Anyone NOT interviewing the pediatrician before LO gets here?

Tigerlillies · May 2010

I was planning to use my family doctor for LO. They are about 35 mins. away from home, but I use them for myself b/c they're close to my office. Then a friend of mine recommended her pediatrician which is only 10 mins. from home. I think might be better in the long run, b/c it's closer- and they just see kids.

I got some basic information about the practice from the receptionist and she said to call when LO arrives and we will schedule a 1 week appt.

I don't really feel like it's mandatory to meet the pediatrician beforehand...anyone else feel this way? Or do you think I really should?

Shandie_725 · May 2010

I didn't meet with the pediatrician we're using for LO - but I was a patient at the same practice until I was 15/16 and decided to switch.

MaryEllen · May 2010

We didn't. My ob recommended them, my sister went to them as a child/pre-teen, and friends use them, so I'm not concerned.

JalynSue · May 2010

I didn't meet with the pedi because I used him while growing up.

kaiteedidit · May 2010

We didn't meet with our pediatrician before DD was born. I had never heard of people doing that until I came onto the bump.

We actually ended up switching pedi's when she was 3 months old, but only because the office staff at the first office was horrible. We switched to a dr. that had great reviews from several friends. We love our pediatrician.

I do not think it is necessary to interview a pediatrician, but it is a personal choice.

MrsMills23 · May 2010

We didn't. We went off of recs. Both my aunts use the same pedi for their kids and I also have a friend that uses her for her three boys. I had heard nothing but good things about her so I just went with her. And it was a plus that was close to our house.

broncoalum97 · May 2010

I never did & I love our pediatrician. I just asked a mom at church who she uses & when she mentioned that not only her but another mom at church used them, I was sold (between the 2 moms they have 7 kids: both have a set of twins). I see mainly 3 of the 5 doctors there, but if I didn't like them when I was went, I just would have looked elsewhere. But I think mom recommendations are a good indicator.

GL!

jennygirlmt · May 2010

Nope. They are the group affiliated with my hospital and Ob/Gyn and came highly recommended by friends in my area. Decision made.

wonderwoman00 · May 2010

I grew up using an HMO, so I always had a different doctor at the clinic we went to. It NEVER occurred to me to interview a pediatrician until my doctor talked to me about it.

I don't know why...I'm just not super concerned about it. I got recommendations from my OB/GYN and I figure if I just pick one and go with it, I should be safe.

stepgirl21 · May 2010

yeah, I don't need to meet the pedi. I'll just choose one that is recommended and call it good. If it doesn't work out, I'll switch later.

star173 · May 2010

Ours came highy recommended and we knew we'd use her, but we still met with her beforehand. It was nice just to have that face to face. However, I don't think a beforehand interview is mandatory if you know who you want to use. Plus, if you decided you didn't like him/her for whatever reason, you can switch.

orienae · May 2010

No, I'm going with reviews and referals as well as the fact that I know this particular doctor supports things like BFing and delayed vaccinations. Also, physically convenient.

btrapp84 · May 2010

I'm not- I'm going with a referral from my doctor!

paislee30 · May 2010

No, we didn't. She tries to save her time for her existing patients and I can respect that. She did respond to all my questions in email, which was great. She came super-highly recommended and has the same philosophies, so I'm sure she'll work out great. If not, we'll switch.

Shayna0182 · May 2010

I didn't meet the pedi before lo arrived, although we had a meet and greet scheduled the day I went into labor. She was speaker at our newborn care class, so we had met her, but we hadn't visited the office yet. We really liked her, so we went ahead and selected her, and had all of ds's nicu paperwork forwarded to her to review. 2 days after he came home, we brought him in and she did her own check up on him. Now she'll be the pedi for both of our children.

Babydoll625 · May 2010

stepgirl21:
yeah, I don't need to meet the pedi. I'll just choose one that is recommended and call it good. If it doesn't work out, I'll switch later.

Same here. Nothing saying that you can't switch if you're not happy. I'm sure there's plenty of parents that did interview and ended up switching as well. You won't really know until you have an actual appt there with LO.

teach2183 · May 2010

We didn't and it's been just fine.

