UrbanBaby - i'm having my first baby in a few weeks ...

new post » see more posts »

i'm having my first baby in a few weeks and am trying to find a pediatrician. i am meeting with three different ones this week, beginning today, and i just realized that i have no idea what kind of questions to ask to determine which is the right one for us. anyone else have suggestions as to what kind of info i should find out? tia.
36 replies
[ Reply | Watch | Options ]
06.02.09, 10:12 AM [ Flag ]
- i didn't bother with all that. it's really about the office - you don't spend much time with the doctor anyway. see if the staff is tolerable, switch if you don't like. (don't make a production of it)
  [ Reply | Options ]
  06.02.09, 10:15 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
  - In my ped office I ONLY deal with the doctor. Unless I leave a message with office and then doctor calls me back.
    [ Reply | Options ]
    06.02.09, 10:17 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
    - so the doctor makes appointments, and is there at the front desk to check you in?
      [ Reply | Options ]
      06.02.09, 10:18 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
      - and gives the vaccines?
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:19 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        Yes. My doctor's office doctors give vaccines.
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:20 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        interesting. seems odd
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:21 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        Why? There are no nurses in the office. Just receptionists and the doctors.
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:22 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        that's what seems odd. (and inefficient)
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:22 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        It's a small office, I guess. We never wait more than a few minutes. I guess it would be inefficient if there were a waiting room full of children being vaccinated.
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:23 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        np: where is this? very unusual to have no nurse to take pressure, draw labs, take temp, height/weight. i've had several peds and never heard of this, though always in big cities.
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:23 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        It's a small office on UES. Four doctors in the practice, but two of them are in the office at a time.
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:24 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        My ped does all the medical stuff, but the asistants do weight, height, and hearing/eye tests.
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:22 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        Your MD doesn't give the vax?
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:27 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        of course not - what a waste of resources.
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:30 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        How? Don't you get to see your MD during your well baby visits? Mine checks him out, gives him vax, and talks to us for a while answering our questions. Adding vax on top of a checkup is only like an extra two minutes, if that.
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:34 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        ita
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:36 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        MD here: assuming pts are scheduled every 15 mins in an 8 hour day, that is an hour of time the doc could save; 5 hours saved in a week or over another half day worth of seeing patients. This is a lot both in terms of availability to patients and income.
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:40 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        To OP: I guess another question is, Does the doc give the vax?
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:43 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
      - No. I call to make an appointment and am on the phone with an office person for half a minute. Then I get there and say hello to the office person and sit in the waiting area until the doctor calls us in. Then I give my copay to the office person which takes another half minute.
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:20 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        then your peds office might have a good staff. The staff at our ped's office is notorious for being awful, though I have never had a problem with them.
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:26 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        I suppose they are good. I have little contact with them.
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:27 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
    - interesting. not so in our case.
      [ Reply | Options ]
      06.02.09, 10:19 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
      - NP: I have zero problem dealing with a nurse practitioner for routine stuff, especially if that means I get called back faster. (But then, my mother is a nurse, so I was raised more in the "anything a doctor can do a nurse can do better" school of thought, LOL.) But this would be one issue for you to consider OB, because different practices handle calls differently.
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:23 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        good point. (and nurses generally are better at these things). we have a nurse practitioner at school, so she's practically dd's new ped.
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:25 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
    - hi. you sound like a total PITA.
      [ Reply | Options ]
      06.02.09, 10:23 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
      - ?
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:25 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
      - This is how my doctor's office works. I am not unusual or asking for special treatment at all. In fact, other parents I know whose children go to the ped in this office have same experience.
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:26 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        so at your ped office, only the doctors deal with the patients. that is different from what you wrote.
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:29 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
        
        yes. sorry for the miscommunication.
        [ Reply | Options ]
        06.02.09, 10:30 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
- Is office conveniently located to your home? What if db is sick on weekend or evening? Other than that I think it has more to do with feeling comfortable with the doctor and feeling that you want a long term relationship with him or her.
  [ Reply | Options ]
  06.02.09, 10:16 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
  - thank you! i figured i would be able to get a feel for the right one that we were comfortable with right away, but i was a bit worried that there were specific things that i should find out.
    [ Reply | Options ]
    06.02.09, 10:19 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
- Do you have any special needs/hangups about BF or vax? You could ask whether they segregate sick visits with well baby visits, how the ped handles nights and weekends, how to handle questions (will they return a phone call?)... I'm trying to remember but I bet BabyCenter would have something.
  [ Reply | Options ]
  06.02.09, 10:16 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
- You could ask their opinion about vaccines, e.g. do they give everything that is recommended no matter what or are they more selective about what they recommend. You could also ask about policies for walk-in visits, weekend hours, call back policies and whether they provide counseling on behavioral issues, e.g. sleep, eating, etc.
  [ Reply | Options ]
  06.02.09, 10:18 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
- find out what their philosophy is on intervention
  [ Reply | Options ]
  06.02.09, 10:21 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
  - Find out if they take your health insurance and if not their fee schedules. You take a baby to the doctor a lot within the first few years of life. Also, find out the doctor's educational background and philosophy. See how crowded the practice is and think about waiting time...Also, think about gender of your child and whether you would like there to be parity between the child's gender and the doctor. How long it takes to get a call back in the middle of the night - how things are covered during holidays etc. No matter what, you will be awake one night at 3am with dc with some issue in the beginning and probably not know what to do - take to hospital, take to pediatrician, or just tough it out at home...Good luck. I think it's also chemistry between parents and doctor/do you feel comfortable asking them questions and do they take the time to listen and answer your questions thoughtfully.
    [ Reply | Options ]
    06.02.09, 10:26 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
- My ped has an "open phone time" each morning, he answers his phone. He does not have a nurse doing triage so you see him and he decides if you dc is sick. These factors plus a friends recommendation made it an easy decision
  [ Reply | Options ]
  06.02.09, 11:31 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]

