OT: Picking a pediatrician, what to look for?
My wife and I have a little Wolverine on the way due end of March and are in the process of looking into choosing a pediatrician. The question for the board is what do you guys look for in a good pediatrician? We would prefer a doctor who works exclusively with children, and has children of their own, but not sure what else we should be looking for. We both grew up in Michigan and currently live in the Bay Area.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:06 PM ^
Bachelor's Degree. At least.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:07 PM ^
thanks for the awesome advice.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:30 PM ^
Awesome advice would be to keep the health of your children out of the hands of a sports blog forum.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:31 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 5:34 PM ^
Are you implying that drunks shouldn't be giving advice?
February 16th, 2013 at 5:05 PM ^
The best is to look for referrals. Everything else is a poor indicator of a good doctor.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:08 PM ^
This is not a complaint about this being OT, but you will get much much better responses on a parenting board that has a Bay Area section. As stated above, you want referrals. If you don't know a lot of people with kids in the area, that's the best way to get referrals.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:08 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 8:53 PM ^
Really, if the pediatrician doesn't have DRM included, don't even bother. For all you know, you might be getting a pirated version of a doctor, and after all, Home Taping is Killing Medicine.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:08 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 5:08 PM ^
Referrals. Totally agree. Have any doctor friends? Ask them who is best or who they take their kids to. They have a fast communication network.
Also, I try to find out how "prescription happy" the doctor is when we start. Some seem to give antibiotics for everything. Kind of freaks me out.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:14 PM ^
Yeah, referrals are a bit hard as none of our friends have kids, and our new pregnant friends from baby class are kind of in the same boat as we are. We definately want a doctor who is judicious about prescribing drugs, so that's certainly important to us.
February 16th, 2013 at 10:07 PM ^
My daughter had a UTI when she was only a few months old. Even though she exhibited all the signs of a UTI the DR insisted on a lab speciman. In a child that young that means a catheter since they can't deliver the specimen. It was so painful for my daughter that two of the nurses were crying.
I understand antibiotic overprescription, but that was uncalled for IMHO.
Anyway, I'd go with referrals if that is in any way an option. I'm not 100% a pediatrician is even required if you're comfortable with your family doctor and your child doesn't have any issues.
good luck. Being a parent is the best thankless/payless job in the world.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:09 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 5:16 PM ^
Nice, we already crossed off the USC doctor, though maybe we should reconsider. It would be fun to talk shit about the tire fire that is Lane Kiffen's upcoming season at USC.
February 16th, 2013 at 8:23 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 8:30 PM ^
The OP said he's looking for a pediatrician but then opened up the possibility of a Family Practice doc. Not a bad option if you live in a small town but I have a feeling SF is rife with pediatricans.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:13 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 5:22 PM ^
Thanks, but yeah I mean San Francisco Bay Area, the one with 7.5 million people.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:43 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 5:24 PM ^
sorry...
February 16th, 2013 at 5:15 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 5:15 PM ^
with a lot of the pediatricians -- not just your OB/GYN. Also, your OB/GYN can be a great referral source.
Make sure you know what selection criteria are most important to you, and don't be afraid to ask questions. Do you care most about the MD's (or OD's) academic credentials, certifications, experience, size of practice, accessibility, proximity, etc. . . Also, you may want to pay for a couple visits to different pediatricians to "interview" them. You are likely going to be visiting them for years, so a small initial investment can be valuable in making sure you are happy with an important relationship for you and your child.
Also, you may want to choose a practice that uses Pediatric Nurse Practioners in addition to Pediatricians. The PNPs can likely take more time with you and your child when you make office visits.
February 16th, 2013 at 6:13 PM ^
It's not only where the pediatrician went to med school, but where did they do their training. Because a med school is well known, it doesn't automaticlly follow that they have a great pediatrics program.
You also need to see who else is in the practice and how they are credentialed. For well baby care, you will se your doc, but when your little one gets sick in the middle of the night, you typically get the doc covering call.
From my perspective, I'd also like someone who has been practicing for a while. Experience is a great teacher.
If you can find some other docs with young kids, ask who they use, as docs know these things.
Congrats on your new arrival.
February 16th, 2013 at 9:12 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 5:16 PM ^
Everyone is saying referrals, so another suggestion: education. You can usually find their degrees through a simple web search (or their webpage, if they have one). While it's not a surefire indicator, it's always nice to see B.S. U of Chicago, M.D. Northwestern, instead of Eastern Illinois and USF.
