What are Subspeciality Pediatrics?

Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva

Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva is a former professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin who currently serves as associate executive director at the American Academy of Pediatrics in Elk Grove, Illinois. At the AAP, Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva oversees strategic and operational activities at the Department for Subspeciality Pediatrics, which he established.

While pediatricians provide generalized healthcare for children from infancy through adolescence, subspecialty pediatrics focuses on specific clinical areas of children's health. Often, subspecialty pediatrics have different training and residency requirements. However, all seek to promote optimal health for children.

Some common pediatric subspecialties include pediatric oncologists, who treat children’s cancers, and child abuse physicians, who diagnose and treat victims of abuse. Other subspecialties, such as pediatric critical care and neonatology, focus on children with acute illnesses or injuries, or those born prematurely, while adolescent medicine professionals provide care to teenage children. There also are pediatric versions of adult specialties, including pulmonology, cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, and rheumatology.