which one is better pediatric or anesthesiologist?

Answer 1

It's comparing apples and oranges. Both fields are very different from each other. In addition, in both fields there is a wide range of variety. But to make some generalizations...

Obviously, to be a pediatrician, you gotta love kids. Many people who like kids though, can't stand dealing with their parents, and that makes it tougher. Depending on your specialization, you may deal with some really sick kids, but many pediatricians practice general peds, which means a lot of stuffy noses and school physicals. Dealing with the kids can be very rewarding, but obviously when a kid dies it's a lot more devastating than when your 80 year old who has lived a good life dies.

Anesthesiology involves a completely different type of practice. You don't have a long term patient base that you follow, and you don't get continuity of care (unless you specialize in pain). A lot of people don't appreciate how tough it can be. And, you often have to deal with surgical personalities that are not always benign. When things go bad, they go bad real real fast. Some have described it like flying a plane- hours of boredom followed by moments of terror.

But, anesthesiology offers great (if brief) personal contact, excellent opportunities to do procedures. If you like physiology, understanding how the body truly works, anesthesiology is the way to go. You think on your feet, you administer drugs and see their effects right away. You work very hard during the day, but when you go home, you are truly off work. You don' t have all these patients that you have to deal with every day. Less arguing with insurance companies. No dictating long notes. And, when you pull off a nice anesthetic, and the patient's nice and chill at the end, you do get a great sense of satisfaction.

Obviously, I'm somewhat biased here. Both are great fields, it entirely depends on your personality.

btw... if you like kids and anesthesiology, well, you can always do pediatric anesthesia....

Answer 2

First of all, it's "pediatrician". Pediatric is the adjective, not the profession.

I started out wanting to be a pediatrician, but when I actually had to DO it in my medical school rotation, I wasn't so keen on it.

I'm an anesthesiologist, so I am obviously biased toward that. I do not find it boring; I love my job.

I'm not a pediatric anesthesiologist, but do take care of low risk kiddies. I get to get my "baby cuddles" for a few minutes at either end of the procedure, and then turn them over to someone else when they wake up and scream. The best of both worlds.

Which one is "better" for you depends on YOU. I'm glad there are people to be pediatricians. I'm also glad it doesn't have to be me. You have to do what you love, and you won't know that unitl you try it. In medical school. So worry about it then.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I agree with al_ju_2000.

This is a very difficult question that you will have to answer for yourself. When you go through your third and fourth year of medical school, you will see what you like. Third year is usually composed of the core specialties - Internal Med, Surgery, Ped, OB/Gyn, and Psychiatry; fourth year has some core specialties such as Neurology but also give you time to choose whatever you want. I also did anesthesiology rotation when I was in fourth year. After you have rotated through, then you will have a better idea of what you like and what is better FOR YOU.

Pediatric is usually seen as a fun specialty, dealing with kids. However, dealing with sick kids is not so much fun. Those who say it's fun probably had never had to deal with a crying sick baby and you have to insert needles to the baby to get him better. Then, there is the parents - especially the first time parents who are nervous about just everything, and dealing with parents is even more difficult than dealing with the sick kids. Further, the pay for pediatrics is rather low - the specialty rank as one of the lowest paying specialties among physicians, and the hour can be very bad - being on call at night often.

Anesthesiology is a nicer field in term of payment - they are usually among the higher ends. The hour can vary - in a large group, you can be on call all night and take half or entire next day off to catch up on sleep. The job can be a bit mundane at times, and sometimes you don't feel like a physician - because you don't have as much patient-physician contact. That can be a problem, since patients tend not to sue doctors they know and like, should something bad happens. Further, hospitalized patients are among the sickest of all patients, and if something were to go wrong, it is more likely to be the hospitalized patients, so your record will be reviewed frequently. Last issue - where as pediatricians work for themselves in the office, anesthesiology group have to have contract with the hospital, so when the hospital decides to change (which happened to the ER group and Radiology group in my hospital - hospital ownership changed, and within 6 months, the ER group and Radiology group were both terminated and had new groups replacing them), there is a chance of losing your job and your tenureship within that job.

Basically, you have to go through pediatrics at third year and then choose anesthesiology as the first rotation of the fourth year to compare.

Honestly, you will likely to experience so many other things that you might like that this will no longer be a question by that time.

Answer 4

I am going to talk to you from my experience. When I went into med school, I was positive I was going to be a pediatrician. But then when it came to my rotation in pediatrics I was totally bored. For me, I felt like though we were doing things for the kid's best interest, we constantly annoy them. They come to the hospital, and you stick them with an IV. In clinic, if their stomach hurts, you press on it, if they have a sore throat, you stick a swab into it, if their ear hurts, you jam a scope into it, and if they are healthy, they get a shot.

Don't get me wrong.....I LOVE taking care of children.

One thing to think about is your lifestyle. When you are older, and have a family and kids, you'll want to be able to spend your time with them, and not worry about work all the time. (As a pediatrician, you'll spend a lot of time thinking about your patients when you're away from work....) You're going to want your free time, and have a life outside of work.

Anesthesiology does that for you. But you have to like critical care. What's great about it, is you work one on one with a patient in extreme critical care fashion, managing all their vitals, and having total autonomy on how you care for your patient, and when your case(s) are done, you go home and don't have to think about it anymore. The inter-office politics and handling of a myriad of patient concerns/requests is virtually non-existent. You can just about turn your pager off when at home when not on-call, and you get compensated much better than a general pediatrician.

As I mentioned earlier - I LOVE taking care of children. Which I do everyday as an anesthesiologist. Kids need surgery too! I work as a pediatric anesthesiologist and LOVE IT!!!!

I get the best of both worlds this way. I get the benefits of being an anesthesiologist, and have the joy of taking care of children. It's a one year fellowship after a residency in anesthesia. (Also, in about 90% of cases, you put the kid to sleep first by having them breathe anesthetic gas before putting them to sleep, so you're not poking them when awake!)

Think about it. But whatever you do, think about what you want in life 10 to 15 years from now.

Answer 5

The specialty that is better is the one that "fits" you the best. One may have pay more, but malpractice premiums might be higher in another, or there may be more call.

Medicine is one area in which you should be motivated by what you'd like to do. It is a COMMITMENT of a lot of tears, sweat, money and time of your life to a very noble cause.

Since you'll be doing it for a long time, picking the specialty that you like, is more important than what I might like.

Answer 6

But as a pediatrician you get to work with little kids which would seem to give the doctor a better feeling. Plus being an anesthesioligist can be very boring and risky during surgery.

Answer 7

Those two professions are so different from one another that it's really hard to compare which would be better.

I say choose which field you want to work in--do you want to work with children specifically, or do you want to focus more on surgeries/anesthesia etc.

Answer 8

i would go for pediatric...innocent face of a child who still yet to learned the wickedness of the world :P...or is it goodness is innate?

do you love to work and care for children, or you like the other challenging field?

but, they are both very rewarding...good luck.

Answer 9

Paediatrics will never keep you bored or away from your profession.

Answer 10

career day, holla. why not be an astronaut?

get ready for a lot of school.