In a brightly-colored, carpeted waiting room, a toddler plays with an assortment of toys and books. Her mother watches, waiting to bring her daughter into the pediatrician's office for an annual checkup and important immunizations. Earlier that morning, the same pediatrician consulted with another parent. A first-time parent, who had given birth to a healthy, eightpound little boy just hours before. In just a few years, it will be this mother sitting in the waiting room, as her baby-turned-toddler plays and explores.

It's 10 at night. The pediatrician's answering service alerts the doctor about a frantic call from the parents of a one-year old. Her fever is over 104 degrees. The physician calls the parents and asks some questions. Does she have a rash on her stomach? Yes. The diagnosis is that it could be Roseola, a common childhood disease marked only by a high fever, which goes away when the child breaks out in a harmless rash. The doctor suggests medicine to control the fever and make her more comfortable, and assures the parents that the child will be herself very soon. These are routine events in the life of a pediatrician.

Pediatrics includes the care and treatment of childhood diseases, as well as the study of normal growth and development. As a medical specialty, pediatrics has only been around since the 20th century. More recently, during the 1980s, the subspecialty of adolescent medicine was created to deal with the medical and emotional needs of children during the teenage years. Where can you combine a love of children with an aptitude for science? Think pediatrics. If a medical career appeals to you, there are many reasons to consider this branch of medicine. First is need: it's true that there are more pediatricians today than ever before, yet still there are not enough to catch up with the demand. And, although there is no shortage of specialists in the medical field, there is a genuine need for pediatricians and other primary care physicians.