A pediatrician working in emergency medicine — caring for acutely ill or injured children, managing trauma, respiratory distress, sepsis, ingestions, fractures, and the full range of pediatric emergencies. Combines pediatric training with the rapid decision-making of emergency medicine.
Most shifts tend to involve a stream of pediatric patients across the acuity spectrum — from minor injuries and rashes to critical illness and resuscitations. You'll often work in shifts (typically 8-12 hours), see 25-40 patients per shift in busy pediatric EDs, partner with nurses and PAs/NPs, and handle the parent conversations that come with sick or hurt kids. Procedural work (suturing, sedation, intubation) is part of the role.
The variance between settings is real — freestanding pediatric emergency departments at children's hospitals see exclusively pediatric volume with full subspecialty backup; general emergency departments see mixed adult-pediatric volume with pediatricians or EM physicians staffing kid-focused care; community hospital pediatric ER coverage may be NP- or PA-driven with physician oversight; rural EDs may have limited pediatric support and rely on transfer. Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellowship (typically two years after pediatrics or three after EM) anchors specialty practice.
People who tend to thrive here are comfortable with shift work, rapid decision-making under uncertainty, and family communication under acute stress. PEM board certification anchors the credential. The work tends to offer strong compensation, dense clinical variety, and the deeply meaningful work of caring for children in crisis, with the trade-off being the schedule strain, occasional pediatric deaths, and burnout risk — for those drawn to pediatric emergency medicine, the work tends to root.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Healthcare roles →A pediatrician working in emergency medicine — caring for acutely ill or injured children, managing trauma, respiratory distress, sepsis, ingestions, fractures, and the full range of pediatric emergencies. Combines pediatric training with the rapid decision-making of emergency medicine.
Median pay for an Emergency Room Pediatrician (ER Pediatrician) is about $210K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $96K to $208K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Speaking, Judgment and Decision Making, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Most people in this role hold a doctoral (research).
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 0.8% through 2034, with roughly 42,960 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Pediatric Hospitalist Physician, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physician, and Pediatrist.
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