Pediatrician Interview ?s

mizzkbrat

So we have an interview set up with a Pediatrician on Monday to go ahead and get that off our plates. (First off, I didn't even know this was a thing. We set up an appointment for our 10 year old and was just going to use that person if we liked them. They told us "oh for the newborn you have to set up an interview") Anyways, I'm about to google some questions because both FI and I have no idea what to ask besides "are you a real doctor?" Haha any other suggestions on questions to ask? 

MRSCORKER

I'm a FTM and haven't checked this off my list yet but I plan to see how BF friendly they are. I know some docs will really push BF when it isn't working and will unfortunately formula shame and others will push formula when BF is working just fine so I just want to make sure our Ped is on the same page with feeding. 

I'm going to follow this for more suggestions, thanks for posting! I've kind of been putting this off because it's overwhelming. 

bosslady925

Also following. I found a pediatrician I like online, so I need to call and schedule something. 

I'm assuming questions about vaccines, etc. would be important to hear her/his stance. I think I'd also like to know if she has any other special certifications/areas of interest medically. And maybe how large her panel size is (how many patients she has).

CopperBoom86

I didn't know it was a thing either. We were given a list of recommended pediatricians by my OB and were made to pick one, either from that list or elsewhere. I put a post on a local mom group on FB asking for recommendations and they literally listed every name on the list I already had, plus some.

When it came down to it, I told the nurse I had no clue who to pick because they're all licensed medical professionals, so she recommended the one she uses for her kids and that's the one I went with.

I know issues may or may not arise in the future that would make us want to go with a different ped, but on the front end, I don't see the point in being choosey or having an interview. I almost wish they had just assigned me one so I didn't have to think about it lol. 

LGW2015

We met with our pediatrician this week and loved him. I think the important thing for us was that his views seemed to match up with ours in a general sense (vaccinations, BF, parenting, etc). Anyway, some of the things to look into would be if the Drs have specialties, lactation consultant, a lab on site, office hours, if they have urgent care and those hours, who answers the phone if you need to call after hours and have a medical question, if they have separate sick and well waiting areas, etc. Also if they have privileges at the hospital where you're delivering and they will be there to see he baby in the hospital or whether it will just be a hospital pediatrician and then your ped will see the baby a few days after birth.

MRSCORKER

@CopperBoom86 I sort of feel the same way but I am slightly concerned about the feeding issue I mentioned above. I'm really, really committed to exclusively BF (I have NOTHING against formula, it's just an experience I really want and have always longed for) and I've heard some stories from friends about their doctors really pushing formula when they felt like BF was working just fine. From reading WABF, I learned that exclusively BF babies gain at a different pace than formula fed babies and that some doctors will measure their growth against each other?? I have no idea, I'm a naive FTM and worrying about things that I most likely don't need to worry about. My mom said that my pediatrician is still practicing so I might call him. 

ETA: @TurtleMomma Do you have any thoughts on this?

ibabyloveb87

One of the two Peds from the practice I am using came to birth class so I got a lot of info from her already, but I'm still going to visit the actual office and talk to the head pediatrician as well. 

We talked about what all they do in the hospital for the baby, feeding techniques (BF, formula, introducing solids and she had no hard fast stance on any type- feeding the baby is most important!), vaccines, weekend/night availability, check up schedules and what happens at check ups, also who works at the office and who is qualified for what (example: she and the PA are both lactation consultants). She also had suggestions for legit online resources like Kelly Mom, La Leche, and healthy baby.org or something like that.

There is an article on TB about interviewing pediatricians but I can't find the link for it at the moment. She covered basically everything on it. 

CopperBoom86

@MRSCORKER - I feel the same way about BFing. I'm generally an extremely determined stubborn person, so I'll have no problem kicking our ped to the curb if she tries to pull that crap with me. It's good to be aware of that issue, though, so thank you for mentioning it! 

suzy311

I'm a FTM so I will be following this thread too! This is something we have yet to do but it's on my list.

