pediatrician search

codik86

I have started the search for a pediatrician in my area. There's only one office in my town and it doesn't have good reviews at all. Most parents I know around here take their children to another town. The closest would be Dublin, OH which is a 45 min drive.

How far away is ok to drive to get a sick kid to the doctor? Is 45 min too far? I have all my doctors in Dublin but I'm not sick often. How often on avg did you need to see the pediatrician? Thanks for any help!

codik86

*note: not all take their kids to Dublin, some go to other small towns or whatnot. I only know 2-3 families around here with babies.

Mittens14

Our Pediatrician is about 30 mintues away, we moved when DS was 2 years old and I refuse to find new doctors because his pedis are awesome!  During the first few months we were at the doctor once per month, then once every three months, then once a year plus however often he got sick.  He went for his annual check up in July, then went back in October for his flu shot, but that's it so far this fall/winter.  His first year in daycare it seemed like we were there every couple of weeks, but once we got through the first winter it was much better and we are rarely there.  It will depend on your child, but I will say, you want someone you feel comfortable with.  You want someone you know will be there for you at 2am when your first child spikes a 104 fever in the middle of the night and you're not sure what to do.  If you don't feel comfortable with the doctor close to you then find one you are comfortable with, even if they are 45 minutes away.  The first time DS spiked a high fever in the middle of the night we called the emergency number and our doctor was great, called us within 10 minutes, told us what to do, called back in 30 minutes to see if it was working, then checked back with us an hour later and also gave us a time in the morning to bring him in to see her.  If not for her call back in those 10 minutes we would have been on our way to the ER.  You want someone you can count on. 

ETA:  The once per month thing at the beginning is routine, it's well checks/weight checks.

mrspopsicle

We went to the pedi daily for almost the first week of DDs life because she was jaundice and they were checking her bilirubin level. She then went weekly for a month or so because she had gotten down to 5lbs and needed weight checks. It's super important to have a great pedi who you trust and are comfortable with, but just be prepared for the potential of very frequent visits in the beginning.

MeredithElese

I live in a big city now and our pedi is 30min away, but our most serious visit was for ear infections. I was ok with the travel time because there is a pediatric urgent care center about 5min from our house, so if she broke her arm or something we'd go there.

One thought I had was, can you go meet the Drs for a get-to-know-you? I grew up in a small town with only one pedi office and I'm sure they would get not so great online reviews for things like wait time. However, the drs are fabulous so it was worth the wait or trying to organize first thing in the morning. Not sure how much detail you have on why your friends chose to go out of town.

sammy.k

Where are you coming from?? We have a wonderful pediatrician in Upper Arlington if you want to drive the extra 5 minutes.

codik86

MeredithElese said:

I live in a big city now and our pedi is 30min away, but our most serious visit was for ear infections. I was ok with the travel time because there is a pediatric urgent care center about 5min from our house, so if she broke her arm or something we'd go there.

One thought I had was, can you go meet the Drs for a get-to-know-you? I grew up in a small town with only one pedi office and I'm sure they would get not so great online reviews for things like wait time. However, the drs are fabulous so it was worth the wait or trying to organize first thing in the morning. Not sure how much detail you have on why your friends chose to go out of town.

I plan to meet with the one in town to see what they're like. One friend's kids are now older (8, 10) so she doesn't have to go often. She said their doc moved out of the town because of the office he left. Guess they were med pushers and he didn't want to practice there. The other friend is closer to Dayton so they decided a bigger city doc was better and Springfield (where I'm closest to) isn't the best for anything. Hospital isn't great, etc. .
I'm willing to give them a shot and meet with them to see what vibe I get and how they answer my questions.

codik86

sammy.k said:

Where are you coming from?? We have a wonderful pediatrician in Upper Arlington if you want to drive the extra 5 minutes.

I'm coming from the Springfield area. South Charleston. I'd take 70 to Columbus then 270 north to Dublin. UA wouldn't be much farther. Would it?

sthomas1222

Make a list of what's important for you. For us it was that it was a large practice so we could always get in when baby was sick, IBCLCs on staff, uses WHO growth charts for breastfed babies, supportive/accepting of alternative vaxing schedule. And just b/c you pick this one ped doesn't mean you have to stay with them should they turn out to not be a good fit for your family. 

dragossoul84

A good peditrician is worth his/her weight in gold I would have no problem driving 45 minutes to get to some one its the on call things that really make the difference to me. We see a family dr for all of us and he is amazing if I call with a question he will call around my son's bed time to check on him before he goes to sleep. I trust and respect him and it really makes me feel better when my little guy is sick to know this person is really looking out for him

codik86

Thank you, ladies! I appreciate the feedback. I will probably set up a meeting with the office near me, and an office or two out of town.