PEDIATRIC ENDOCRINOLOGY

What does a Pediatric Endocrinologist do?
What are the career opportunities?
What Board, if any, certifies a Pediatric Endocrinologist ?
What is the lifestyle of a Pediatric Endocrinologist ?
What is the compensation of a Pediatric Endocrinologist ?
How do I become a Pediatric Endocrinologist ?
Where do I find out about available programs?
When do I apply?
Why should I choose to become a Pediatric Endocrinologist ?

What does a Pediatric Endocrinologist do?
A Pediatric Endocrinologist attends to the health of children and adolescents who have metabolic or other hormonal disorders. Pediatric Endocrinologists treat children suffering from Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, growth and/or pubertal abnormalities, obesity, disorders of sex development, bone and mineral disturbances, hypoglycemia, and other disorders relating to the adrenal, parathyroid, thyroid, and pituitary glands.

What are the career opportunities?
Pediatric Endocrinologists practice in a diverse array of settings ranging from a full academic practice based in a university medical center or freestanding children’s hospital, including major time commitment to basic or clinical biomedical research, to a more patient-based clinical practice within an academic center, to a private group- or individual-based hospital or office-based practice.

What board certifies a Pediatric Endocrinologist?
The American Board of Pediatrics offers a certification exam for Pediatric Endocrinology. Applicants must first be Board Certified in Pediatrics.

What is the lifestyle of a Pediatric Endocrinologist?
The specialty of pediatric endocrinology is predominantly an outpatient subspecialty in which disorders of growth and diabetes predominate. There are infrequent, but variable, numbers of inpatient consultations and admissions, but, in general, relatively few emergencies (outside of patients with diabetic ketoacidosis). As such, the practice of our specialty may allow ample time for outside pursuits. The actual amount of available free time will ultimately depend on the individual’s work location, involvement in outside professional activities, and efficiency.

What is the compensation of a Pediatric Endocrinologist?
This will clearly depend on the type of practice (private vs academic), geographical location, and time since completion of fellowship. Salaries also vary by practice setting, with, typically, higher salaries in the private sector. For more information about salary, click here or here.

How do I become a Pediatric Endocrinologist?
To become a Pediatric Endocrinologist, you must complete an approved 3-year residency in pediatrics and an approved 3-year fellowship. Special alternative training pathways [link to intro page] are available for those either with a pre-existing PhD degree (5 years total including pediatrics residency and pediatric endocrine fellowship) or for combined board certification in pediatric and adult endocrinology (4 years of fellowship). For more information, click here.

Where do I found out about available programs?
Information about the various programs is available through ERAS Fellowships FREIDA , the ACGME and the Journal of Pediatrics .

When do I apply?
Most Pediatric Endocrinology fellowship training programs participate in ERAS Fellowships enabling a uniform application process. The ERAS Post Office opens on December 1 (~18 months prior to the fellowship start date) with interviews commencing shortly thereafter. Currently, Pediatric Endocrinology programs do not participate in a match.

Why should I choose to become a Pediatric Endocrinologist?
The field of pediatric endocrinology allows its practitioners to interact with children with mostly treatable disorders. Hormone replacement/stimulation or suppression is the treatment paradigm for those children who require treatment. Understanding endocrinological disorders of childhood and their treatment is predicated on logical physiology leading to challenging thinking and rewarding outcomes.

For more information about Pediatric Endocrinology, visit these websites:
FRIEDA
ACGME
ERAS Fellowships
Pediatric Endocrine Society or PES (formerly known as The Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society or LWPES)
Journal of Pediatrics
American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Endocrinology

List of relevant subspecialty journals:
Diabetes
Diabetes Care
Hormone Research in Paediatrics
International Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
Pediatric Diabetes
Pediatric Endocrine Reviews