Do you really need to interview pediatricians?

persephonerose · October 2012

We are set to meet with a pediatrician tomorrow. He has excellent ratings and reviews and several awards. I have looked at several lists of recommended questions for interviewing pediatricians. I just don't see the point in some of these questions. Why do I care about his reasons for picking his residency. I know it was an excellent choice, do I need to know more?

I know there are questions about compatibility of beliefs when it comes to immunizations, breastfeeding, ect. But I feel like DH and I are pretty standard, normal even. We did our research, made our choices.

All I really care about is this guys bedside manner. Can I talk to him, do I feel I can ask stupid questions without getting an attitude. What more do I really need?

g8trkim · October 2012

We never interviewed our pediatrician. We knew enough about him through word of mouth and that was enough for us.

njlasalle · October 2012

We met with ours not to really ask questions but just to see if we would get a long with him ... he went over their policies and practices and then we just chit chatted for a little bit and that was enough to make me feel comfortable with our choice.

Nineoceans · October 2012

I didn't. My biggest concern was that the ped was close to home, could attend at the hospital I was delivering at bc I didn't want baby to be cared for or have his circ done by a resident or floating physician and a larger practice so I could have more flexibility with the docs and hours.

My midwife was a rotating practice of 4 and I loved the environment of always being seen on time, in and out appointments, plenty of availability with scheduling. I eventually had preferences who I saw but it was nice to get a different opinion now and then. I tried to find the same with my ped. I am at a practice of 10 and I definitely do not care where they all did their residencies!

sara785 · October 2012

g8trkim:
We never interviewed our pediatrician. We knew enough about him through word of mouth and that was enough for us.

This.

Sprite2012 · October 2012

I didn't, and I really don't know a single person who did "interview" pediatricians. Just like any doctor, I picked one...

ataylor979 · October 2012

I just picked a practice that was on my insurance and close to my house before my daughter was born 9 yrs ago (cause that's how 23 yr olds make decisions). The practice has two doctors. After seeing both of them, I found that I really liked one more than the other, though they're both great. I've decided to keep the same pedi. for this baby. Maybe I just lucked out, but I didn't go interviewing a bunch of doctors and have been happy with my choice ever since.

WVUPetunia · October 2012

I didn't. I picked an office that was recommended by an overwhelming number of my friends, who all said that all of the doctors are wonderful, plus they have two LCs on staff.

AnnP13 · October 2012

We didn't really 'interview' them, rather we met with two that had come highly recommended. We wanted to make sure that we liked the doctor we would choose, and see what their operating hours were, procedures for weekend appointments, etc. Figure if this is someone we'd be seeing a lot of, we wanted it to be someone we liked in addition to trusting their opinion.

We chose the one that both my DH and I felt we liked the most & felt the most comfortable with.

kbl13 · October 2012

We met with the Pediatrician, but it was really informal. I basically wanted to be able to put a face with a name - so that I wasn't meeting him for the first time at baby's first appointment. I was pretty much set on him before we met because he was recommended by my OB and his office is within walking distance from my house. The whole meeting probably lasted 10 minutes, but it definitely put my mind at ease.

SLHurst11 · October 2012

I never met a pediatrician and never brought my son to one. He just goes to the same general practitioner that I do. It's the same woman who has done my annual physicals for about 7 years. I like her, so I saw no need to look any further.

izziebee · October 2012

I don't think it's necessary. When DS1 was born I got recommendations from family/friends and yet I still made an appt to meet her b/c I thought I was supposed to. It was such a waste of time! Now, 2 1/2 years later we are changing Dr's/practices (we are having another DS and want a male Dr but don't like the one in our current practice) so I got another recommendation from a family member and that's that. I don't feel a need to 'interview' him or meet him beforehand. If it ends up that I don't like him, we'll change again. Really, what are you going to learn in a 20 minute meeting anyways, unless of course you have views on certain things such as shots that might not be the norm. It's my belief that if you aren't going to like your Dr. it's going to take a few visits to figure that out. GL!

