Pediatric surgeons must have graduated from an accredited medical school and must have completed five years of graduate surgical education in an accredited general surgery residency program. Then, they must complete two additional years of full-time education in an approved fellowship program in pediatric surgery. Following completion of their two year study in the subspecialty of pediatric surgery, they must pass a written examination to ensure that their surgical knowledge is of the highest level and an oral exam to determine their ability to manage a variety of surgical problems in infants and children. In order to take this examination, they must first become board certified in general surgery. After these requirements have been fulfilled, surgeons are granted a special certificate in the subspecialty of pediatric surgery.
Pediatric surgeons specialize in the surgical care of children.
They are surgeons who, by training, are oriented toward working with children and understanding their special needs. In addition, they work with various specialists who are also oriented toward children and toward providing high-quality, safe, and emotionally supportive care for their patients. When a pediatric surgeon performs an operation, it is the culmination of an orderly and detailed process involving pediatricians, family physicians, and other medical specialists who work together to treat the whole child. For pediatric surgeons, one of the most satisfying and fulfilling aspects of their profession is that the majority of their patients will live long into the 21st century. Pediatric surgeons are able to save whole lifetimes, and have the opportunity to follow their patients through a productive young life into adulthood.