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December 2010 Moms
Serendipity117
member
Pedi wwyd/vent longish
Serendipity117
member
The kiddos are sick. They both have green and yellow rivers flowing from their noses, O said his ear hurts and G has a cough.
So, like anyone with sick kids I called the pedi office to get them in for an appt. My conversation went a little something like this-
Me: Hi, I'd like to get my kids in for a sick visit.
Receptionist: Who is the pediatrician?
Me: Doctor A
Rec: Oh, he's booked all week. I could get you in with Dr NeverHeardOfThem on Thur morning.
Me: That won't work. I want them seen today or tomorrow.
Rec: Well, we've been really booked up. We've been sending a lot of people to Urgent Care lately.
Me: I know. The last 5 times I've tried to get me son in since Oct we've had to go to urgent care because we'd have had to wait three days to be seen.
Rec: We have a lot of patients right now.
Me: It sounds like you have too many patients. Do I need to start looking for a new pediatrician.
Rec: That is certainly an option...
After that I said goodbye and hung up. I'm pretty upset right now. It is bs that we've been basically sent to urgent care every time since Oct. In that time O has had 2 double ear infections, bronchitis and HF&M and G has had croup. I can understand once or maybe twice not being able to see our pedi but I never seen to be able to get the kids in for a sick visit.
I'm really torn because I love the kids pedi but if they never see him does it matter if we like him or not? DH thinks we should switch asap but I'm wondering if I should wait until cold season is over to see if it improves. As for today, we'll be taking the kids to urgent care when DH gets home.
Anyway, what would you do? Stay if you love the pedi or switch because you rarely see him?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Pedi wwyd/vent longish
I would switch. Most pedis are lovely people, and it won't be hard to find someone else nice.
It does help that our practice has 5 doctors, and when the kids are sick, I will see any of them. My practice always has 2 docs on just sick visits while the other ones do the scheduled well visits. They always get us in that day if the kids are sick, or the next day at the latest. But it sounds as though even if you took the doctor you didn't know as well, you would still be waiting for Thursday, which is a little ridiculous for what definitely sounds like an infection.
I would hate taking my kids to urgent care and have never done it. I don't like the idea of them being in the waiting room with sick adults who have who knows what. Syphillis or cholera, probably. Therefore, I'm with your H to switch ASAP. Ask your friends who their kids are seeing, or put out a FB call to see where people are going.
I would switch. And I would definately tell the Pedi why I was switching. One of the things that was important to me was that I could get my boys into see their Pedi that day for a sick visit- the boys office has hours on Saturday and Sunday too.
I called yesterday to get Nicholas in for a yeast infection- yep got right in- even in this cold and flu season.
I am sorry but that wouldn't fly with me. I'd probably switch.
I assume seeing a PA or Nurse Practitioner wasn't an option at your regular pedi? Our pedi has two docs and a whole bunch of NPs, so it can be challenging to see a doc but is never hard to get seen by the NPs. For most typical pediatrics stuff, you don't need a doc anyway, so this works out fine with me.
There are 3 Drs in the practice, with one being the kids primary. I guess they've brought in a 4th, Dr. NeverHeardOfThem, to take some of the over flow. There isn't a PA or NP either.
Ugh, it's so frustrating! With our insurance if you want to go to a certain hospital you have to have a primary that practices through it. I think there is only one other pedi group that is affiliated with that hospital and I know nothing about them. I could always bring them to the family practice where I go but I kind of want them with someone who specializes in children, not a jack of all trades ya know?
Looks like DH and I have some decisions to make tonight.
I would switch. Waiting days for a sick appointment or having to go to Urgent Care are not acceptable options in my book.
We've never not been able to get in same day for a sick visit. Our pedi practice has sick hours every morning and so long as you show up and sign in by a certain time you will be seen. They are also open until 7pm in one location (the practice has 3 offices) so we can drive there after work for an emergency visit if needed (20ish minutes from our house).
BFP #2 4/13/10. Bridget born 12/28/10
BFP #3 Finn born 8/11/15
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Basically all of this. It's unacceptable that you can't get a same-day sick visit, much less have to wait THREE days for a sick visit. That's ridiculous. They sound like they have way too many patients than they can handle. I'd be looking for another pedi today.
We've always been able to get a same day sick visit, even if it meant traveling a little farther to one of their other offices. We don't necessarily get to see DS' pedi, but we'll see a different pedi or an NP. We've even been able to do sick visits on a Saturday.
I'd be rather ticked off too.
We had to switch pedi's awhile back because we would schedule his well child visits months in advance and a day or two before the appt they would call and tell me the dr had something come up and they needed to reschedule. His shots and his visits got way off schedule. We're talking doing a 12 mos visit when he's 14 mos old type situation. We got so fed up with constantly having to re-arrange schedules that I found someone new. I honestly like the new office even better. I kick myself for not switching sooner because I think J would have gotten his tubes, and the relief they brought, much sooner if we had a dr that actually saw him when they were supposed to.
I definitely say switch!
I'm in the new pedi camp too. B's pedi is in a large group practice (because of our insurance limitations) so about 1/2 the time our sick visits are done by another pedi. But we're always able to be seen the day we call, or the next day if we call after 3.
I've had a few family practice docs for me that I've liked. If B had been my second child, I would definitely have considering using one of them as our family doc.
BFP #2 5/27/12. EDD 2/1/13. m/c and D&C 6/21/12.
I would do 1 of 2 things.
1. You may want to send a letter or email (if you can) to your Pedi directly. They don't always know how the receptionist are treating the patients on the phone and what not, and clearly poor customer service and ultimately lead to people leaving and their practice going down the tubes. Clearly if you have now been sent to urgent care 5 times since Oct. they are booking other people on a whim, or just overbooking in general which isn't fair to anyone. Why is it that everyone else is getting in and your not.
2. I would switch. While not my Pedi, but my OB/GYN...When I was first pregnant I had spotting and as a first time pregnant I was scared, and the OB I had scheduled with would not see me, have the nurse or Dr. talk to me or call me back. I asked them, if you are too busy to see me now, down the line what is going to be like to schedule an appointment and what not. My conversation went down just like your's and I hung up the phone. I called and made an appointment at another practice and when calling practice A back they informed me they had already deleted me from my previously set appointment at 10 weeks. I was def. happier at Practice B.
It's a tough choice, but it's your children's care, and if Urgent Care is seeing more of your then your Pedi, maybe it's worth it.
I'd switch... I've only taken DS1 to urgent care one time. We ALWAYS get in with our Pedi- her specifically if she's in the office, one of the others if she's not. They have about 8 Docs and 2 NP's.
I also agree with telling them WHY you're leaving- they may care, they may not, but at least they'll know what's up!