Paediatric rheumatology involves autoimmune and musculoskeletal medicine with a focus on joints and muscles. There is crossover with other specialties such as immunology. It is a bespoke specialty that predominantly involves outpatient work with some complex sick inpatients.
As a paediatric rheumatologist there is the opportunity to work as much or as little as you would like. Some paediatric rheumatologists work part-time in a public hospital and have their own private rooms while others work multiple part-time roles in a public hospital (e.g., general paediatrics and paediatric rheumatology). It is helpful to keep working in the public system to ensure you keep your skills up-to-date and have ongoing exposure to sick patients.
As a paediatric rheumatologist you should have the following skills and interests:
There is some procedural work in the form of joint injections and there is also the opportunity to be involved in research if you’re interested in this.
Paediatric rheumatology is a six-year program including three years of basic training in paediatrics and child health and then three years of advanced training. Trainees may undertake dual training with another specialty such as general paediatrics or pain medicine.
You need to find your own accredited training position and then apply for the training program, noting that this is a competitive process. Compulsory dual site training is part of the training program so you will need to go interstate or overseas for some part of your training. Non-core training can be counted towards your training program.
It is an exciting time to be working in this specialty due to the advances in medicine and medication, particularly with the ever-expanding role for biologic agents. Paediatric rheumatology is an underserviced area with the opportunity to work in both public and private settings. You are unlikely to find a full-time public paediatric rheumatology role in Australia but there is the opportunity to work a combination of roles.
Paediatric rheumatology is a tertiary service that sometimes provides outreach to regional/rural sites. Most paediatric rheumatologists work in the big children’s hospitals and live in major cities, so they can have access to a paediatric ICU, paediatric subspecialists, and paediatric allied health, as required.
