We're exploring our pediatrician options, and we've recently starting using a family practice that we really like. Has anyone used a family practice instead of a pediatrician for their newborn/infant care? Are the advantages, disadvantages?
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My Brother in law tried to convince us to go with a family practice but I prefer a pediatrician, I think a prediatrician only sees kids and is up to date on issues involving babies and young children
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I felt in my hospital more comfortable going with Family Practice. we have both in the Hospital ehre but I just went with Family. I am PG right now and getting my care for FP as well and am glad so far I went this route.
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We switched our daughter from a family practice doc to a pediatrician, but that had more to do with the doctor then the fact that he was a family physician I think. I love the peds office though, it's so children based & the whole staff is excellent with kids & that is where they specialize.
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We have a family practice doctor and I have a few reasons why I like her more than a ped.
A pediatrician is often hard pressed by their clinic/insurance/drug companies to sell medications, immunizations and popular parenting "techniques", there is a lot more pressure on them to say or do certain things, whether or not they agree with it. So they may not always be giving you the best advice based on your unique child or situation, but more of a textbook response. If you choose to do anything differently, you usually face more opposition than from a family dr.
We have a family dr and have never received pressure to immunize or received antibiotics for anything. Even when I came in with thrush - I told her I never wanted antibiotics for my son and she was totally okay with that and prescribed us a more natural, gentle remedy. I've been so happy with her!
I love that if I need anything too, I can have a same-day appt with my son.
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We use a family practioner instead of a pediatrician. First of all, there are very limited pediatricians in our area (only 2!), and secondly, DH and I LOVE our family practice doctor.
I like that the whole family can see our doctor at basically the same time. A few weeks ago we all got a stomach bug, and I was able to make just one appointment, and we all trouped in to see her. I also like that our family practice doctor is a little more flexible. The pediatricians in my town tend to be a little more conservative, whereas our family practice doctor sees a wider range of patients, so I feel like she's more willing to discuss a mutlitude of approaches with us to find the best fit. I also like that she knows our family history (mine and DH's, too), so she understand our concerns with possible health issues that may come up in the future with the kids.
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We all see the same family practice doctor. He knows us all pretty well and I we have a great relationship with him. If there were ever to be an illness or complication he didn't feel comfortable treating he refers us out.
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@Coco Bee: This is the exact issue we're having with finding a pediatrician. The ones we've spoken to are very firm - there doesn't seem to be much wiggle room for alternative therapies and less traditional options. In contrast, our new GP listened to our concerns, and was like, sure, no problem, I do stuff like that all time. So we'll continue to investigate. Maybe we just haven't found the right ped. yet?
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@Mrs. Tricycle: yeah maybe... I was lucky, I found an amazing dr in one shot. I asked my midwife for a recommendation.
Do you happen to know of any birth centers or more natural clinics in your area that you could ask for a rec?
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@Mrs. Tricycle: I definitely think it will be harder for you to find a ped who will work with alternative care philosophies. And part of that is to protect their other child patients. For example we met with our ped recently and it was important to me to confirm that the practice didn't accept patients who don't immunize because I don't want to risk having my child in the waiting room with a sick child who hasn't been immunized. He said they work with people who want a delayed schedule but they won't keep patients who don't immunize at all for this exact reason.
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I felt more comfortable with a ped because i felt they would be more up to date with current studies, information etc directly pertaining to children.
@Coco Bee: your concerns were important to us while searching as well. I'm not a big medication person and did not want a doctor that would prescribe medicine for everything. It took a couple visits but we found one.
@MamaMoose: Interesting to hear your perspective. When I was searching for a ped it was important to me to find one who was willing to work with us on immunizations whether it be not do it or a delayed scheduled. The ones who basically said my way or the highway immediately left a bad taste in my mouth. We're def vaccinating but we're still unsure on scheduling. I want to find a doctor who would respect our wishes and explain to us why we should do it there way. Educate us. And that doesn't mean sending us to a website or saying well its the guidelines.
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@regberadaisy: I mean he said it in a really nice way. Basically he said that if a family is choosing not to immunize then their care philosophy isn't in line with the practice and it's probably best for everyone for that family to find a practice that is more in line with their own philosophy. So they aren't just writing you off or saying "my way or the highway". Every parent has the right to make their own decisions regarding immunizations but I will do the best I can to limit my child from having extended exposure to unvaccinated children especially when they are very young. So I wanted both a ped and a day care that only accepted vaccinated kids.