ErinC27 · May 2010

I don't know anyone in my real life that has interviewed a ped before the baby was born, and I know a lot of moms. I just picked mine because I liked where they were, they had good reviews, and they took my insurance. I did a little online research, but that is it. You can change at any time, so why stress out about it?

hydies33 · May 2010

Not doing an interview. We know the pedi personally (go to church together) and everyone I know goes to him & loves him.

RachPip · May 2010

We didn't interview/meet ours. The facility we go to is fairly large here in Wisconsin and has about 20 clinics within a 45 minute radius, and their website lists all of their staff, along with a bio, picture, and a video of the staff member explaining their reason for practicing, their personal beliefs, and story. So we were able to get a pretty realistic idea of each pedi's personality/reason for practicing, and picked our favorite one by watching those. Luckily he's only about 10 minutes from our house.

crittermama · May 2010

We're military and will be seen at the military hospital. I'm not interviewing because I don't get much of a choice. DD goes there and there are 3 doctors I really like so I'm just trying to get one of them as her primary doctor.

G-Wifey · May 2010

I have not interviewed a pedi. My OB's office had 3 separate nurses that recommended him, all independently from each other, and I talked to the office for a couple minutes on the phone.

Holly88 · May 2010

We're not. Although, our scenario is a little different. We use military Dr.'s and our LO isn't going to see the same Dr. in the long run anyways.

If this wasn't the case for us, we still wouldn't interview Dr.'s. We'd just go with a family/friend recommendation.

Caryssa8 · May 2010

We don't plan on it. We got a list of referrals from our OB and my neighbor also told me about the one she takes her children. The one my neighbor goes to is on the list from OB so we just plan on calling and seeing if they are accepting new patients.

MrsMucker · May 2010

we are just using the same pediatrician that my sister uses for her kids. her and her husband interviewed a bunch of pediatricians before they had their first. they are very happy with who they chose. i guess i am being just a bit lazy.

julybaby23 · May 2010

I'm not. I'm just happy to find a practice in my small town. I will see how it goes and change if I have a problem with them-- there are about six doctors there so I don't expect that I can't find one that I like.

Ready2006 · May 2010

I am, but only becuase when I called to get things set up, they offered!

I went based on the recommendation of friends and then asked for a rec from my PCP--she recommended the same doc my friends did, so I was sold. And he's only 5 minutes from my house.

I look forward to meeting him, but it wasn't necessary at all, IMO. The recommendations from other patients (or parents) and colleagues are much more important than what you get in an interview.

Cytina · May 2010

We didn't. I got a recommendation from a close friend - all 3 of her kids have gone there for years. We went with him "blind" and are very happy.

kochmcdiarts · May 2010

I'm not. Most of the doctors in my area are really good. There's the pedi my younger sisters and I as well as all of my cousins went to, and then there is the one my sister and a few friends are taking their kids to. I trust them all.

ttimmerman · May 2010

It's funny to me that you're asking this and so many people are responding that they did not interview.

Back around when I was 25 weeks or so, I decided we should start thinking about a pediatrician. All my baby books talked about interviewing pedis, people talked about it on here, and one of my friends who just had a baby asked when I was going to start interviewing. So I figured we better get started. I called the practice I was interested in and they told me they don't do interviews, I could just meet the doctor on rotation at the hospital. I was baffled. At my next OB appt, I asked about interviewing and she said it wasn't necessary and no one really did it in real life, even though all the baby books say to do it.

So apparently my one friend was the exception to the rule, but it's funny how you talk to one person and assume that's the way things are done. Kind of a good lesson for me to learn!

Mrs.Weggy · May 2010

We are not interviewing pediatricians. I asked for referrals from friends, local Bumpies, and DH's coworkers and then asked my OB who she uses. After looking at the websites and considering things like location, hours, and size of the practice, we chose the pedi that my OB recommended. I figure if we don't like him, we can always switch.

kirkette · May 2010

We didn't interview either. I went with a referral, double checked their Board Certifications, made sure they had no lawsuits and their records, and signed LO up.

The nurse asked my a few questions about my beliefs on health related issues ( mainly breastfeeding and immunizations), and I found out the Dr.'s views aligned with mine. So, it was a match.

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