RT Journal A1 Bergman AB, Probstfield JL, Wedgwood RJ T1 TAsk identification in pediatric practice JF American Journal of Diseases of Children JO American Journal of Diseases of Children YR 1969 FD September 1 VO 118 IS 3 SP 459 OP 468 DO 10.1001/archpedi.1969.02100040461008 UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.1969.02100040461008 AB IMAGINATIVE efforts are urgently needed to cope with the impending shortage of child health manpower in the United States. The situation is serious: an increasing childhood population in the face of a declining number of child health physicians (pediatricians and general practitioners).1 Most urban practitioners' offices are filled to capacity, and countless communities are without any physician. New federal health programs which require large numbers of professional staff are enabling more citizens to have access to health services.There are two possible solutions: a marked increase in the number of pediatricians or a change in the manner that pediatric care is now given. No matter how desirable, the first possibility is impractical. By 1980, even if the majority of all medical school graduates were to enter pediatrics (a most unlikely prospect), the current child-to-physician ratio could not be maintained and would result in shortages of other types of physicians