Resume
Pediatrician Resume
Pediatrician Resume
Pediatrician Resume
Pediatrician Resume
Pediatrician Resume
Pediatrician Resume
Pediatrician Resume

Compare different pediatricians

Pediatrician vs. Doctor

A doctor is a medical expert who diagnoses and treats illnesses and injuries, often specializing in particular areas. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting initial interviews and examinations, studying a patient's medical history and laboratory results, providing consultations and care advice, prescribing medication, and referring patients to specialists when necessary. They must also coordinate and maintain an active communication line with nurses, administrators, and technicians for a smooth workflow. Moreover, a doctor must educate patients about their health conditions, helping them understand their situation better.

If we compare the average pediatrician annual salary with that of a doctor, we find that doctors typically earn a $17,211 higher salary than pediatricians make annually.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both pediatrician and doctor positions are skilled in patients, primary care, and internal medicine.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a pediatrician are more likely to require skills like "adhd," "neonatology," "autism," and "epic." On the other hand, a job as a doctor requires skills like "customer service," "emergency medicine," "surgery," and "dr." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Doctors earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $178,767. On the other hand, pediatricians are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $190,796.On average, doctors reach similar levels of education than pediatricians. Doctors are 1.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 3.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Pediatrician vs. Triage nurse

A triage nurse provides patient care and overall nursing duties alongside the resident doctor in a clinic or hospital. It is the task of a triage nurse to oversee the condition of each patient and to report immediately to a doctor when emergencies occur. Added tasks of a triage nurse are monitoring and administering doctor prescriptions, and providing a caring environment for patients and their relatives through constant communication. The triage nurse is an essential part of a healthcare facility and is in-demand in many places around the world.

Triage nurse positions earn lower pay than pediatrician roles. They earn a $126,779 lower salary than pediatricians per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both pediatricians and triage nurses have skills such as "patients," "primary care," and "internal medicine. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, pediatrician responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "adhd," "neonatology," "autism," and "epic." Meanwhile, a triage nurse has duties that require skills in areas such as "home health," "symptom management," "direct patient care," and "emergency situations." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

In general, triage nurses achieve similar levels of education than pediatricians. They're 0.8% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 3.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for pediatricians in the next 3-5 years?

Janet Williams Ph.D.Janet Williams Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Professor of Biology, College of Our Lady of the Elms

PCR diagnostics are already critical, but they will become more critical as time goes on, since nearly all disorders or infections might be able to be diagnosed with PCR technology, in a matter of minutes, in the clinic.
Possibly, a little further out, will be genome sequencing to determine health risks for patients. It might even be able to prescribe lifestyle and nutrition best-practices for individuals, based on their genetics.

Pediatrician vs. Hospitalist

A hospitalist, also known as a physician, is primarily responsible for diagnosing and treating patients' ailments or injuries, providing optimal care and service. They assess a patient's condition by running tests, interviews, and examinations, providing consultations, prescribing or administering medicines, coordinating with other health experts, and following up on patients' cases. A hospitalist may also study and update a patient's medical records, discuss conditions to patients and families, and implement the medical health and safety policies and regulations within the hospital.

On average, hospitalists earn higher salaries than pediatricians, with a $23,446 difference per year.By looking over several pediatricians and hospitalists resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "patients," "epic," and "medical care." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from pediatrician resumes include skills like "primary care," "adhd," "neonatology," and "internal medicine," whereas a hospitalist is more likely to list skills in "emr," "acls," "rehabilitation," and "critical care. "

Hospitalists earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $210,905. Comparatively, pediatricians have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $190,796.When it comes to education, hospitalists tend to earn higher degree levels compared to pediatricians. In fact, they're 7.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 3.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Pediatrician vs. Academic hospitalist

Academic hospitalists average a lower salary than the annual salary of pediatricians. The difference is about $10,187 per year.Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A pediatrician uses "patients," "primary care," "adhd," and "neonatology." Academic hospitalists are more likely to have duties that require skills in "medical license," "in-patient care," "provide direct," and "qi. "academic hospitalists reach similar levels of education compared to pediatricians, in general. The difference is that they're 3.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 13.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of pediatrician

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

What a pediatrician does FAQs

Search for pediatrician jobs

Browse healthcare practitioner and technical jobs