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Friday, January 13, 2012

Pediatrician Dilemma

Before my next OB appointment, I have to have a pediatrician picked out. My doctor referred me to two different clinics and I made some phone calls. Here is what I found out about both:

Option #1
PROS
*Does visit you in the hospital
*Open on Saturdays
*I can come in and meet with him BEFORE the baby is born
*Only 1 doctor so you always have the same one
*Close to home
*Almost always get in with a sick child the same day unless you call right at closing
*Will offer breastfeeding help
CONS
*Half day on Wednesday
*Only one doctor so if he's on vacation, you see someone else (PRO: the other doctor is a great doctor that works at one of the nation's best children's hospital)
*No sick/well waiting rooms

Option #2
PROS
*Does visit you in the hospital
*Open on Saturdays
*Three doctors in the practice but you pick a primary
*Close to home
*Almost always get in with a sick child the same day unless you call right at closing
*Will offer breastfeeding help
*Has a well/sick waiting rooms
CONS
*2 of the 3 doctors are PT so not there every day (but one of them is there every day so I could pick her as the primary)
*Does not meet with patients before the baby is born but office manager will give you a tour of the office

My thoughts on Option #1: The same doctor is there the whole week. However, this makes me think that the wait might take awhile. When I asked about this, they said they try to stay on schedule but it depends on everyone coming in and at most the wait could be 15 minutes. I also asked about the sick/well side and she said they do not offer that. Then she explained why stating that when they did offer that, parents didn't want their sick child around other sick children so they were coming to the well side. So they try to schedule all newborns/infants first thing in the morning or after lunch. Also, if your child has a rash/chicken pox or low immune system, they will immediately take them to a room to wait.

I really love the idea of meeting him before the baby is born so when he comes to the hospital, it's not just a stranger walking in and we're meeting for the first time. Although, he is a one-man practice and will probably take vacation, the doctor they said that covers gives me a warm-fuzzy feeling because he comes from DH's favorite hospital (he spent a lot of time there as a child).

My thoughts on Option #2: More doctors might mean less of a wait although they said that they always try to get you in to see your primary doctor (unless of course it's a day one of them isn't working). I absolutely do NOT like not meeting them until the baby is here. What if they walk in and visit with us and we don't like them? Plus with there being 3 in the practice, how am I supposed to decide who to be the primary?

I'm really leaning more towards Option #1 and I have a meeting with the doctor on Monday so I'm excited about that. Option #2 is mailing me paperwork to look through about their clinic. I asked DH if he cared before I started calling around and he just told me to make the best decision. Unfortunately, he won't be able to go with me on Monday so it all lays on my shoulders. My OB, Dr. Mat, recommended them both so I feel like either decision will be a good one.

Let me know your thoughts and how you pick or will pick your child's pediatrician.

7 comments:

Sarah said...

We haven't even started shopping for a pedi yet. We decided daycare and hospital needed to come first. Anyway, I think all your questions are good. I am also going to make sure I pick one who will strongly agree with my pro-vaccination stance. There will be times when my child is too young to have vaccines and I want to do everything I can to protect him/her from being unnecessarily exposed to those contagions.

Angie said...

Hmmm I have never heard of a sick/well waiting room before. Interesting concept.
I chose my pedi because like seriously everyone who lives in my neighborhood goes there. I met him for the first time in the hosp and he was so nice, but I had heard great things so I figured he would be. Anytime I've had to go there and my doc wasn't available I've always just asked for the first available and every doc in the practice is awesome, I think there are 5 and one NP? Being able to get you in the same day is huge. I think you're asking good questions and have every right to want to meet with the doc beforehhand. Good luck choosing one, but just remembed you can always switch if something happens along the line that you don't agree with.

SLES75 said...

I had 2 options as well. One who was open to meetings before and one wasn't. I made an appointment with the one who has meetings for the meet and greet.

Weird thing...the baby came before the meet and greet. I was at a loss when Raegan was here and I didn't have a ped picked out. I knew the ped who I had the meet and greet with was on call as I had to call her the night before for one of her patients I admitted to the NICU. My meet and greet appointment was 4 days after she was born so I changed it to her first appointment and had the meet and greet in the hospital.

Here's the thing...if you don't like what you first pick...just change. During the early stages it's easier. I got lucky and ended up REALLY liking the one we picked.

Both of your options sound pretty good. I still have the other ped on the back burner just in case, but I'm pretty sure we're staying with this one. She's awesome, plus she's double board certified in internal medicine and pediatrics. I could go to her for myself if I wanted to :)

Word of mouth is the best way to pick a pediatrician. Just go with your gut and then if after you meet them you don't like them...go with the other...

GOOD LUCK!!

lklomicka said...

I don't usually comment, but I figured I would about this one. We had just moved to this area (from across the country) so I had to go off of recommendations from a few people that I had met when I chose a pediatrician. However, she didn't come to the hospital and I was pretty confused when a different doctor from her practice showed up. Long story short, we ended up switching pediatricians to one I am more comfortable with when the baby was 4 months old. I just wanted to let you know that even though you may have chosen one, don't be afraid to switch if that is an option for you. We are so happy that we did!

Emily @ablanket2keep said...

Meeting a Dr before hand is a good thing, but you will not really get to know them till you actually see them in action taking care of your child. I would check out the first guy and if you get a bad feeling from the start then you can move to the other. I personally don't think sick/well waiting rooms are necessary if the office schedules in a special way. I worked for a ped for 5 years and we only had 1 waiting room. We just scheduled well visits and shots at special times. Good luck!

Chalice Lindgren said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chalice Lindgren said...

Since they are both recommended to you by your OB, it means that they are good in their field of expertise, so you don’t have to worry about looking for a skilled one. Well, I think you should pick Option #2. The clinic has 3 doctors, so it means that anytime you need to bring your child there, there will always be an available doctor to assist you and your kid. Anyway, which one did you pick?

>Chalice Lindgren