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Houston Babies
Would you switch pedis?
No, it's not my pedi. On my neighborhood yahoo board someone posted about a Pearland pedi's office that was on the news for a baby dying after the on-call "nurse" gave them bad advice. Another lady posted today and though is is tragic, her kids have gone there for years and that she's always had good experiences there implying she was still recommending them. I personally would change doctors immediately. Thoughts?
Here are the details per KPRC.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Would you switch pedis?
I would not switch if I was happy with the physician and if they took action towards the nurse as it was not the Dr. that told them this. The parents also knew they were talking to a nurse vs. a Dr. which should hold different weight, who knows if they gave her all the history of prematurity, etc. too. Health care professionals of all levels are by no means perfect. At the end of the day parents have to also listen to their intuition and do what they feel best. This is true for more than just children. I'm a firm believer in being persistent as well as second opinions on anything of substance. I would not let a nurse talk me out of an ER visit with a premature infant. I am by no means faulting the parents, it's a horrid situation I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy - let this be a lesson for us all.
Wow! That's really a tough one.
I can see reasons for staying and reasons for switching. I think that if I saw the practice was making significant changes to their after hours line, like only a doctor returning calls, then I might stay as long as I was confident in the doctors.
It's horrible what happened to that family and something I'm sure they learned the hard way, is always go with your gut, even if you wind up going to the ER for nothing.
Our ped's office has only doctors returning phone calls. We have to call the office leave a message or call the answering service, either way a doctor calls you back. I've woken up a doctor at 1am because I had a vomiting 5 month old.
However there was one time that I was super concerned about him and really felt there was a reason to go to the ER, I went straight to the ER, I never even called the doctor. DS had woke up crying and he was wheezing really bad and cried everytime he tried to breathe. Turns out it was just croup and could have waited until the morning but what if it wasn't that? What if it were something else? Even a doctor isn't going to know for sure what it is over the phone.
Great...that's who I go to (although a different doctor). I am confused about the article - it's basically saying that the nurse (or whatever she was) that answered the phone has since passed away? How long ago was this incident?
I am shocked that the nurse would advise against going to the ER in any situation if that is the instinct of the parents. You don't just get an inkling for the ER for minor things. I do not know how much fault falls on the whole practice for an individual giving out bad (fatal) advice, though. It's a very difficult situation.
I guess in answer to your questions, I am still going to go to PP - so I guess it does not affect me, but reading this makes me more cautious. I have only called the nurse number 1 or 2 times, though and have always gotten compassionate and sound advice, and if they could tell I was really worried, they have suggested I bring him in.
I bet they're switching nursing after-hour services. That would take care of who is to blame, right?
If the pedi is not switching services, then I would consider leaving. That would indicate a poor decision on the pedi's part.
However, if you can't get past it and it makes you anxious, then do what you need to do to feel comfortable.
For me, I do what I need to feel comfortable. I don't take those nurses at face value; my own time in the hospitals has taught me that medical people have opinions that can be questioned.
There is the emergency room at TCH for another opinion. I have also managed to get alternate phone numbers for my pedi; I will call her if I think it is warranted. Although, I try to respect protocol.
I also have a pager for my vet, but that is another story.
Ah, this makes a lot of sense out of some things my doc told us yesterday about switching triage services. I think she may have used the same one.
This is tragic and my heart goes out to these people.
I have had very, very good experiences with this doctor when he has covered for mine, including during our time in TCH NICU. He really went the extra mile for us a few times. In my limited experience he has been a good doctor for us and has taken our first-time and second-time parent panics seriously.
I'm sad that any of this happened at all.
If I was otherwise happy with the pedi I would not switch. Yes the nurse gave bad advice, but she is no longer there and I would never go with advice that went against my instincts. I don't blame the parents, but I do think that if you are looking at your baby and feeling like they need to go to the ER then you should take them and not listen to someone who has not seen the child and does not have their medical history.
