Many medical and surgical illnesses may affect the child and other influences such as family and psychosocial aspects may have a profound influence on the child's well-being. There are opportunities to link in with other disciplines such as education and social services. There is a large outpatient and inpatient clinical workload and there are opportunities to develop technical skills in areas such as paediatric intensive care and neonatal intensive care. There are great opportunities to become a general paediatrician with a specialty interest. Other opportunities include tertiary specialty care, community Paediatrics and neonatology.
Close links exist with primary care.
On-call at one in five is the usual working practice in most paediatric departments now. Experience should include at least six months of general Paediatrics and six months in neonatal intensive care. A post in primary care or specialist Paediatrics is an advantage. A sense of humour Ability to stand back from situations and take stock Further Advice The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health publishes a leaflet - Senior House Officers in Paediatrics.