Questions for Pediatrician

We don't have a pediatrician yet (not due until end of March) but we are starting to look.
Has anyone else set up appts with pediatricians and if so, what types of questions should we be asking?
TIA!

Re: Questions for Pediatrician

I have 1 DD already and all I can remember is I let them do most of the talking. They want you to pick them so they will put on a nice little show for you. Sorry I can't think of specific questions off the top of my head...something I think is very important though is finding out about walk-in hours...that's what made me pick one vs another I liked. Walk-in hours were SO much better and I felt important for when kids are sick.
Something else I get a lot of grief on here for b/c apparently most dr's offices don't do this in house or maybe certain insurance companies only allow you to go to certain places...my peds offices does NOT do bloodwork in the office - we have to go to a lab. DD was sick at 8 weeks and I was not at home and took DD to my sister's ped...he did catheter to check urine and blood work right in office...called me that night with results. Had I been home and taken her to my own ped...my dr told us they would have sent us straight to the ER with her (fever under 8 weeks they need to check that there is no infection) where they would have kept her for many days and done many unnecessary tests on her. They were able to rule out infection with the blood work done in office at the ped I took her to. So if I were shopping around now...that is something I'd look for. I love our ped so didn't want to switch after the fact.
But for DD's 1 yr checkup - I found it annoying having to take her to a lab for bloodwork.
Some people don't seem to care about that but knowing there are dr's out there who do provide that in office...I think it's a great thing to have.

HTH.

Re: Questions for Pediatrician

Here is a list I had notebooked:

How long have you been in practice?

Do you have any sub-specialties?

What are your hours?

Are any evening or weekend hours available?

How can I reach you in an emergency?

What hospitals are you affiliated with?

What happens when I deliver my baby?? Will you see them in the hospital??

How often do you want to see the baby in the first year? (well-child visits) and why?

Where do you stand on:
1.) circumcision

2.) breast-feeding

3.) feeding on a schedule

4.) homemade baby food

5.) cloth diapers (I thought there would be a diaper service in the area, but I was unable to find one.)

6.) getting baby to sleep

7.) antibiotics

8.) OTC meds (Tylenol, etc.)

9.) vaccinations

What if my child has a problem that you aren't comfortable handling???

Do you encourage parents to call for routine/non-emergency questions? (ie – breast feeding, sleeping, etc.)

Will you be available for discussions on behavioral developments; that is, tantrums, discipline issues, social development, etc.?


Questions to Ask Yourself:

Did you feel comfortable with the doctor?

Is the office conveniently located?

How long were you kept waiting? ______minutes

Did the waiting room and the examination rooms have toys and books to occupy your child?

Was everything clean?

How helpful were the nurses and support staff at the office?

Re: Questions for Pediatrician

i think the above list is a great one.

things i would add: does the practice/dr have separate waiting areas for sick children and well children? and how quickly will your newborn be seen when you bring them in? these were especially important to us, expecting a baby right in the middle of flu and sicky season...but these would be important to me anyway.

i wasn't so concerned w the Dr. being affiliated w my hospital. we chose the one ped we interviewed who was not, but had everything else we were looking for and the one we felt most confident in. she was the first one we saw, and we were nervous about all the questions we had to ask, but she explained everything to us and answered 90% of our questions before we could even ask them, saying everything we wanted to hear, which made me feel really good about her as a doctor.

i think when you meet with the right ped you'll know. good luck!!