Children may experience a range of illnesses and diseases as they grow. Fortunately, a lot of these problems are things everyone goes through as a human being. However, there is a specialty in the medical field that deals with issues that are not “just one of those things.”
Staying Up to Date
The field of pediatric infectious disease involves a persistent issue caused by an infection by bacteria, parasites or other agents. The specialists in this field treat patients from birth through the teen years. To reach this level of practice, the specialist graduates from medical school, then serves three years or more in a residency program. Another three years (or more) are devoted to special training in infectious diseases. Certification is by the American Board of Pediatrics.
Doctors who focus on pediatric infectious disease must focus a portion of their time on keeping up with the latest information and technology from their field. Conferences such as the annual Pediatrics Infectious Diseases Research Conference at St. Jude Hospital present information such as “Frontiers in Infectious Diseases” to help specialists stay informed.
This medical specialty lists such conditions as meningitis, hepatitis, respiratory infections, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and others under the field of infectious diseases. Narrow that huge field of knowledge to a particular segment of the population, and you have those who work with these issues every day.
World Class Organization
The Pediatrics Infectious Disease Society (PIDS) membership includes physicians, those in training at the doctoral level and others who focus on this important medical field. Some members are in clinical practice, and others are teaching or conducting research.
Related organizations include similar societies in Europe, Latin America, and on the Asian continent. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Infectious Diseases Society of America are closely related groups.
PIDS sets clinical care at the top of its strategic plan to promote excellent care to the young people who are fighting an infectious disease. Not far behind in the plan is education of healthcare professionals , while providing a source of valid information for the public.
Rounding out the areas of emphasis for PIDS are research, which includes a number of fellowships and grants to further the study of infectious diseases; public health, including acting as a liaison to other organizations; and advocacy, to publicly promote excellent care in this field.
The final part of this plan is recognition. The list of awards includes Distinguished Physician, Distinguished Service, the Burtis E. Breese Award, and the Stanley A. Plotkin Lectureship in Vaccinology.
The special field of infectious diseases in children and adolescents, pediatric infectious disease, occupies a very important place in the lives of some very important young people.
