Where are all our pediatricians?

DATA SHOW that there are more than 200 million children under the age of 14 in China, yet there are less than 100,000 pediatricians nationwide. At least 200,000 more are needed to meet the demand. China Youth Daily comments:

As a result of the shortage, pediatricians have to work so intensively during outbreaks of diseases that some reportedly have no time to go to the restroom. They suffer in health, too. Some months ago, a hospital in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, posted a notice saying the pediatric department was closed temporarily because all its pediatricians had fallen ill due to their heavy work load.

The situation will definitely become graver because the number of newborns will increase with the change in the family planning policy to allow all couples to have two children.

There are many reasons for the shortage of pediatricians, but one of major reasons has been the lack of policy support. In 1998, the higher education authorities adjusted the arrangements of medical colleges and undergraduate pediatric majors were suspended.

From then on, the only source of new pediatricians became medical students from other majors who applied to join a hospital's pediatric department.

The undergraduate pediatric majors were resumed in 2016. However, the courses take at least four years for freshmen to graduate, so the shortage of pediatricians will last.

Besides, the whole medical profession, even the whole society, holds some misunderstanding, even prejudice, toward pediatricians. Many medical professionals tend to think pediatrics is the easiest specialty, while many outsiders think so, too, believing it is easier to treat children than to treat adults.

This is definitely wrong. Newborns do not speak; even the older children who can speak often fail to describe their symptoms properly. As a result, pediatricians have to be more patient and work more cautiously. It is time they got more recognition and courtesy, not misunderstanding.