newtonk · October 2012

I would not say we ?interviewed? our pediatrician, but I did want to met them before just saying, I?ll go to you because you are down the road type thing. I wanted one that would be willing to listen to my concerns when it came to over vaccinating. I?m all about having my child/children fully vaccinated, it?s a must for me, but I did not/do not want them to receive SO many vaccines SO soon. I needed to find a pediatrician that was willing to separate it out over time. MMR was/is my biggest concern, I know many say Autism has nothing to do with vaccinations, but I know way too many families who say they literally saw the lights go out on their child after receiving the MMR and were then diagnosed with Autism. Everyone believes something different, but since I?m not 100% convinced that the MMR does not cause or attribute to Autism, I needed a pediatrician that was willing to work with me, and not push his/her propaganda on me. For that reason alone, meeting several pediatricians was important to me and my family.

vnstacie · October 2012

We didn't interview out pediatrician when we first had DD, I actually posted on FB and got quite a few recommendations from friends and picked based on that.

When we moved, there's only one pediatrician practice in town, so that's where we went.

maybebride · October 2012

I relied on the recommendation of a friend to choose our pediatrician. This is the same friend who recommended my OB, so I trust her instincts. We did not interview and I don't know that we would have anyway. My OB just wanted a name (she did suggest we ask other parents for some names and she gave us some names) to put on the chart.

Desmarie13 · October 2012

Wen i was a ftm i had NO idea i had to pick a pediatrician or even interview one! I was "young" and on eof the first of my friends to have a baby. And back wen i was born, you just picked one once baby was born or used the one the hospital gave u lol So with DD i used the one from the hosp. And i LOVED them. Unfortunately they recently stopped taking my insurance, so i have to switch for my DD and im just going to use the same one for LO that DD is going to. I havent met with them yet, but DD has to go in soon for a check up. I would suggest asking the dr questions YOU and DH deem important. I think those suggested questions are a generalization to give parents thoughts on things they may not find important.

Jena503 · October 2012

persephonerose:

I know there are questions about compatibility of beliefs when it comes to immunizations, breastfeeding, ect. But I feel like DH and I are pretty standard, normal even. We did our research, made our choices.

All I really care about is this guys bedside manner. Can I talk to him, do I feel I can ask stupid questions without getting an attitude. What more do I really need?

That's what your really need. Someone you can trust and talk to. Absolutely the most important thing. But without questions, what the heck would you talk about? So go ask him stupid questions... if you pick him as your pedi it certainly won't be the last time you ask him stupid questions. (I never asked anyone about their residency though)

But also, basic compatibility of beliefs is important too. If you are "normal", are you going to feel comfortable with a pedi who is the next Dr Sears? Do you want a prescription for everything or if the pedi tells you to try some gentian violet (homeopathic remedy) on your thrush are you going to go with it?

persephonerose · October 2012

Thanks Ladies!

The interview went well. They had actually allotted us an hour to sit and talk with the doctor. I was surprised. I let DH ask the questions since he seemed more interested in that portion. I really just wanted to see the doctor's personality.

I think it helped that he is a University of Texas grad and loves UT.

Kadie331 · October 2012

We did not interview our pedi. I simply called and set up an appt with one that was available. We lucked out and love ours. Had we not we would have switched and probably done more research.

akem1984 · October 2012

DH and I did and I think it was worth it. Our pedi went over how she does things and gave us a tour. Had we not gone I wouldn't have known all the perks that their office provides.

rcbuko · October 2012

We interviewed one pediatrician when pregnant with DD1. We already heard great things about the practice but wanted to ask a couple of questions relevant to us - her views on breastfeeding, breastfeeding support should I need it, sick policies (would I get a callback from a doctor or nurse), and I wanted to see her demeanor. We are also very laid back and wanted someone who was a great doctor but also someone who was a bit like us. We liked what we heard and have been there for over 4 years. We never asked any medical school questions or anything else we didn't care about.

jennygirlmt · October 2012

g8trkim:
We never interviewed our pediatrician. We knew enough about him through word of mouth and that was enough for us.

This. It never occurred to me to even interview until I came here. I think its a bit over the top. But I'm also pretty laid back and while I have my own thoughts I didn't spend 10 yrs in med school.

vcrown · October 2012

g8trkim:
We never interviewed our pediatrician. We knew enough about him through word of mouth and that was enough for us.

This. There's one close to us and a bunch of our friends use the office.

Do you really need to interview pediatricians?

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