Would you choose an experienced doctor over a new doctor fresh out of school?
Why and why not?
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Oooh, I could go either way.
An experienced doctor for the experience (lol), for the connections to specialists, and for the fact that they would be more comfortable overall.
But a new doctor would have shorter wait times (probably), would probably have more current education on certain topics, and you know that they aren't going to retire soon and leave! -
I'd go with the experienced doctor. I know every doctor is new at some point but I've gone to a teaching hospital in the past and had some bad experiences with residents and new doctors, like a botched lumbar puncture!
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Our ped practice has both, but our main doctor that we see is pretty young and I like him a lot. We were primarily seeing a resident but it was too hard to schedule with her. The main doc we see would come in after the resident anyway.
However I like that there are older more experienced docs around if the younger ones have questions. I care more about the demeanor than age I guess.
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@spaniellove: true- depends what it is for! I'm talking routine care, not specialty stuff.
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Our Ped is about 40 and I feel like its the perfect age! He's old enough that he has a good amount of experience (plus three kids of his own) but he's young enough that he's up to date on all the current research.
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For something like a general practioner, or basic OBGYN, I don't mind having a younger doctor. I look for schools attended and personal references when making my decision. For anything specialty related, I would like a more experienced doctor.
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@MamaMoose: I feel the same way.
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@Foodnerd81: Ah in that case it's probably not the biggest deal and even better if you can get in for appointments faster.
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For basics I kind of like younger doctors, but for any ongoing issues (specialists) I prefer more experienced doctors.
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For a ped or family doctor I wouldn't mind a new doctor.
But for major surgery and anesthesia I want an experienced doctor.
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3-6 years of experience, minimum. There's no substitute for real world experience as great as recent training is. I'm pretty firm on this. But I don't need twenty years of experience either.
Our doctor is my age and has two kids.
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I just switched A's doctor today actually and he is only 33 years old (he can't be too far out of school, right?), so I imagine he is less experienced than older doctors. I chose him because, well, he was the only one accepting new patients but I'm excited because I am optimistic he will have the same views as me on things. Sometimes I think the older doctors can be "old school" and not as up to date on things. However, my primary doctor is a bit older but is amazing. My OB is on the younger side but is very experienced. I think this can go either way, basically I'd choose either
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Our ped is on the older side (I'd guess maybe in his early 60s). I was worried when we chose him that he may be too old, but I heard so many great things about him. I am so glad we chose him--he is such a caring man and has the best bedside manner I've ever seen. I prefer to have a doctor that I've been referred to/heard good things about, and that usually requires time to establish patients and a good amount of experience.
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@Dandelion: Oh yes, major surgery and things I want an experienced doctor! My anesthesiologist was about 27 years old when I was getting my epidural and thankfully I was in enough pain to not care, but I could tell DH was eying him like..."wow he's younger than I am, does he know what he's doing?" haha
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@Bao: during the induced labor for my loss, I had a bad encounter with a new anesthesiologist for an attempted epidural. The next day a very experienced anesthesiologist who figured out my under lying problem and had me numb in 5 minutes.
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i tend to like newer docs. they just don't seem as jaded...
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I see the benefits of both but would go with new. I feel like they would be more up to date in new research. But if it was surgery I would go with experienced.
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I asked a very broad question. I meant to ask would you choose an experienced pediatrician or a new pediatric doctor right out of school?
But everyone makes a good point, they both have positives and negatives.
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@jmarionsmith: I agree! Most of the younger doctors I've seen are very attentive and thorough. I've seen well known experienced specialists and have been incredibly disappointed because I feel like they just don't care about me as a patient. I don't mean to generalize but that is what I've experienced so far.
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I first chose a more experienced doctor for my DS when he was a newborn. What a mistake! She was always rushed, never listened to me and made me feel foolish for asking simple questions. When my DS was wheezing one night, we took him to the ER and a fantastic young doctor looked after us. He was a resident at the practice that I go to across the street. I switched my son the very same week. I was so happy with him, I wrote a letter to his managers recommending that he should be hired at the practice once his residency was finished. I really really lucked out tho, not all residents are like him. I see him and so does my DD, my mother, and two of my brothers. He has been fantastic. I always joke to him that I singlehandly filled his roster with my recommendations.
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I met with a couple and we went with who we clicked with. I didn't take new vs experienced into consideration as much as I did their interactions with us. Our pedi is a late 30s dad of twin boys, and we absolutely adore him!
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