Doctors Who Claim to be Pediatricians Sometime Aren't

Dan Frith

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Lets say you are new to an area...your child is sick....and you pick up the phone book to look for a pediatrician. You know that a pediatrician is a physician who has specialized training in caring for infants and adolescents, right? Unfortunately, you maybe wrong!

A recent study concludes that up to 17 percent of physicians practicing pediatrics have never been board certified and some have never completed a medical residency in pediatrics. Board certification means that your doctor has additional training and experience in a given medical speciality and has passed a competency test in that speciality. Did you know that many states do not require their doctors to be board certified but allow them to list themselves as pediatricians?

Do you want to know if your child's doctor is board certifed in pediatrics? If so, check the American Board of Medical Specialities. Want to find out more about the pediatric certification process? If so, visit the American Board of Pediatrics.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Medical Malpractice and Negligent Care.