One thing that would be important for me to know is how after-hours questions or emergency situations are handled. I've seen on other threads that some pediatricians offer a 24-hour nurse line to call with medical questions. I am a very anxious person and having that option would really help ease my mind!

westcoastfoodie

Ughh I have been putting this off and it has been giving me such anxiety. I'm with you @CopperBoom86 ... Just assign me a damn pediatrician. If I don't like them, I'll move on to another. 

thepicklemonster

I'm a FTM and haven't met with a pediatrician yet but when I told my neighbor (who has a newborn) about the doc I was thinking of trying, she told me she went to him and found him very cold and it was off-putting to her.  So I guess it's worthwhile to meet them and just see if you like their "vibe"?  

nlane0723

I asked the following questions:

What is your policy on sick visits? Are you open on Saturday? Are you available after hours?

What is your vax policy? Do you see unvaccinated children?

What is the average wait time for appointments?

Will you see baby at birth in the hospital?

ibabyloveb87

nlane0723 said:

I asked the following questions:

What is your policy on sick visits? Are you open on Saturday? Are you available after hours?

What is your vax policy? Do you see unvaccinated children?

What is the average wait time for appointments?

Will you see baby at birth in the hospital?

I found this was best answered by other moms if you know anyone else who uses that pediatrician. If you have other moms to talk to as an option, I have found that they have been VERY truthful about how they feel about the doctors around here with the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

ignoscemihi

@MRSCORKER Most doctors use either the CDC growth chart or the WHO growth chart.  The CDC chart is based on average weight and height of babies born over a 30 year period in the Midwest United States.  The WHO is based on the average weight and height of babies born in Brazil, Ghana, India, Norway, Oman, and California between the years of 1997-2003.  So the CDC chart will likely reflect more formula-fed babies whereas the WHO chart will likely reflect more breastfed babies.  Our doctor uses both, but the thing that I really liked was that she told us the percentiles were not that important as long as the weight percentile aligned with the height percentile (in other words, from the time our son was 6 months old and on, he has been in the high 90s for weight and the high 90s for height.  She told us that was fine because the height and weight matched in percentiles.)

Another thing to ask:  how interventionist is the doctor?  If your child has an ear infection, for example, would the doctor prescribe antibiotics immediately, or would the doctor wait and see if the infection resolved on its own?  (Note that this question doesn't have an objectively "correct" answer - it's just important that your doctor's answer aligns with your preference.)

jbal918

I set up two appointments so far and I'm waiting for the third to call me back. My husband can't make it to one dr so my Mom is going to come so she can feel the doctor out too and it's not just me. I'm going to make a list of questions and bring it to each visit to compare doctors and offices. 

emt87

FTM, so I will also be following this post for suggestions on what to ask. We have a meeting set up with a large group of pediatricians here in 2 weeks. I asked by best friend who has a 1 year old who they use, and what she likes/dislikes about them, as a starting point. Her office is the one we have set an appointment up with so far. As long as nothing crazy happens when we meet with them, this is who we will probably be going with. 

Some things I like about this office so far are that they have a lactation consultant on staff and are pro bf, they have Saturday apps for sick visits, sick children are taken immediately back to exam rooms instead of sitting in the waiting room with those who are there for well visits, and for after hours questions they have a contract with nurses from our amazing network of children's hospitals in town. I also like the fact that my friend said their wait times for well visits are always very short. Their vaccine policy is also to follow the CDC schedule, which is what we are planning to do. 

kmvisioli

One question I asked that I don't think has been mentioned yet: How open are they to alternative or homeopathic solutions? For example, when DS1 was slightly anemic, they automatically suggested giving him a supplement prescription, but my ped was really good about offering me some tips on adjusting his diet instead of doing the supplement.

UponAStar16

We have met with one pediatrician so far and I just used questions provided in the binder from our childcare class...so disorganized that I can't find where I put it but I'll post a pic of the list when I do!

vcabbyw

Some other tips that I didn't see listed

Basic overall personality and feel. Inc their staff and receptionist. Are they blunt, do they have a sense of humor. Etc. 

