Pediatrics Competencies - Version 1 - Effective for residents entering training on or after July 1, 2021

Oct 22, 2026

Provides the definition and scope of Pediatrics, emphasizing care for children across health and disease, including growth, development, and social potential. Describes pediatric practice as patient-centred and family-focused, outlines clinical settings, consultative and collaborative roles, and supports transitions to adult care. Details the Medical Expert competency within the CanMEDS framework, including clinical scope, integration of intrinsic roles, and key enabling competencies spanning normal development, biomedical science, epidemiology, immunity, public health, and social determinants.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages32

Reading Time1 h 21 min

AccessFree to download

Definition

Pediatric Practice

Continuum of Care

Pediatric Competencies

Medical Expert

Key and Enabling Competencies

2021 VERSION 1.0 Effective for residents who enter training on or after July 1, 2021. Throughout this document, each reference to “children” includes neonates, infants, children, and youth. DEFINITION Pediatrics is the branch of medicine concerned with the study and care of children in health and disease, their physical, mental, and social growth and development, and their opportunity to achieve their full potential as adults. PEDIATRIC PRACTICE Pediatricians provide care for healthy children, children with acute presentations of illness, and children with chronic medical conditions, including acute exacerbations ordecompensation of these conditions. This includes a broad range of medical and surgical conditions with varying levels of acuity and complexity involving any of the organ systems. Pediatricians also address issues related to growth and development, as well as behavioural and mental health issues. The practice of Pediatrics includes the full spectrum of care: preventive medicine ; anticipatory guidance and health promotion ; resuscitation ; acute and longitudinal medical treatment, including diagnostic and therapeutic procedures ; and palliative care. Pediatricians incorporate knowledge of normal growth and development and the accompanying anatomic and physiologic changes into their assessment and management. Pediatric practice is both patient-centred and family-focused, recognizing the role of the family1 unit in the child’s well-being and social development. Given the nature of children’s developmental maturity and intrinsic vulnerability, pediatricians recognize and respond to their legal and ethical responsibilities in addressing issues of capacity, privacy, and safety. Pediatricians practise in a variety of clinical settings, ranging from hospital inpatient units, intensive care units, and emergency departments to ambulatory care settings, both within hospitals and in the community. These settings may be academic, regional, urban, rural, or remote . 1 Throughout this document, references to the patient’s family are intended to include all those who are personally significant to the patient and are concerned with his or her care, including, according to the patient’s circumstances, family members, partners, caregivers, legal guardians, and substitute decision-makers. Pediatricians provide consultative services to family physicians, emergency physicians, surgeons, and other specialists and may also provide primary care in some settings. Pediatricians collaborate within a diverse interprofessional team . They may interact with other sectors, including schools and social agencies, to coordinate the services provided for their patients. Pediatricians play a major role in ensuring a smooth transition of care of their adolescent patients to general physicians and specialists in the adult health care system . Pediatricians may practise as generalists within Pediatrics, or may undertake additional training in a subspecialty, area of focused competence, or specialized domain relevant to Pediatrics. PEDIATRIC COMPETENCIES Medical Expert Definition: As Medical Experts, pediatricians integrate all of the CanMEDS Roles, applying medical knowledge, clinical skills, and professional values in their provision of high-quality and safe patient-centred and family-focused care. Medical Expert is the central physician Role in the CanMEDS Framework and defines the physician’s clinical scope of practice. Key and Enabling Competencies: Pediatricians are able to… 1. Practise medicine within their defined scope of practice and expertise Demonstrate a commitment to high-quality care of their patients Integrate the CanMEDS Intrinsic Roles into their practice of Pediatrics Apply knowledge of the clinical and biomedical sciences relevant to Pediatrics Normal development, including physical, psychological, social, and sexual Normal variants Psychological adjustment to life stresses, incl

FAQs

What does Pediatrics cover in its definition?

Pediatrics focuses on the study and care of children in health and disease, including physical, mental, and social growth and development, and opportunities to achieve their full potential as adults.

How is pediatric practice described in relation to patients and families?

Pediatric practice is patient-centred and family-focused, recognizing the family’s role in the child’s well-being and social development, and responding to legal and ethical responsibilities involving capacity, privacy, and safety.

What is the role of the Medical Expert in the Pediatric Competencies framework?

As Medical Experts, pediatricians integrate CanMEDS Roles by applying medical knowledge and clinical skills to provide high-quality, safe, patient-centred and family-focused care, defining the physician’s clinical scope of practice.

Oct 22, 2026

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