ABSTRACT
The dissatisfied pediatrician syndrome of the 1950s and 1960s was primarily a crisis of purpose. An ever-growing number of pediatricians were not satisfied with primary care pediatrics. By the 1970s the specialty found itself dealing with a different crisis. New groups of child health care workers were emerging-pediatric nurse practitioners and family practitioners. Unlike many pediatricians these groups were eager to minister to the routine health care needs of children. Birth rates, in the meantime, were falling, which meant that while the number of child health care professionals was on the rise, the number of children requiring their services was on a decline.