Also, do some research or get opinions on if there are any other Doctors in their practice and who they use for backup. There's been many times that I've had to see another doctor when things came up last minute. 

Opinions on on baby lead weaning, first foods or do they Push rice cereal for first food. 

Communication. Can you email or leave voicemails for them. 

Thoughts on circumcision.

Lastly, how busy are they? Nothing is worse then finding a great doctor but struggling to make appts because they are so busy. This is a good question for their staff too. 

NoraAurora

You guys are all so prepped! For some reason we are eternally short on peds in my city so we have more of a "you'll take what you can get" situation. In fact DS saw our family doc until almost 1 y/o because NO ONE was taking new patients. 

We wouldn't have switched to a ped except for the pediatric 24 hour nurse line, as well as the fact that they take drop ins on nights, weekends and holidays. Our family doc definitely does not do that. Plus I do feel like it's better to go to a specialist when you can. 

I haven't read this whole thread but if it hasn't been mentioned, those are things I'd consider when looking for a ped: drop ins/nights/weekends & nurse phone line (it's saved us from having to go in about half a dozen times now).

F47

Most of my tips or questions have been listed. When pregnant with DS, we asked her thoughts on circumcision, and if she had many patients who weren't circumcised (my son is not). I didn't particularly care what her views were on the subject, but I wanted to make sure she had experience in that area should an issue ever arise (it hasn't). 

What I love most about our pediatrician is how engaging she is with DS. She talks to him all throughout our visits, lets him use her instruments, etc. He loves her. 

Im also able to email non-urgent questions to her and she always responds within 24 hours. 

DS was very sick with severe reflux and also had colic as a newborn. During our roughest times, his pedi called me after hours on my cell just to check on him (on two different occasions) because she was thinking about him. That kind of blew me away. 

UponAStar16

Aha, just found it! This is the info we were given on finding and interviewing them..

queen_frostine

@UponAStar16 Thank you!!!

MRSCORKER

My Mom suggested I use the Pediatrician I had as a child. He was pretty newly out of medical school then, he's about my parents age now. I'm going to give his office a call and see what their procedure is for "interviewing" new patients but I'm concerned that he might want to retire soon and we'd have to start over. Would you guys take that into account? 

mizzkbrat

Had our interview this morning. It went really well. The doctor lead the conversation and we jumped in with questions as they flowed. By the time it was over all of our questions were answered without coming out and really having to ask. We felt comfortable with that knowing she knew her stuff. 

ibabyloveb87

@MRSCORKER I definitely took retirement age into account. DH's pediatrician still practices but seeing as he's probably in his late 60's, I did not want to use him just to find someone new in a couple of years (or less!). The practice I chose has one pediatrician in his late40's/early 50's and the other in her early 30's so I feel confident they'll be around for a while. If I had only older doctors to choose from, I would probably ask something about the future of their practice when they are ready to retire. Is there someone that will take over waiting in the wings, are there other peds in the office who would take over, etc. 

serenaxo84

We didn't do an interview- our pedi office doesn't do them. I just went to someone that came nightly recommended from many friends and had office hours that worked well with my work schedule... Same day sick visits, last appointment is at 5, nurses line etc. I also like that we see our doctor for all our well visits. For sick visits we see his NP but I love her. If they are concerned about him then they fit us in his schedule. He is on the way to retirement though...

blaf322

It's something I hadn't thought of but would definitely consider @MRSCORKER... I just wouldn't want to have to deal with switching things up if possible. Especially if you end up having a shy guy who might be nervous over a new face

ByeBabyBunting

Our pedi did a baby care lecture as part of our birth class with DS and we love him. I can be slightly alarmist and he's just the right amount of laid back. He's a one man practice but he works with other pediatricians to have a rotating after hours on call schedule. He and his staff were thrilled to hear about baby two

nsquaredlife13

I highly recommend you join local moms groups on Facebook and ask for recommendations too. Sometimes you'll find out more about the pediatrician this way. We thought of a few questions to ask before meeting ours but then I went on my moms group and asked around and got so much more details that actually helped reassure our decision to go with her.