finding a pediatrician... are you "interviewing"?

01klmccr

So when I find doctors for myself or my husband, I just use referalls from other doctors or friends/family. I don't go interview them/meet with them first. If it turns out I don't like them, I change.

I'm probably going to use the same pediatrician my sister uses for her DD. Also found good reviews for them on the local bump board. So.... do I really need to go "interview" them? It's not like it's a big deal and it would be nice to meet the doctor and the office staff before first visit... but i'm wondering if this is some uber important step that i'm skimping on?

heathernacole

The doctor i use for all my prenatal care is a MD and she sees ALOT of OB patients (matter of fact she was my OB before i even got preg.) so i plan to use her even for the baby! I really like her, and trust her. (and best part is she is a mom herself, she offers not only the medical knowledge but can tell me from one mom to another mom's perspective!!!!)

pawcall

I don't know, I kind of doubt I'll be interviewing.  I feel like i'm "supposed to" but it seems like overkill to me.  If I get a recommendation from someone I trust, that'll be good enough for me.

sandylou

I don't know...I'm kind of thinking of doing the same thing you are doing. Many of the ped practices that my OB recommended are on the wrong side of town or don't have privledges at the hospital where I am delivering so I'm really relying on what other people say.

carrie52280

I didn't interview my son's pediatrician when I chose him, but I did get lots of referrals for him from other people including my OB's office.  I did some research online and found nothing but good things.  My son will be 6 in December and I have stuck with the same Dr.  The really great thing is not only do I like the Dr. I chose, but I like all the Dr.'s in the practice.  Needless to say I will be using the same pediatrician this time around as well.

I think this is more a personal choice thing though, but if you feel comfortable with the choice without the interview, then I say go for it

jessr510

When I was pg w/DS, I got recs from my OB's office and DH's co-worker's.  We figured out what practice we wanted to use that way, then went on the practice's website and read the bios on the doctors.  We picked the youngest one, and went in for a quick consult (they advertise free consults during pregnancy) around 36 or 37 weeks.  It was really fast but we got to see the office set-up and found that we liked the doctor right away.  I don't think it was necessary, but when panic set in a few days before my induction that holy sh!t, I'm going to be a mom, I was happy that I knew that we liked DS's doctor.  I looked at it as one less thing to worry about.  If you're not worried about it, then I don't think it's necessary...

RachelMarie83

I did some research on local pediatricians.  Once I found one that I liked and would work for us, I did go in and see the office and meet the doctor.  I wouldn't necessarily call it "interviewing", but I did want to meet the doctor before the day in the hospital.

MichelleL1118

I'm not planning to.  We only have one pediatrician in the small town where we live, and only a handful more options in the next town over (where my OB is/where the hospital is).  I need to check to see who takes my insurance, and then what their hospital affiliations are (not necessarily for the immediately-after-birth check-up, that can be handled by the on-call pedi, but in case LO ever has to be admitted to the hospital for some reason).  Then, I'll pick someone - the person in town if I'm ok with her hospital affiliations, since she's so much closer than the others would be.

layersofmeaning

I have several recommendations from friends and my OB gave a list of the ones they recommend.  If I can I would like to interview one or two but I'm not sure if with my work schedule that will be possible.

Tz's_Bride_2B

I did not interview, just went with someone who had good recs.  Does that make me a bad mom already?  There were a few things that were important to me like Saturday hours, close to our home, etc..

pixieprincss

I use your same try-and-dump strategy for myself, but I think the kicker with LO's ped is that we will be tired, emotional, and have this little person who may have mysterious needs and we'll want good advice and a good fit right then and there. Having right doctor right off the bat might save some serious headache and heartache. Plus, there is a reality of personality or philosophy conflicts. For example, does he push a medical model or is he/she open to respecting your intuitions? That may sound silly, but I have known several moms who just gave up their intuition to go with  dr advice that was great medically but 100% wrong for their child's temperament and really regretted it.

