Jubilee Lecture of the Scottish Paediatric Society. Do we really need community paediatricians? A summary of the lecture given at the Triennial Meeting of the Scottish Paediatric Society.
To summarise, I have supported the development of a specialty of "child development and rehabilitation" as an independent branch of paediatrics separate from neurology; emphasised the importance of expertise in child abuse for all paediatricians and not just those working in "the community"; described the changing role of specialist paediatric doctors in pre-school surveillance and the school health service; and suggested that we may need community paediatricians with a public health orientation. It is important to determine what community paediatricians should do and to ensure that the training they receive is relevant to the tasks required of them.
Department of Child Health, St. George's Hospital and Medical School, London, UK.
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D003154:Community Medicine; D010372:Pediatrics; D010819:Physician's Role; D012606:Scotland