My OB told me I need to start thinking about what pediatrician we want to use. Did you actually meet with prospective pediatricians before your LO arrived? If you just went off someone's recommendation, do you just call the office and say your expecting and want Dr. ____ to be your child's doctor? I guess I'm just confused about how to set up care for someone who isn't born yet!
If you spoke with prospective doctors, what kinds of things did you ask?
kiwi / 691 posts
We didn't meet with anyone. We had a recommendation from a good friend and went with that. Her LO was 2, so I felt like she did all the legwork and research for us. She also recommended our daycare!
It was definitely weird calling the office to ask to add a patient who had no name or birthday, but they were not fazed by it! I think we added LO a couple months before my due date.
honeydew / 7589 posts
I'm interviewing pediatricians starting in January. I got recommendations from my midwife and also looked them up online.
I have an extensive list of questions, but your questions should be based on your own parenting decisions and making sure that the ped is on the same page with you.
Different pediatricians have different styles/methods and you need to make sure that the one you choose has a similar outlook on parenting. For me, that means a natural and research (not tradition) based approach.
Some of my questions include:
- How long have you been practicing?
- Is this a solo or group practice? If solo, who covers when you are unavailable?
- Do you offer same-day appointments for sick children?
- Do you have separate waiting rooms for sick and healthy patients?
- What hospital would we go to in case of emergency?
- Do you have lactation consultants on staff or some you can recommend in case of breastfeeding issues?
- What is the protocol if I have an issue with my child outside of office hours?
- What are your views on bottle feeding/exclusively breastfeeding/alternative medicine/circumcision/parenting techniques/extended breastfeeding/baby-led-weaning/sleep training/co-sleeping/etc?
coconut / 8279 posts
First, I asked the OB (not mine, she was out that day) if she could recommend anyone. I called their office and asked if either pediatricians she mentioned were accepting new patients and asked if I could meet with them. The receptionist said that they typically don't do that and I could just use their name at the hospital when I delivered. Since I wasn't familiar with the office or pediatricians and I had been on hold for a while when I called, I decided to look elsewhere.
I turned to Yelp.com to read reviews of pediatricians in our neighborhood. I found one doctor that had a long list of great reviews. I kept his name in mind.
At my next appointment I met with the NP who was also my lactation consultant and asked her who she would recommend. It was the doctor with all the amazing reviews. I called their office the next day and although they didn't have any time to schedule a meeting before my due date, they got me in after a flu clinic he was doing so I could say hello.
Sorry for the novel, haha.. but what I would recommend is to ask around and if you don't get a good feeling with someone, don't use them.
The questions we asked were:
how quickly could we be seen?
is there a doctor on call after hours?
which hospital would we use for emergencies? (we live in a city and he works with almost all of the hospitals)
I read reviews that mentioned that he was helpful with working with LC and breastfeeding and that he was "non-alarmist" as far as sleep & feeding goes. If I had concerns with these issues, I would have asked him about that as well.
squash / 13199 posts
we looked for reviews online and the went to see the pediatrician just to get feel for how their practice was
We got a list online of questions to ask similar to what others have posted. We asked about vaccines, how long it takes to get appointments for emergencies, weekend and evening hours, which hospital she had privileges at and how soon after the birth she would see the baby
squash / 13764 posts
We did a prenatal visit with two doctors. We asked them a bunch of questions (views on breastfeeding, vaccinations, circumcision, policies on sick visits, etc). but mainly the visits were to see if we clicked with one over another. We definitely liked one better than that other, so I'm glad we met with both.
pomelo / 5789 posts
I called the two pediatricians I wanted to meet and they offered "Pre-Natal" appointments (basically free consultations) during lunch hours. I found them based on recommendations online (ratemds.com) as we have no friends with Kids in the area we live.
From meeting the two doctors, it was very clear which would be the winner for me. While they were both late to our appointments, the first doctor apologized profusely - she was at the hospital examining a newborn. The second doctor made me feel like we were wasting his time.
The first doctor explained all about her practice. The second doctor explained nothing and asked what our questions were.
These were the questions that I asked - mostly taken from threads here and other websites.
AVAILABILITY
Is there someone on call at night?
Are there fees for after hour calls/care?
How soon can I expect a response for non-emergency questions/care?
Do you offer same-day sick appointments?
How far in advance do well appointments need to be scheduled?
Will my child see you each time we have an appointment, or will other physicians in the practice see him/her?
What is the schedule for well-baby visits?
VIEWS
What are your views on breastfeeding?
What are your views on vaccinations?
LOGISTICS
Is there a separate waiting area/toy selection for sick and well kids?
Are most tests/treatments handled in office?
For what kind of care would we need to look elsewhere?
PERSONAL
Do you have children of your own?
With the first doctor, most of the questions I didn't have to ask. They were explained when she discussed how her practice was run.
I'm so glad that we interviewed them first, because the reviews online were good for both, but there was a clear fit for our family.
Both pediatricians advised that once we'd decided, we did not need to tell them - we just had to let the hospital know (if they had privileges there). Since my hospital is far from where we live (and the pediatrician) we will just be seen by the on-staff pediatrician at the hospital and must call whichever pediatrician that we've chosen once we give birth so we can schedule a 2-3 day well visit.
pomelo / 5331 posts
We met with one, they had really good reviews and I was satisfied enough with my visit that that's who we went with. I didn't feel like interviewing a bunch of pediatricians. I wanted to know:
- Their thoughts on alternative vaccine schedules
- Their breastfeeding philosophies and whether they had an LC on staff or somebody they could refer patients to
- How same-day appointments worked
- How to ask simple but not urgent questions
- Their prescription policy (i.e., how "easy" they were with handing out prescriptions for antibiotics, etc. as opposed to waiting or alternatives)
- Their nurse hotline
- Weekend appointment availability
- How hospital visits with after birth
- Whether they had hospital privileges where we're delivering
- Whether they have a separate entry and/or waiting room for well versus sick patients
- Their average wait times and how long it generally takes to get an appointment
- They have four doctors there so I wanted to know if we could "choose" a doctor or whether we would just be put on rotation
- Whether they took my insurance and DH's (we didn't know at the time what we'd be putting LO on)
- Office hours and after hours info
- Where we go in case of an emergency
pomegranate / 3225 posts
I went with my midwives recommendation. I did not feel like interviewing a bunch either. So far, so good.
pear / 1698 posts
The hospital had rotating pediatricians visit when LO was born and we chose one we liked after observing them with her.
| Today | Monthly Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Topics | 1 | 1 |
| Posts | 1 | 0 |
Ask for Help
Make a Suggestion
Frequently Asked Questions
Bee Levels
Acronyms
Most Viewed Posts
Hellobee Gold
Hellobee Recipes
Hellobee Features
Hellobee Contests
Baby-led Weaning
Bento Boxes
Breastfeeding
Newborn Essentials
Parties
Postpartum Care Essentials
Sensory Play Activities
Sleep Training
Starting Solids Gear
Transitioning to Toddler Bed
All Series
Who We Are
About the Bloggers
About the Hostesses
Contributing Bloggers
Apply to Blog
Apply to Hostess
Submit a Guest Blog
Hellobee Buttons
How We Make Money
Community Policies
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
9 comments