So, uh...

[geminigirl]

What in the world would you ask a pediatrician you're interviewing?

Our top choice right now has a lactation consultant on his staff, recommends vaccinating on the typical schedule (I need to ask about deviating from it, I know) and is a single-doctor practice, not a multi-doctor practice. I know he's got privileges at the local children's hospital.

So what do I need to know or listen for as a parent to decide if this is someone I can work with.

Comments

[aelf.livejournal.com]

Hours. Saturday hours. If you call in the morning with a sick child, how long before you can get an appointment? What hospital are they affiliated with? Who answers after-hours questions? How married is the doctor to growth charts? Is all the work done by the doctor, or are there nurses who also see children? Is there a separate sick/well waiting area? How far ahead do you need to make well-child appointments?

But mostly, when you visit the office, if you feel like the people there listen to you, care about their patients, then you're probably in good hands.

(We didn't pediatrician shop -- we ended up at the first office who could take us the next day, which was a pre-req for getting to take Zoe home from the hospital "early." It's turned out to be a fantastic office.)

[bicrim.livejournal.com]

I would recommend talking with them until you find something they disagree with you about, and then see how they handle the disagreement. It matters much less that they don't always see eye to eye and much more that they are able to hear your point of view and be respectful of it.

Also, ask about extended nursing. It tells you a lot about a doctors knowledge level about breastfeeding. If they quote the AAP or the WHO, and stress the "and for as long thereafter as mother and baby desire", you will be off to a good start with them. You might also want to ask how they feel about formula feeding. Most doctors are afraid of offending people, but if they say it's just as good as breastfeeding, they are either lying or are really ignorant about the subject, and that will not turn out well if you are having breastfeeding problems and need support.

[tisiphone.livejournal.com]

- Whether he's board-certified
- Whether its a teaching practice
- the practice's nurse's qualifications

infodump

[jennifer0246.livejournal.com]

who covers when your doc is on vaca/not on call ?
does your doc cover call and if so, does he work postcall?
when you call them with a problem, who answers the phone?
do you have to leave a message and be called back?
how behind does the office typically run (and don't accept "we attempt to run on time" bs. everybody's always behind, you need a number. 30 minutes is ok. 3 hours is not)?
how do they feel about extended nursing?
how do they approach introducing solids/what do they recommend as far as reducing the risk of allergies (and compare this with AAP/other resources)?
check http://www.fsmb.org/ for any action against the doc
who do they rec you consult with for a 2nd opinion about any major problems or concerns (if they don't have anyone/wave this off, be warned they might think they're the best/only out there and be hard on you if you try to change practices or question things later)?
how do they approach autism/add/childhood obesity other 'controversial' things?
is the parking adequate at the office?
if the kid needs lab work/xrays/whatever else, is that done in office or do they refer out? what's their typical labwork turnaround time?
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/T110204.asp

[wait.livejournal.com]

I like to ask leading questions.

IE: When do you suggest your patients wean?

If its an arbitrary number (SIX MONTHS! ONE YEAR!) then I know they are a quack. For me, a good doctor will quote the American Academy of Pediatrics and say something about how its an individual decision.

"Do you encourage your patients to get vaxed? How do you feel about no-vax or a delayed schedule?"

"What do you think of what Dr. Sears had to say about XYZ?"

I also liked to ask questions about their "other" patients. "Are most of your other patients bf'd?" "What are your thoughts on co-sleeping?"

When we had Jonah, we weren't sure if we were going to co-sleep or vax, but I needed a doc who wasn't going to freak by the mere mention. I wanted someone more lefty than me.

[wait.livejournal.com]

Oh, and the other thing that just came to me... I felt a lot of pressure to FIND A DOC. But really, so long as your insurance is widely accepted, finding a new doc isn't really hard -- thus if you try one, decide you don't really like them (sometimes you have the same philosophy, but you just don't click) its pretty easy to move on to another one. :)

[fairion.livejournal.com]

If you really like your midwife or doula, I would see who they recommend. Get recommendations from people who have similar childbirth/childrearing philosophies.

As for the interview ask about the things that are important to you. For us it was breastfeeding and vaccinations. We went with a large practice so the initial interview was not as helpful as the first visit with a given doctor. With a single doctor practice ask about coverage during off hours, vacations and holidays. A single doctor practice can be very limiting and hard to work or get appointments and answers when you need. We go to a large practice but still see the same doctor for all well baby visits and most sick visits.

[geminigirl]

I checked with the OB's office, but everyone he knows is further away than I want to have to go for a pediatrician's visit with a sick kid. The doula is also more familiar with the pediatricians on the other side of the region, where she lives. The one we're going to see on Monday is the one recommended by the birth center that we're taking our Bradley classes at.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Definitely ask what happens when your child gets sick after hours.

I asked about a couple of prospective health issues (hip dysplasia and food allergies), mostly just to see what the doctor's style was. The doctor I went with sketched out a plan for his approach (how, and how often, he'd assess for hip dysplasia, what he'd recommend for introducing solids with a family history of food allergies) and made a reference to the research literature when he did so. His actual plan was less important to me than the way he talked to me about it. I liked that he explained his reasoning and cited recent research. That's continued to be the way he deals with things that come up, and it fits the way I like to handle things.

Something that can be hard to assess is whether the doctor tends to be laid-back or, for lack of a better word, vigilant/investigative. For example, when Alex's doctor heard a heart murmur at her 12-month visit, he let us know that a lot of doctors would take a wait-and-see attitude because it was probably benign. But he also said that, given the existence of advanced medical technology and good health insurance, we could go get an EKG and know right away whether or not it was benign. With my personality, a doctor who said "Ah, just wait and see - don't worry about it" would drive me crazy. I want to know. But other people are exactly the opposite. It's good to know which kind of person you are, and then seek out a compatible doctor.

My childbirth educator told me that the most important quality in a pediatrician is that it's someone you'd feel comfortable crying all over. And yeah, I absolutely agree. Not sure what questions you ask to assess that, though. Maybe something like, "What are the common problems you see new parents coming in with?" ...and then see if the tone used to discuss them is sympathetic and warm, or not.