<p>Children make fine patients -- but parents of children are much, much more difficult to deal with than either child or adult patients, making children overall probably somewhat harder to care for.</p>
<p>Pediatric anesthesia is can be more difficult than adult anesthesia for several reasons: first, all structures are smaller and therefore potentially more difficult to access; second, children may be unable to tolerate medical interventions as stoically as [most] adults; third, infants, because of proportionally higher oxygen consumption rates are less tolerant of airway mishaps.</p>
<p>Finally, jury awards for similar injuries to children compared to adults tend to be larger and more frequent.</p>
<p>My wife and I are docs, our kids are pursuing law. We never told them what to do about careers other than to suggest they follow their instincts and passions.
We're not at all disappointed with their choice but neither would we have been sorry had they chosen medicine.
My feeling is this: medicine is the best profession possible but the worst business imagineable.</p>