To the newly graduated resident in pediatrics, the well-child visit is perhaps the most enjoyable but the most daunting of all patient visits. For many residents in training, it is this very encounter that convinced them to care for children. On the one hand, the visit allows the opportunity to guide parents in the rearing of their child and to help alleviate any fears they may have about development, growth, and well-being. On the other hand, the ever-present specter of missing a subtle disease finding looms over every encounter, not to mention the challenging task of documenting the details of each visit to comply with reimbursement requirements. Add to these pressures the increasing number of topics to be covered in each visit, and the well-child encounter can quickly become the most dreaded part of any day.

This issue of Pediatric Annals is the second in a two-part series highlighting the development of the Bright Futures Guidelines, third edition. In these guidelines, careful attention has been paid to focusing on what could be done in a given clinical encounter rather than on what might be done. Thoughtful consideration has been given to what families feel are the most pressing issues at each visit, as well as to how each practice can evolve into part of a true multidisciplinary medical home for each patient.

After reviewing this issue of Pediatric Annals, the participant will have a much better understanding of the challenges and rewards faced in implementing the Bright Futures Guidelines in their daily practice. Additionally, one will be better able to recognize the role one can play in the community of care that must surround each child in order to optimize the overall outcome.