UrbanBaby Asks...

Are you or your partner ever naked in front of your children?

Already voted? View Results

See previous polls »

Boards Help

Abbreviations
More Boards Help

Flashback

Live Below My Means

I live well below my means. It feels good and I don't have to worry if I get laid off or can never work again.

Posted April 24, 2008(29 replies)

Video: Cooking With Grandma Gigi

Granddaughter Olivia helps make plantation casserole...

Also:
Lunchbox Recipes
School Lunch Obsessive (video)
Make your Own Baby Food
Baby Food Taste-Off
Is it wrong to ask minors to mix martinis?
Can you tell a pregnant boozer to stop?

i didn't bother with all that. it's really about the office - you don't spend much time with the doctor anyway. see if the staff is tolerable, switch if you don't like. (don't make a production of it)

In my ped office I ONLY deal with the doctor. Unless I leave a message with office and then doctor calls me back.

so the doctor makes appointments, and is there at the front desk to check you in?

and gives the vaccines?

Yes. My doctor's office doctors give vaccines.

interesting. seems odd

Why? There are no nurses in the office. Just receptionists and the doctors.

that's what seems odd. (and inefficient)

It's a small office, I guess. We never wait more than a few minutes. I guess it would be inefficient if there were a waiting room full of children being vaccinated.

np: where is this? very unusual to have no nurse to take pressure, draw labs, take temp, height/weight. i've had several peds and never heard of this, though always in big cities.

It's a small office on UES. Four doctors in the practice, but two of them are in the office at a time.

My ped does all the medical stuff, but the asistants do weight, height, and hearing/eye tests.

Your MD doesn't give the vax?

of course not - what a waste of resources.

How? Don't you get to see your MD during your well baby visits? Mine checks him out, gives him vax, and talks to us for a while answering our questions. Adding vax on top of a checkup is only like an extra two minutes, if that.

ita

MD here: assuming pts are scheduled every 15 mins in an 8 hour day, that is an hour of time the doc could save; 5 hours saved in a week or over another half day worth of seeing patients. This is a lot both in terms of availability to patients and income.

To OP: I guess another question is, Does the doc give the vax?

No. I call to make an appointment and am on the phone with an office person for half a minute. Then I get there and say hello to the office person and sit in the waiting area until the doctor calls us in. Then I give my copay to the office person which takes another half minute.

then your peds office might have a good staff. The staff at our ped's office is notorious for being awful, though I have never had a problem with them.

I suppose they are good. I have little contact with them.

interesting. not so in our case.

good point. (and nurses generally are better at these things). we have a nurse practitioner at school, so she's practically dd's new ped.

hi. you sound like a total PITA.

?

This is how my doctor's office works. I am not unusual or asking for special treatment at all. In fact, other parents I know whose children go to the ped in this office have same experience.

so at your ped office, only the doctors deal with the patients. that is different from what you wrote.

yes. sorry for the miscommunication.

Is office conveniently located to your home? What if db is sick on weekend or evening? Other than that I think it has more to do with feeling comfortable with the doctor and feeling that you want a long term relationship with him or her.

thank you! i figured i would be able to get a feel for the right one that we were comfortable with right away, but i was a bit worried that there were specific things that i should find out.

Do you have any special needs/hangups about BF or vax? You could ask whether they segregate sick visits with well baby visits, how the ped handles nights and weekends, how to handle questions (will they return a phone call?)... I'm trying to remember but I bet BabyCenter would have something.

find out what their philosophy is on intervention

My ped has an "open phone time" each morning, he answers his phone. He does not have a nurse doing triage so you see him and he decides if you dc is sick. These factors plus a friends recommendation made it an easy decision

UrbanBaby Asks...

Are you or your partner ever naked in front of your children?

Boards Help

Live Below My Means

Video: Cooking With Grandma Gigi