<strong>Anna K. Weiss, MD, MSEd,</strong>  is an attending physician in the Division of Emergency Medicine at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She is also an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. 

NEJM Resident360 > Rotation Prep > Pediatric Emergency Medicine > Pediatric Emergency Medicine

Introduction

<div class="onepub-jats-front" id="10.1056/r360.i000922-front"><div class="onepub-jats-metadata two-column table"><div class="onepub-jats-row"><div class="onepub-jats-cell"><div class="onepub-jats-metadata-group"></div></div></div></div><div class="onepub-jats-metadata centered"></div></div><div class="onepub-jats-body" id="10.1056/r360.i000922-body"><div class="onepub-jats-section-container"><div class="onepub-introduction"><div class="onepub-jats-main-title"><h6 class="onepub-jats-title introduction">Introduction</h6></div><p><b>For information on Covid-19, please see the <a href="https://www.nejm.org/coronavirus" class="onepub-link-primary" target="_blank">NEJM Coronavirus (Covid-19) Topic Page</a> and <a href="https://resident360.nejm.org/rotation-prep/pediatric-infectious-diseases/covid/fast-facts" class="onepub-link-primary" target="_blank">Covid-19 in Children</a> in the Pediatric Infectious Diseases rotation guide.</b></p><div class="onepub-jats-section-title"><h1 class="onepub-jats-title">Introduction</h1></div><p>In the emergency department (ED), frontline providers are tasked with the rapid assessment and stabilization of&nbsp; patients&nbsp;for whom a chief complaint is the only information available. During your Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) rotation, you will work with a team to quickly determine the patient’s severity of illness and to marshal the resources necessary to care for a child who may be suffering from a multitude of possible disease processes.</p><p>This rotation guide addresses the most common chief complaints in pediatric patients who present to the emergency department. Since PEM physicians manage pathology from virtually every other pediatric subspecialty, this guide will focus on the initial assessment and management of patients suffering from acute illness. More details of specific disease processes are provided in the rotation guide for the corresponding pediatric subspecialty.</p><ul class="onepub-jats-list-unordered"><li><p><a href="https://resident360.nejm.org/rotation-prep/pediatric-emergency-medicine/resuscitation/fast-facts" class="onepub-link-primary" target="_blank">Resuscitation</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://resident360.nejm.org/rotation-prep/pediatric-emergency-medicine/respiratory-distress/fast-facts" class="onepub-link-primary" target="_blank">Respiratory Distress</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://resident360.nejm.org/rotation-prep/pediatric-emergency-medicine/trauma/fast-facts" class="onepub-link-primary" target="_blank">Trauma</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://resident360.nejm.org/rotation-prep/pediatric-emergency-medicine/abdominopelvic-emergencies/fast-facts" class="onepub-link-primary" target="_blank">Abdominopelvic Emergencies</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://resident360.nejm.org/rotation-prep/pediatric-emergency-medicine/altered-mental-status/fast-facts" class="onepub-link-primary" target="_blank">Altered Mental Status</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://resident360.nejm.org/rotation-prep/pediatric-emergency-medicine/emergencies-in-the-neonate-and-young-infant/fast-facts" class="onepub-link-primary" target="_blank">Emergencies in the Neonate and Young Infant</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://resident360.nejm.org/rotation-prep/pediatric-emergency-medicine/common-procedures/fast-facts" class="onepub-link-primary" target="_blank">Common Procedures</a><tt><br class="onepub-jats-br"></tt><tt><br class="onepub-jats-br"></tt></p></li></ul><p><b>Other topics related to pediatric emergency medicine are covered in the following rotation guides:</b></p><ul class="onepub-jats-list-unordered"><li><p><a href="https://resident360.nejm.org/rotation-prep/pediatric-infectious-diseases/covid/fast-facts" class="onepub-link-primary" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://resident360.nejm.org/rotation-prep/pediatric-emergency-medicine/introduction" class="onepub-link-primary" target="_blank">Covid-19 in Children,&nbsp;Meningitis,&nbsp;Congenital Infections&nbsp;(Pediatric Infectious Diseases)</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://resident360.nejm.org/rotation-prep/pediatric-nephrology/uti/fast-facts" class="onepub-link-primary" target="_blank">Urinary Tract Infections (Pediatric Nephrology)</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://resident360.nejm.org/rotation-prep/pediatric-neurology/introduction" class="onepub-link-primary" target="_blank">Headache, Seizures, Brain Injury (Pediatric Neurology)</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://resident360.nejm.org/rotation-prep/pediatric-pulmonology/asthma/fast-facts" class="onepub-link-primary" target="_blank">Asthma (Pediatric Pulmonology)</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://resident360.nejm.org/rotation-prep/pediatric-urgent-care/introduction" class="onepub-link-primary" target="_blank">Pediatric Urgent Care</a></p></li><li><p><a href="https://resident360.nejm.org/rotation-prep/child-abuse/introduction" class="onepub-link-primary" target="_blank">Child Abuse and Neglect</a></p></li></ul><div class="onepub-grayBox"><p>This rotation guide was developed by a collaborative team of contributors including:<tt><br class="onepub-jats-br"></tt><b>Writers:</b> Rebecca Green, MD <tt><br class="onepub-jats-br"></tt><b>Peer Reviewers:</b> Ivor Asztalos, MD; Atu Agawu, MD; and Barbara Chaiyachati, MD PhD<tt><br class="onepub-jats-br"></tt><b>Section Expert:</b> Anna Weiss, MD MSEd<b><tt><br class="onepub-jats-br"></tt> Senior Editor:</b>  Shannon Scott-Vernaglia, MD<tt><br class="onepub-jats-br"></tt><b>Last updated:</b> April 2021</p></div></div></div></div>