What is Pediatrics?
Pediatricians are doctors that monitor the physical, behavioral, and mental health of a child. Pediatricians treat patients from birth to around twenty-one. It is around twenty-one because each pediatric office has different policies about how long they will keep a patient; some offices only treat patients until they are eighteen and some until patients are twenty-three. The goal of a pediatrician is to provide medical care to children who are chronically ill and to provide preventative and diagnostic health services to patients. To be a pediatrician, you need to complete three years of a pediatric residency program after medical school. After the residency program a pediatrician is eligible for board certification and the option to specialize in subsections. These subsections include pediatric cardiology, pediatric endocrinology, pediatric gastroenterology, pediatric hematology, neonatal medicine, and pediatric nephrology.
Dr. Natasha Ramsey
Natasha Ramsey MD, MPH is a board certified pediatrician who is currently in training at Columbia New York Presbyterian Hospital to become an adolescent medicine specialist. She obtained her medical degree and masters in global public health from New York University School of Medicine and completed her pediatric residency at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. She has dedicated her career to serving diverse populations and expanding the adolescent medicine workforce both here and abroad in the areas of reproductive health, family planning, HIV and teen pregnancy prevention. She is also committed to supporting the pipeline of underrepresented minorities in medicine and public health. She founded Gorjus Doc LLC, a consultation firm with 3 goals: 1) to provide health education and resources to youth and the professionals and organizations that serve them globally 2) to dismantle racism and improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in healthcare 3) to promote advocacy and wellness through art and writing. She plans to continue her work in global adolescent medicine and commitment to diversity with the hopes of becoming a leader and advocate in the global community; fighting to improve the health of teens around the world.