Pediatrician in Spanish

Choosing a pediatrician as a primary care provider

MedlinePlus notes that many insurance plans limit the providers you can choose from, or give financial incentives to pick from a specific list, so it suggests knowing what your insurance covers before narrowing down the options. Another option it describes is to request an appointment to interview a potential provider. Some practices, particularly pediatric practice groups, may hold an open house where families can meet several of the providers in the group.

What it means

A pediatrician is a doctor who has special training in preventing, diagnosing, and treating diseases and injuries in children. According to the National Cancer Institute, pediatricians also help manage other problems that affect children, such as developmental disorders and behavioral, emotional, and social problems. MedlinePlus lists pediatricians among the types of primary care provider a family can choose: doctors who have completed a pediatric residency and are board-certified or board-eligible in the specialty, and whose practice includes the care of newborns, infants, children, and adolescents. A primary care provider is the main health care provider in non-emergency situations and makes referrals to medical or surgical specialists when necessary. In Spanish the word is pediatra.

Pediatrician in Spanish

Spanish term: Pediatra
Gender and article: common gender (same form for both): el pediatra (masculine) / la pediatra (feminine); plural los / las pediatras
Pronunciation: peh-DYAH-trah

Other Spanish terms	Where it is used	Note
especialista en pediatría	General	Longer descriptive name; the National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary says a pediatra is also called this, and the RAE dictionary defines pediatra with the same words.

Pediatra ends in -a for everyone: the RAE dictionary marks it "m. y f.", so only the article changes (el pediatra, la pediatra, un / una pediatra). The RAE defines the word as especialista en pediatría, and the National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary gives that same phrase as another name for a pediatra. The specialty is la pediatría.

MedlinePlus en español uses the plural pediatras in its article on choosing a primary care provider, where it says they have completed una residencia pediátrica and that their field of practice includes care for recién nacidos, bebés, niños y adolescentes (newborns, babies, children and adolescents). The same article mentions grupos de pediatras (groups of pediatricians). The National Cancer Institute's Spanish definition describes the pediatra as a profesional de la medicina who specializes in preventing, diagnosing and treating diseases and injuries en la infancia (in childhood).

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Patient	I am looking for a pediatrician for my baby, who is due next month.	Busco un pediatra para mi bebé, que nacerá el próximo mes.
Patient	Can I meet the pediatricians in your group before I choose one?	¿Puedo conocer a los pediatras de su grupo antes de elegir uno?
Patient	Does the pediatrician accept my insurance plan?	¿El pediatra acepta mi plan de seguro?
Clinician	How old is the baby, and when was the last checkup?	¿Qué edad tiene el bebé y cuándo fue su último chequeo?
Patient	My daughter is two months old, and I have questions about her vaccines.	Mi hija tiene dos meses y tengo preguntas sobre sus vacunas.
Clinician	At each visit we will check her growth and development.	En cada consulta revisaremos su crecimiento y desarrollo.
Clinician	If your son needs a specialist, the pediatrician will give you a referral.	Si su hijo necesita un especialista, el pediatra le dará una remisión.
Patient	My son's pediatrician is a woman, and she speaks Spanish.	La pediatra de mi hijo es mujer y habla español.

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Pediatrician
Spanish (Español)	Pediatra
Chinese (中文)	兒科醫師
Korean (한국어)	소아과 의사
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Bác sĩ nhi khoa
Filipino (Tagalog)	Pediatrician
Portuguese (Português)	Pediatra
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	กุมารแพทย์
Japanese (日本語)	小児科医

Where you'll see it

pediatric visit notesreferral notesimmunization recorddischarge summary

Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: Reproductive health and pregnancy

All terms in this area: Reproductive health and pregnancy — Salud reproductiva y embarazo

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.