I have overridden medical advice and asked for a second opinion several times. I'm really surprised that the parents in this case just went along with advice that they felt unsure of. As a mom of a preemie one of the main things they told me in the NICU was that often a mother's instincts are right and that you should always be an advocate for your child to get the medical care you think they need.
Here's why I would change doctors:
The lawsuit claims the nurse wasn't officially a nurse because her license was expired. State records show she was once a licensed vocational nurse, not a registered nurse.
I would have a problem with an office that hired someone who IMO was not qualified to give advice and therefore may have caused the death of a child. I agree that ultimately you should go with your gut but I also put trust in my healthcare providers to give me their professional opinion.
Again, this is not my pedi's office but just wanted to see if I was alone in thinking I would find a new doc asap.
Tragic no matter how you look at it.
I thought about this aspect too and I agree with you but at the same time I'm kind of wavering in my mind on it.
I will say that I'm glad we don't live in that area and use that pedi, that way I don't have to make that decision. It also makes me thankful that my peds office only has doctors from their practice returning phone calls.
I do feel horrible for those parents though!
So Tasty, So Yummy
I completely agree. I would look for a new doctor.
The thing is, I bet the people who run the practice (who aren't doctors) don't know the hiring practices of the triage service they employ. It would seem to be something that would make sense, you know, have qualified people staffing such a line, but things like this no one thinks to actually check until something horrific happens.
I know if I call the afterhours line at my doctor, I'm not getting a nurse who works in the office. They have no clue who my child is and that factors into how much weight I give what they say to do. I would also have had major red flags raised at being given parenting advice and not medical advice. "Give her a pacifier" is parenting advice, not medical advice at all.
j+k+m+e | running with needles
If I still like the Dr and trust the Dr with my kid, I would not switch. It's tragic what happened, but for any parent out there...if you feel that something is not right with your kid, take them to the minor ER or pediatric urgent clinic. There is no way to fully diagnose a child over the phone.
Hopefully, the pedi's office will evaluate what went wrong and fix it.
I just read the article. If the office doesn't address what went wrong and accept the blame for this and doesn't take corrective action to never let something like this happen again, then I would switch.
AND IF, the pedi didn't let the parents know over and over and over again that because their baby is a preemie that no questions or concerns is ever an overreaction...then I would definitely switch. Both DDs are near term preemies at a good 6 lbs each and my pedi always tells me to contact her if there's something wrong. And fortunately, she is a type A personality and so she is the one that calls back all the after hour calls. I'm curious if the parents mention to the nurses (both during the day time call and night time call) that their baby was a preemie.
Reading the article, the parents definitely have a case and I honestly hope they win so that other places also evaluate their system and make changes if needed.
I don't know, but I doubt it. I mean, like Kat said - when I call after hours I'm not getting my pedi's nurse. I assume she's an RN, but I've never asked.
I will say that if a nurse told me to give a paci to a baby who is lethargic, etc, I probably will ignore the advice and go to the ER. Go with your gut.
Also, though, it does sound like we're missing quite a bit of info from the article. If would ask the practice for more information and then make my decision.
This exactly. Always trust your instincts.
Nope! I have been taking both of my kids to Pearland Pediatrics since June of 2005. First we saw Dr. Gant for our daughter, but one time she was booked so we saw Dr. Decker. We immediately switched our daughter to him, and he's been the only doctor to see our son as well, who is now 2. He's a doctor who cares. He never rushes us, in fact quite the opposite. He'll sit in a visit with you and just chat about whatever. I've never in my life seen a doctor who takes time and seems like he truly cares about your concerns and your children. He has 3 daughters of his own and I trust my children's lives in his hands.
Do I trust my children's lives in a stranger's hands who answers the phone at 3am and doesn't know my children's medical history? Absolutely not. After reading this story, my heart goes out to Dr. Decker and Ella's parents. My daughter has a checkup on Friday, and both of our kids will continue to see him for as long as he has a practice.