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Tips on how to pick Your Pediatrician

The first criteria in choosing the right pediatrician for your child is, of course, expertise and experience. You can go on line and read about a doctor’s education, residency and fellowship information, articles they have written, board certifications etc. After you are satisfied about a particular pediatrician’s medical expertise, you will want to look at other aspects of their practice.

First, the most practical; where is the practice located?  You’ll be making many trips to see your child’s pediatrician over the years, particularly when your child is young, so a long car ride with a sick child isn’t what you are looking for if you can avoid it. Also, if you are driving to the doctor’s office, take a look at the parking situation. Driving around and around, looking for a parking space with a sick, crying child is not an experience that anyone wants!  Also, does the doctor practice out of two different offices? If so, he or she may not be at the office convenient to you when you need to see them.

Find out what hospital your pediatrician is affiliated with. That means where will your child get admitted, if he or she needs to be hospitalized. If possible, you want to make sure that your child’s doctor is affiliated with a university medical center. For anything other that the very routine, you want to be sure that your child will receive the most sophisticated medical care possible, and that’s likely not going to be at your local community hospital.

The size of the pediatric practice is a matter of personal preference. The larger the practice, the more the “doctor power” you will have; the more expertise available. However, that will also mean, for an unplanned, sick visit, you may see the unfamiliar doctor who is available that day, just when a comforting familiar face is who you most want to see.

Ask about “sick hours.” Some practices have special hours when sick children are given appointments to separate those children from those who are there for “well visits.” If the practice doesn’t do this, do they have a special waiting area for healthy kids? What you are looking to avoid  is spending time in the waiting room for a check up appointment with your healthy child when it is filled with sneezy, coughing, feverish children!

Don’t be afraid to request a meeting with the pediatrician before committing to the practice. You need to feel comfortable communicating and everyone has different preferences in this respect. Some people like a chatty meeting, while others prefer to get down to business. Some people like to speak to a peer, perhaps a doctor who has children similar in age to theirs, while some prefer a more grandparental doctor figure.

Who do you speak to when you call the office with a question?  Most practices have calls triaged by nurses who can sometimes answer your question without needing to speak to the doctor, but some almost exclusively rely on nurses answering parent questions and this might not appeal to you.

Remember, most importantly, trust your instincts. If the pediatrician feels right for you and your child, they probably are!

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