"Interviewing" Pediatricians

it'sbabytime

I was told by my OB that we should have our pediatrician picked out before our LO arrives.  She gave me 2 referrals but I don't know where to start. She said I can give them a call to interview them but I have no clue what to ask?

Any adivce? What did you ladies do when searching for a pediatrician? What should I ask?

Unfortunately, I do not have any friends in the my area that can give me a local referral.

Thanks!

mrsolsenk12

I totally slacked in this department when i was pregnant. My ds made an early apperance at 36 weeks and we hadn't picked one. I had an unplanned 3am c-section and while i was getting sewn up, my peri asked dh who our pedi was. DH told him that we hadn't picked ond yet and did he have a rec. He called a pedi friend who came to the hospital the next day and we loved him. The questions  we asked him were the following.

-What is their policy on vaccines? Do they follow the cdc recs or  can u do alternate schedule.

-What is the policy on well visits. What times can u do it? extended hours?

-What about illnesses. Can u get same dy sick visits? Do they have a 24 hour nurse line. HTH

 

EastCoastBride

You can do a search for questions to ask, but in our interview, the pediatrician pretty much covered everything w/o us having to ask!

We called and explained that we were looking to select a pedicatrician and that we'd like to set up a consultation.  W/ the practice we went with, if you actually select them, the fee for the consultation is applied to your first visit.  Otherwise, you'd have to pay it. 

 

pinkcallalily

We did a few interviews with pediatricians, but it was mostly them telling us about their office policies, a little bit about themselves, and then answer any questions.  I don't think we had a ton of questions since they usually provided most of what we really needed to know.

Our son has a kidney condition that we learned about at our anatomy scan and we talked to each of them about that (even though we already knew most of what there was to know).  One of the doctors went on and on about it, but was talking about the wrong condition the whole time.  We never corrected her because we already didn't like her attitude, but that was enough to not go to her.  The other two doctors admitted they didn't know a lot about it, but told us what specialists they would recommend seeing after he was born.  I didn't mind that the doctors weren't very familiar with the condition because it's not extremely common, I was just happy they were honest and had a plan of action. 

For the most part, we cared about whose personality we felt would work best for us.  We had already read all of their qualifications online so the interview was just to see who we felt the most comfortable with.  If you have any specific questions then I would ask each doctor you interview that same question and see if you are happy with their responses, other than that I would just see who you like.

charmcitygirl

There were 2 pediatricians offices that I was looking at who had "open houses" where expecting parents would go and meet with a doctor and ask questions, get a tour, etc.  The other office (the one we picked) had appts set aside to meet new patients individually.

I asked about sick hours and policies.  What about after hours calls?  What ER did they admit to?  How did they feel about FF v BF (I wasn't 100% on BFing)?  I also just got a feel for their office and how it worked while being there.

We chose them because they are close, I got a good feeling when I talked to them and they have a great staff.

And don't worry if you pick someone and then don't end up liking them.  You can always switch!

muppet.fan

I didn't do any interviews. I did online research to find the offices close to our area and had narrowed it down to a couple. I love my OB and she recommended one of the ones I was considering, so we went with that one. She went to med school with one of the pedis and takes her own kids there.

But if I was going to ask questions -- I'd ask about weekend hours (I've used our pedi's walk-in hours on Sat. and Sun. more times than I care to count!) and vaccine schedules, if that's important to you. Maybe ask about BFing support if you plan to BF? Two of my pedi's NPs are also certified LCs and they were a huge help to me.

 

AlissaCell701

I would also make sure that the Pedis have "rights"at the children's hosptial that you would want your LO to go to IF something were to happen.

Our first pedi didn't have rights at the children's hospital (there are only 2 major children's hospitals in Broward) and my pedi didn't have rights to the hosptial that Jake was in at the NICU. So she didn't get to see him until way after he was born. We also didn't get to interview many other pedi's cause we had Jake so early. We ended up switiching. Not because I didn't like her it was far a way and not very convienet. 

The second piece of advice would not be afraid to switch pedies. I have to admit that we have been to 3! Until I found the one that I lOVE now. But it took me a while to find someone that I really felt comfortable with. I didn't like the "factory" that some of the offices are down here.

 I wanted my pedi to know who we were and know who my kid was I wanted to be able to call and not feel "stupid" about calling and wanting to speak to a nurse. I wanted to be called, by my first name, not MOmmy, be up to date on new medical info but also have the bedside manner of the old school pedis that I grew up with.   I finally found it and now LOVE my pedi! Good Luck! 

ladychicago

I didn't do any interviews.   I got a referral packet from my OB, narrowed it down by who had privileges at the hospital where I was delivering and by the convenience of their office location.  

After that, things that were important to me:

1.  Having a lactation consultant on staff

2.  Having walk-in sick child hours, having weekend hours (for sick visits, at the very least).   You may also be interested in evening hours if you and DH will both be working. 

3.  Vaccination policy.   If you have any desire NOT to vaccinate according to the CDC/AAP recommended schedule, then you'll definitely need to ask about that.  My office will no longer take patients who do not vaccinate and will not support parents who vaccinate off schedule for non-medically necessary reasons.  

In the end, I chose the office where my OB takes his own kids, so that made me feel good.   :-)   Good luck!

nicolita14w

We picked one based on factors like location, parking, and whether they had privileges at the hospital I was giving birth. We met with her, liked her, asked a few questions, and that's who we picked. I can't imagine interviewing a bunch of doctors-- who has the time? We got a good vibe from her so that's who we went with.

Still so excited for you!!!!

dusk42

ladychicago:

After that, things that were important to me:

1.  Having a lactation consultant on staff

2.  Having walk-in sick child hours, having weekend hours (for sick visits, at the very least).   You may also be interested in evening hours if you and DH will both be working. 

Pretty much this.  Also, our friend's mom is the LC and all our friends go there, so we had lots of recs.  They just do an open house once a week at 6 pm and one of the doctors does a tour and a Q&A.  

Our pedi is also starting to stock the common antibiotics, etc. in their own mini-pharmacy service (through some company) to save you a trip, one of the female doctors will also do the teenage gyn exams so the first ones can be in a familiar setting, they do stitches, and all the doctors live close by, so they tell you to call the nurse line after hours for something like minor stitches before going to the ER.  If it is minor, they will meet you at the office instead of sending you to wait at the ER.