Majors for Pediatrics/ Developmental Peds

[forever_young]

I am still in high school, but I have worked with kids with special needs and I am looking into becoming a Developmental (Behavioral?) Pediatrician or just a general pediatrician. I am wondering what majors I should take in college that would be most beneficial. I was looking at Communications Disorders, but I am not sure. If anyone has any ideas for majors or any advice as to what else I should get involved in that will help my resume or help me to pursue this field.

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[67552931811]

I am still in high school, but I have worked with kids with special needs and I am looking into becoming a Developmental (Behavioral?) Pediatrician or just a general pediatrician. I am wondering what majors I should take in college that would be most beneficial. I was looking at Communications Disorders, but I am not sure. If anyone has any ideas for majors or any advice as to what else I should get involved in that will help my resume or help me to pursue this field.

You spelled it correctly so I'm not sure why you have a question mark? Anyways, while I know you *think* you are 100% sure on doing this, chances are that you will change your mind 343420823025 times before you actually have to choose. However, if you are indeed that 1 in 10000000000 who doesn't change his/ her mind then it seriously doesn't matter what degree you obtain in college. Maybe a degree in psych. would help you understand the development of behaviors? However, if you attend a school that has the degree option of development biology then that, IMO, would be much more beneficial. A dev. bio. degree would afford you the opportunity to learn about biological development indepthly, which going forward as a physician would be significantly more worthwhile. At any rate, if I were you I would just major in the field that you have the most interest in. You have to plan for what happens if you don't get into medical school and have to move forward with your degree in ....insert title...

EDIT: I plan on pursuing a career in pediatrics so feel free to ask me questions.

 

[Bamfu]

ChiTown is 100% correct. You can get whatever degree you want before med school. I would recommend something science oriented, but it's not necessary. I graduated with a music degree. I enjoyed it a lot, but I did have to spend a couple years doing science courses after I decided the music career wasn't for me. After the first couple courses of med school (anatomy and biochem), it all evened out between what I knew and what my science major classmates knew. Besides the extra time you'd have to spend taking science courses, it matters very, very little. There is very little you can do in undergrad to get a head start on what you will learn in med school.

Just pick something you'll like because if you already despise studying by the time you get to studying medicine, it's going to be a long(er) road.

 

[The Buff OP]

I am still in high school, but I have worked with kids with special needs and I am looking into becoming a Developmental (Behavioral?) Pediatrician or just a general pediatrician. I am wondering what majors I should take in college that would be most beneficial. I was looking at Communications Disorders, but I am not sure. If anyone has any ideas for majors or any advice as to what else I should get involved in that will help my resume or help me to pursue this field.

I'll make short and sweet. Most of the time you will end up changing your mind on what specialty you want to go into during medical school, so for now just worry about getting into college and getting good grades. If you like pediatrics right now, then go ahead and volunteer at children's hospital (if you meet the age requirements).

There is majors like human development and family studies, psychology majors that could focus of human lifespan or you could even major in sociology if you want. Look at what schools offer what you want, don't just stick to a school nearby.

 

[DesertPT]

I was looking at Communications Disorders, but I am not sure.

Just FYI, Communications Disorders degrees are intended for students planning to become either Speech-Language Pathologists or Audiologists. Some schools call the bachelor's degree "Speech and Hearing Science" and the master's degree "Communication Disorders", and others have different naming schemes. Bachelor's degrees in these departments are not typically pre-med majors, though I suppose in theory they could be. But you'd have to take a lot of outside classes to fulfill med school pre-reqs.

There is not an official pre-med major. Degrees in the life sciences are typical but certainly not required.

If you really love working with handicapped kids and communication disorders does sound interesting to you, you might consider becoming an SLP. They pay and the so-called "prestige" are a lot lower than being a doctor, but the educational requirements are not nearly as intense and the career is rewarding and extremely family-friendly. You get to see kids progress on a weekly basis over the course of years. Just a thought, take it with a grain of salt. I don't want to dissuade you from becoming a doctor, just responding to what your expressed interests were with another perspective.

Pediatric physical and occupation therapists do some awesome stuff with handicapped kids too...but now I'm tooting my own horn lol 🙂 My point is important though: you are still in high school and as you think about going into child development in some way, you still have a lot of developing to do yourself! Take any opportunity you can to think critically about what field and course of study will truly suit you best.