Ladies, Can you share the list of things that need to be checked before checking pediatrician? Below are some of the things in my mind: - Sick hours of the clinic - Make sure it's a group practice clinic so that even if my doctor goes on vacation, there will be backups - Doctor who is both pediatrician and general physician - Male doctor since i'm having a boy (is it really necessary to go for a male doctor for boys?) Any other things I need to add/remove from my checklist?
After Care/Emergency Care Tie-ups with your Insurance provider. How well separated is the sick area from the one where children come for a wellness visit. Waiting time at the clinic Bedside manners of the nurses. Attitude of the front office. Ease of availability of an appointment. References.
Experience of the doctordefinitely matters to me. I might wait a little longer to meet an experienced doc than visit a more easily available and inexperienced doc. [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]Not necessary really.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]Its not like choosing a gynecologist for women.As in I prefer going to a lady gynae any day. But for kids the gender of doc hardly matters.[/FONT]
Uma, congratulations! A lot of practices allow patients to visit and take a tour. The best way to get one is to get a referral from your gynec. The pediatrician need not run a general practise and no the ped need not be a male. Go with your gut instinct. Best wishes.
Uma, in my case, I didnt have an option to "choose". All the pediatricians were fully booked. Infact a lot of people book their pediatricians the moment they know they are pregnant. well, not the same moment, but you get my point right? When I was choosing my family doctor though, here was my list: 1. qualification, experience and the place where he/she graduated from. This information is easily available on net and the affiliated hospitals they are linked to. 2. They are open at least for a few hours on Saturdays. 3. Made the first 'meet-and-greet' and then taken a decision if she/he is good for me. these were mainly my points. Should there be a need to see a pediatrician or if I express a concern and wants to be referred to a pea, my my doctor would hook me with one. Normally how it works is, the clinic is linked to a pediatric wing in a hospital. Once my DD went there, we get referred to the same pead in future too. At least thats how it works here where I live, not sure about US.
Thanks Ladies! I have to ask my doctor for referrals. I also have got few references from my friends. Need to schedule appointments to see the doctor.
also check after hrs response (weeknights and weekends). I can call my pead and leave a message and she responds to my query immediately.
