Stance on vaccines (we are spacing them out. I'd rather drive the 10 minute drive to the office every week instead of risking her getting a reaction to 1 of the however many she receives). That's pretty much the only thing I'm asking. But I'm not interviewing. My daughters pediatrician is My pediatrician that saw me as a little kid.
I used the some of the same questions for my doctors. I needed to look at the office and get a feel of cleanliness and separate areas for sick and non sick kids. Hours of operations. Referrals. Stance on vaccines and the over prescribing meds for kids. How quickly can you get in and be seen. Dobthey refer out for to specialist alot( more out of pocket expenses.) After hours how are they contacted. Are they in rotation with a group of doctors or is it only them. Plus I " interview" the staff. Friendliness, experience, do they work well with kids or do kids get on their nerves. This is just some examples of what I checked with my office.
We have a pediatrician that when found when my son was newborn and we love her, so this time it's easy. She wasn't the first person we chose however so I can say the things I ended up finding very important were:
1. What's the procedure if you're unavailable or out of the office? Is there someone on call after hours or are we on our own? I hadn't really thought this through when I picked a lady who came recommended and was very near our house. However, we called her after a lactation appointment when my preemie who had just come home from the hospital was coughing so hard the nurse at the appointment recommended we call his pediatrician right away. (He had a sudden respiratory infection.) We called, explained we needed to get in ASAP and explained why. We were told she didn't have any appointments that day, she was leaving for a week on vacation and if we were really worried, take him to the ER. We never even spoke to the dr, she was too busy. That's what we ended up doing but sitting in the ER with my premature baby being exposed to a really alarming collection of germs after being treated really rudely and dismissively was enough to make me think I'd prefer a larger practice. Now, we have a group of three peds where one is on call through an answering service at all times, you can typically call in and get a same day appointment, they're really good about working people in and when our doctor is gone, another practitioner covers her patients with full access to their records.
2. How long do you typically see patients or plan to stay in the area? My ped lives locally, has several kids of her own, doesn't plan to change practices or relocate and can potentially be my son's dr until he's ready to move to a GP during/after puberty. I know things happen, but I didn't want to choose someone who didn't see themselves building a practice and staying there because I hate changing doctors all the time.
3. How much do you expect your patients to adhere to your own preferred parenting style? I could care less if my doctor follows or totally approves of my semi-crunchy, co-sleeping, cloth diapering style of parenting. However, I did not want a lecture on what I was going wrong at his well baby check ups. She has always been very respectful when we mentioned problems or concerns, she just gave us our options and has been pretty clear that there's no one style of parenting that's right or wrong, it really depends upon the family and can even change from kid to kid. If I am in the mood to be judged for how I parent, I'll call my inlaws. I don't need to pay good money for the priviledge.
I will say this about finding a ped. We met a few, including the one we first went with, and they were...ok. I liked them well enough, some more than others. But when we found this pediatrician, she walked into the room, we started talking and I knew she was the right doctor for our family. I instantly felt listened to, at ease, comfortable and respected. If you have time and you have options, definitely shop around because it's so worth walking out feeling great about the person you're trusting with your baby's health.
In Quebec, it feels like a nightmare trying to find a pediatrician. Most won't even open a file for you until your baby is born BUT you can't leave the hospital until you have one lined up. My boss & her husband spent hours post-delivery, while at the hospital, calling pediatricians all over the city trying to get one locked down. She also had the additional trouble of pediatricians saying "No" because this was her second child (her 1st was born in the US). It wasn't until she lied and said this was her 1st that a pediatrician was willing to open a file. The pediatrician ended up being awful, so after her first visit, she started looking around for another one and ended up on a wait list for one she loved. It's been four years and she only JUST NOW got the call that her kids can now be patients with the new pediatrician.
My husband and I are calling offices head of delivery nonetheless, in hopes that someone would be willing to start a file and that will be one less thing to worry about while at the hospital. Maybe we'll have better luck too because this is our 1st child. We'll see!
1- do you tolerate people that don't vaccinate....the answer needs to be no. A firm no. 2- separate waiting areas for sick/well kids, ideally a separate space for newborns 3- sick clinic walk-in for saturday/sunday 4- 24/7 nurse/doctor availability on call
Most offices offer tours so you can meet the staff, so you could ask about that.
Heatherrenee7
member
Re: Pediatrician
1. What's the procedure if you're unavailable or out of the office? Is there someone on call after hours or are we on our own? I hadn't really thought this through when I picked a lady who came recommended and was very near our house. However, we called her after a lactation appointment when my preemie who had just come home from the hospital was coughing so hard the nurse at the appointment recommended we call his pediatrician right away. (He had a sudden respiratory infection.) We called, explained we needed to get in ASAP and explained why. We were told she didn't have any appointments that day, she was leaving for a week on vacation and if we were really worried, take him to the ER. We never even spoke to the dr, she was too busy. That's what we ended up doing but sitting in the ER with my premature baby being exposed to a really alarming collection of germs after being treated really rudely and dismissively was enough to make me think I'd prefer a larger practice. Now, we have a group of three peds where one is on call through an answering service at all times, you can typically call in and get a same day appointment, they're really good about working people in and when our doctor is gone, another practitioner covers her patients with full access to their records.
2. How long do you typically see patients or plan to stay in the area?
My ped lives locally, has several kids of her own, doesn't plan to change practices or relocate and can potentially be my son's dr until he's ready to move to a GP during/after puberty. I know things happen, but I didn't want to choose someone who didn't see themselves building a practice and staying there because I hate changing doctors all the time.
3. How much do you expect your patients to adhere to your own preferred parenting style?
I could care less if my doctor follows or totally approves of my semi-crunchy, co-sleeping, cloth diapering style of parenting. However, I did not want a lecture on what I was going wrong at his well baby check ups. She has always been very respectful when we mentioned problems or concerns, she just gave us our options and has been pretty clear that there's no one style of parenting that's right or wrong, it really depends upon the family and can even change from kid to kid. If I am in the mood to be judged for how I parent, I'll call my inlaws. I don't need to pay good money for the priviledge.
I will say this about finding a ped. We met a few, including the one we first went with, and they were...ok. I liked them well enough, some more than others. But when we found this pediatrician, she walked into the room, we started talking and I knew she was the right doctor for our family. I instantly felt listened to, at ease, comfortable and respected. If you have time and you have options, definitely shop around because it's so worth walking out feeling great about the person you're trusting with your baby's health.
My husband and I are calling offices head of delivery nonetheless, in hopes that someone would be willing to start a file and that will be one less thing to worry about while at the hospital. Maybe we'll have better luck too because this is our 1st child. We'll see!
2- separate waiting areas for sick/well kids, ideally a separate space for newborns
3- sick clinic walk-in for saturday/sunday
4- 24/7 nurse/doctor availability on call
Most offices offer tours so you can meet the staff, so you could ask about that.