I have been planning on using my family practice dr for LO because I like his style, his level of personal attention, and that he stays up on the latest research but is still low-intervention. But, I do want to touch base and find out how supportive he is of breastfeeding and some other things.  If there is anything less-than-mainstream that you plan on doing, you may also want to feel him or her out on that. While I don't need to agree with my dr 100% on everything, I don't want him giving me endless advice that goes against our parenting philosophies, etc. I think my dr will fit the bill on all counts, but I'd rather ask than assume.

sandylou

I know this isn't what you are specifically asking, but I have a suggestion for other ladies in case they are still looking. I was lurking on my local bump board awhile back and bookmarked a post where someone had asked for pedi recs on her side of town(happened to be mine as well). This might be a good resource if you have relocated or don't live in the same area as friends or family.

RAC07

I'm not planning on interviewing. I'm going to ask around and see who my friends like but I will probably end up going with the recomendation of a friend who is a charge nurse at a well respected hospital, who recommended my ob/gyn (who I love), and who she takes her daughter to. If we don't like the pedi, we'll just switch. Living near Houston, we have so many great choices, I could literally be interviewing forever.

Laruen

I am going with the same doctor I had as a kid. So I don't really need to meet with her. If your sister uses this doctor and has never said anything bad about the doctor then I don't think that you need to interview them.

nurseJK

No, because s/he who hires me as a nurse practitioner gets to bill my kids insurance!!! Added bonus of hiring me pg. Anyways... the thing that would be really important to me as a parent would be about vaccinations. What is their offices policy on unvaccinated children? I am not going to get into a big debate about this and I don't know what your stand is or not but I personally do not want to be hanging out in the waiting room with my newborn (or incompletely vaccinated child) next to a coughing kid who isn't vaccinated for pertussis. Many pediatricians have a back door entrance for infants and they go straight to one of the patient rooms or vice versa those who do not immunize wait somewhere apart from everyone else. This is something a simple phone call could answer though and you wouldn't have to give your name so they don't think you are a nut like me! Other things that are important to think about after you get recommendations are location, office hours, how do they handle after-hour/holiday calls- some offices hire an outside business to field calls (know nothing about your child), share call with other pedis in the practice, share call with another pediatrician in the area, maybe don't take after-hours calls? Hope that helps!

nic84

I will not be interviewing. I am going to find someone that seems like a good fit via websites/recommendations and if I end up not liking them I will just switch. At least you know someone that uses the pediatrician...that is always good.

JimsBride08

I didn't interview with DS's pedi-I thought it was dumb.  Turns out I HATED the one we chose.  Unfortunately, once I decided to switch, my options were limited.  A lot of docs here only take newborns.  We were lucky enough to find one that is a family practitioner with a certification in peds to take him.  I'd at least ask what office policy is on things that you are concerned with, but it would be great to talk to the pedi and see how well you mesh.  Ours was rude, disrespectful, and all around a crappy doc. 

girllennon

My cousin who lives 20 minutes from me recommended her pedi to me, so I think I'll stick with her recommendation. I'm not really up to interviewing pediatricians at this point. It's a waste of my time, so having trusted referral is better than having none at all.

I don't believe the pedi has priviledges at my hospital and from what I learned from my birthing class, the hospital has many pediatricians and neonatologists on staff to care for LO (they have a level II NICU unit). So, it's just a matter of checking the baby out, their apgar scores, etc for them to determine the overal health of the baby. They do make recommendations on any further treatment, so any info I may receive, I will pass on to my pedi and have them follow up with the hospital.

CaniacMom

Don't plan to interview as I will use the same pediatrician I have used since I had my first almost 14 years ago. I did stop in for a quick consult with them when I was pregnant with the first one.  I chose them because they were a good practice with a small satellite office next to the day care I was using.  Since then we have moved about 20 minutes away from the central office & the satellite office but to my good fortune they have opened a new small satellite office 5 minutes from my house.  They have very limited hours in the mornings but that will work for the time being.  If they grow this office like the other they will have full hours within the next year.  I have always been very pleased with the doctors at this practice.

*sallymad*

We didn't interview for dd's pedi. 

At first I was just going to use our family prac that dh and I used to go but then when we were sitting in the hospital we changed our minds. lol. Parents of the year right there.....

I ended up asking the hospital for recs and found a doctor that day. Turned out we love him.