February 16th, 2013 at 8:25 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 5:23 PM ^
Better for a "little Wolverine"
February 16th, 2013 at 5:21 PM ^
Perhaps I'm a little jaded by being in NYC, but some practices are just factories where you feel like a piece of cattle and others you rarely see the doctors and are mostly seeing nurses, so meeting them ahead of time will give you a feel for the practice.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:21 PM ^
Referrals are great, but you also want to make sure this person takes the time to answer questions. I have found we see my son's peditrician far more than I ever see my doctor, and his doctor takes the time to answer our questions without appearing to be in a hurry to run to another patient. In other words, he treats us like people rather than a paycheck.
Ask lots of questions during your interview with him/her. Should also ask if they have an area of subspeciality (diabetes, etc.). Find out what they think about the things that matter to you and your wife and make sure you are all like minded.
One other for instance: my wife and I weren't fans of giving our son 5 immunization shots in one session. He was very understanding and said he had no problem doing whatever we wanted to do. I think we ended up spreading it out over a period of months, which was his suggestion in the end.
Hope this helps. Good luck with your little Wolverine. Go Blue.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:22 PM ^
In addition to getting referrals as others have mentioned, ask those who provide referrals about the entire practice, not just one doctor. Doctors have days off, and when junior needs to be seen right away, he might just be seen by another doctor in the practice. Also, even the best doctor with a crappy nurse or receptionist can make visits less than pleasant.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:23 PM ^
One thing that has always been helpful for us - and one of the reasons we really like our pediatrician in Ann Arbor - is a friendly office staff that responds in a timely manner and good availability, including Saturday hours, as our kids have a tendency to present bugs at awkward times of the day and night. Ours even has a paging service that is 24/7, so if we needed to do so, we could at least talk to someone. I would ask about things like this as well.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:29 PM ^
The easiest thing to do (depending if you have time of course) is to interview them. Talk to the OB's, ask where they send their kids. Then interview the pediatricians and see who you like. Some people want a male/female doc based on if they have a boy/girl. It makes a difference in terms of comfortability with your child but may not matter if you have more than one kid and one of each gender. Also, parenting style is a huge thing. If you are against vaccines find a pediatrician who's okay with that. If you want to space out vaccines find someone who is okay with that. You want to breast feed until your kid is 13, it'll be tough but find a doc who's not going to give you a hard time about it. It's not an easy task but a very important one, a little time now will save you a ton of headache later.
/pediatric resident in detroit.
Edit: also ask if they have residents/medical students. It may not matter to you but it certainly matters to some parents and can definitely add time to most visits if they are present.
February 16th, 2013 at 8:35 PM ^
Hopefully these are not the attendings in your training program!
I'm all for freedom of choice but there is this thing called herd immunity.
/M.D. who only works with big 'uns
February 16th, 2013 at 10:59 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 5:29 PM ^
Check their reviews - Google is your best friend.
Referrals -
Big group vs individual - definitely go with big group (i.e, other doctors can help you if your primary doctor is not there - he/she can not work 24 hours a day)
After hours visit (say 6 pm ~ 8 pm, Saturdays, Sundays)- absolutely needed for first few years
Way after hours consultation: you may need 24/7 consultation available over the phone if something happens, especially if this is your first child.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:34 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 5:48 PM ^
posts suggesting referrals are not suggesting referrals from friends, but referrals from other heathcare professionals who are in a position to form an educated opinion.
February 16th, 2013 at 7:24 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 5:41 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 5:46 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 6:48 PM ^
I second this advice. Our pediatrician (whom my husband went to high school with) can be somewhat condescending, and makes me feel stupid for having any concerns at all. I know they listen to nervous parents all day long, but that's why they're doctors - to listen to people's concerns, which actually may be legitimate. So, find someone who you feel listens to you. Doctors don't know everything, and they should listen to parents, who know their kids best.
February 16th, 2013 at 5:44 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 5:54 PM ^
Thanks, actually I liked reading about your experience. I know this isn't necesarrily the best place to ask this, but my fellow mgobloggers have had great advice.
February 16th, 2013 at 6:05 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 5:43 PM ^
Some pediatricians have their waiting room divided into 2 sections - one for the sick kids and one for the healthy ones (since you bring your child in under both circumstances). This IS NOT more important than the points made by others on referrals; alignment with your philosophy on tests and shots; or competence of office and staff. But it is something that we have always appreciated when our pediatrician as had it. Also, avoid places that loop the same 14 year old episode of Barney in the waiting room. On occassion it has lead to unfortunate episodes of violence.
February 16th, 2013 at 10:43 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 5:46 PM ^
February 16th, 2013 at 5:47 PM ^