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we love our family practice. and like @Honeybee: said, we really like that we can all see our doctor together and that she really cares for the well-being of our entire family, vs just lil' CB. when we go in for his appointments, she always asks how we are doing and checks up on us, too. i feel that it improves our relationship because we are all her patients.
i hope you find what's right for your family!
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i heard it's really hard to be a good family practice doctor. lots of them know a little of everything but not really good at one particular thing. which is why they can do obgyn stuff, but most women go to an obgyn, not a family practice doctor. same with peds - i'd rather go to a ped than a family practice guy. heard it's better for rural areas....
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We are going with a family practice, which is where I currently receive medical treatment (other than OB stuff). It is a husband and wife who are both family practitioners and they switch off days because they have their own young children. As parents of young children I have no concerns that they wouldn't be up to date on research and other information. I like how they prioritize their own family/children and take care of their children rather than having a much larger practice and putting their kids in daycare. I haven't met the male doctor yet, but I will make it a point to see him during my pregnancy to make sure he's a good fit too. There are not too many doctors in my immediate area and this practice is close by with reasonable hours.
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I changed from a pediatrician to a family practice doctor when my son was 8 weeks old because he had a tongue tie and the pediatrician's office wouldn't cut it.
But now I'm running into issues getting an appointment with the doctor at our family practice. He's booking 4 months out. And for my son's well child checks, we only get an appointment with him every other or every third visit. We see the other practice doctor or a nurse practitioner as well.
I had my issues with the pediatrician's office before when my son was a newborn, but at this point the tongue tie is fixed and we aren't breastfeeding anymore (our other early issue with the office).
Anyway, make sure you take into account how long it takes to get an appointment, both sick and well child.
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@Mrs. Tricycle: I work in family practice 1/2 the week, then pediatrics the other half of the week. I will personally have my kids see a pediatrician. There are just too many things going on in family practice to be 100% up to date on all the information and recommendations for kids.
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@regberadaisy: Exactly! Because of my husband's background (he has had zero immunizations, grew up an "alternative" environment), we at least need to talk about it with a doctor. After MANY conversations, we plan to immunize, but we don't want to work with someone who automatically discounts this huge part of DH's perspective on healthcare. Have a conversation with us, listen to our concerns, and go from there - we can be convinced, but reading us the party line and handing us the CDC schedule isn't going to cut it.
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We have a family practice, two doctors who are a husband and wife team and they have 8 kids (youngest around 5).
I do feel a bit of his advice is a bit dated and sometimes its hard to get specific advice because he is just so go with the flow. He is not quick to give antibiotics and didn't bat an eye when we said we didn't want the chicken pox vaccine. He was even willing to talk to us about the MMR (although I dont' believe the whole it causes autism mess).
The only cons for us is that 1) no visiting rights at the hospital. So far they have been good to communicate though. 2) Not specialized if there is an issue. My friend used to go there but switched to a pedi because her son was having a lot of issues with spitting up and she needed clearer advice.
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@Mrs. Tricycle: If you want a pediatrician but am going with a family doctor simply because you can't find one that is more accepting of alternative practices then I say keep looking. Ask for recommendations from parents that are like minded. I found our ped through a co-worker referral who has since stopped vaccinating her children. And even when she was vaccinating she purchased "clean" vaccines from a local pharmacy. Even within the practice we go to there are pediatricians who are still very strict on the vaccination schedule. We just simply ask to see the ones who are not.
For the record, that was my "trick" question when interviewing pediatricians. It's not so much that immunizations are at the top of our concern list. Rather we wanted a doctor that would work with is on the care of our child. Because yes, the doctor had all the education and experience but it's MY child. They don't see them everyday. I think it should be a team effort of ped and parent working together towards the well being of the child.
Again, I'm not huge on medication so I felt their stance on the immunization debate is very telling in how they practice in that regard as well. -
I grew up going to a family practitioner (actually the one who delivered me), DH grew up with a pediatrician. We ended up opting for a pediatrician mainly because it is a group practice and has easier availability than our FP. DH would like us to switch our LOs to the FP at some point but I would like to stay with the pedi because of the availability issues.
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