Pamela Burg, MD

For over 25 years I have been a practicing pediatric cardiologist. Throughout my career I have diagnosed congenital heart malformations in the fetus and enjoyed caring for them in the outpatient setting as they grew up and became adults. I also experienced caring for hospitalized children in the neonatal and cardiac intensive care units. I became a clinical professor of pediatrics for the University of Washington while I lived in the state of Washington. While I lived in the northwest I was instrumental in helping maintain a summer camp in Idaho for children with congenital heart disease. As my patients have grown up I have seen the importance of continuing to care for them as adults and I have sought specialty certification to care for this patient group as well. I happily joined Cook Children's Heart Center to be a part of a team offering the best comprehensive care for my patients.

I grew up in South Texas. My dad was a grammar school principle. He was always committed to education and truly believed knowledge could make a difference in the lives of children. My mother, a nurse, helped people directly. I often accompanied her to homes where she would assist in the administration of medication and help people who were ill in various ways. I wanted to help people just like her! She encouraged me to be a doctor.

Just like my dad, I always knew I wanted to work with children. I completed my Residency in Pediatrics and Fellowship training in Pediatric Cardiology at UCLA, which gave me the opportunity to learn from world renown experts in the field that were passionate about the care of the child and adult with congenital cardiac issues. I quickly came to love the work of being a congenital heart specialist.

I feel the most important aspect of my job is communication. It is my goal to empower families and children with knowledge and understanding of their cardiac diagnosis so that they can participate fully in all treatment decisions that may lie ahead. I love showing a child diagrams of the heart and explaining how it works. Then we go on to talk about how they can live their lives doing what is best to stay healthy.

After 19 years in the northwest, I am exceedingly happy to have returned to my home state of Texas! My family has been very supportive and understanding of my career throughout the years. Now that our children are grown I enjoy traveling with my husband, visiting my extended family throughout Texas, trying new cooking recipes and reading a good book!