Re: Questions about Pediatrician

[Guest guest]

Suzi,

For me, it would all depend on how his views of treatment match

mine. Is he a doc who is quick to medicate? Does he have a

personality? Does he believe in Apraxia? Is he willing to take the

time to talk to you or make a call for you to open a door or two?

All of this means a lot to me. I would 'interview' him like you

would any other pediatrician. If you feel comfortable with his

views and skills, by all means make that switch!

A small story: my father is a retired pediatrician. His poker

group included my OB-GYN. Imagine my horror at 17 years old when I

walked in to the kitchen to see my GYNECOLOGIST smoking a cigar at

my kitchen table (my mom had taken me in for my first exam a few

weeks prior). ACK!

Friends can and do make good physicians. You just need to be just

as careful as you would with any other choice of caregiver.

My opinion.

Pam

> Okay, I am in a very interesting predicament, and I thought I'd

ask

> you guys what you would do.

>

> I mentioned in a post earlier that we are moving. Well, the

people

> buying our house are both pediatricians. My insurance doesn't

cover

> the wife, but it does cover the husband.

>

> We are moving nearby, and are still going to be very active in our

> old neighborhood. We'll be going to all of the street block

> parties. My son's best friend lives across the street from our

> current house (not the new one). We are also going to be members

of

> the neighborhood swim club.

>

> Basically, it means that the people buying our house will see us

> socially, and know all of our best friends.

>

> He's nice and I'm considering whether it would be good to change

to

> him as our pediatrician. Or is it better to have someone that

will

> not know us as well. I'm going to ask him how much he's had to

deal

> with a special needs kid. It would be nice to have a pediatrician

> that is a little more vested in 's (and my other kids) care.

>

> However, what happens if there is a problem in their care.

>

> What do you guys think?

>

> Suzi

[Guest guest]

Hey Suzi -

First off, do you need to switch peds? Sorry if you've mentioned

this and I've missed it. If so, why? Because s/he doesn't listen?

Isn't proactive? Doesn't understand? Doesn't refer? Doesn't trust

your judgement? The reason WHY you'd be moving should play a big

part in how you select the new person. More important to me than

knowing the ped personally would be his/her views on treatment

options and procedures. We love our ped because he does give

referrals pretty willingly. Now I've heard he doesn't, but I suspect

that because he understands ME and knows that I don't whistle dixie -

that if I think my youngest needs to go see a dev ped, he NEEDS to

go. I don't mess around. And I don't think I'd want to know him

socially - but that's just me.

So I'd sit down with him and see what HE thinks. How does he deal

with special needs? Is he a strep throat kind of doc or one that can

handle all the stuff we deal with? Will he help you manage things?

Also, remember that he may not want to treat someone he knows

socially. We have a ped in our neighborhood and while she'll come

out in an emergency, she does NOT treat any of the neighborhood kids

on a regular basis - she doesn't want to.

One last piece of advice: rather than jump into this new situation,

I think I'd wait a few weeks after the move, see what your neighbors

think, see what YOU think before even talking to him. It might be

that he seems nice, but is completely not what you expect. I'd give

it a bit before jumping in. You might still like him as a person,

but in no way want him treating your kids!

Good luck!

Marina

PS Also, don't bad mouth your current ped - it'll concern him that

you have such divergent approaches and make you appear difficult.

It's been my experience that medical professionals seem to take each

other's side over that of the parent. Just my two cents!

> Okay, I am in a very interesting predicament, and I thought I'd ask

> you guys what you would do.

>

> I mentioned in a post earlier that we are moving. Well, the people

> buying our house are both pediatricians. My insurance doesn't

cover

> the wife, but it does cover the husband.

>

> We are moving nearby, and are still going to be very active in our

> old neighborhood. We'll be going to all of the street block

> parties. My son's best friend lives across the street from our

> current house (not the new one). We are also going to be members

of

> the neighborhood swim club.

>

> Basically, it means that the people buying our house will see us

> socially, and know all of our best friends.

>

> He's nice and I'm considering whether it would be good to change to

> him as our pediatrician. Or is it better to have someone that will

> not know us as well. I'm going to ask him how much he's had to

deal

> with a special needs kid. It would be nice to have a pediatrician

> that is a little more vested in 's (and my other kids) care.

>

> However, what happens if there is a problem in their care.

>

> What do you guys think?

>

> Suzi

[Guest guest]

I've already figured that I would talk to him. I've actually heard

him on the radio. A local newstalk radio has had him on one of

their shows regularly, and I've always enjoyed listening to his

advice.

My current pediatrician has not been good at handling any of 's

special needs. They are okay with the other two kids, but anything

out of the ordinary and they suck. They thought we should wait

until she was 3 to see a speech therapist. They did write the

referral when I insisted. They acted like it was my problem when I

brought up discipline problems with . I don't expect them to

have all the answers, but I do want to have referrals to someone

that might be able to help.

Some of the issues that I can see coming up are things like

having social problems at school. Who can help us when this

happens? What happens if she doesn't do well in school. Who can

help us with that? Our neurologist says that we don't need to see

him anymore. We've seen 3 neurologist, and they've been pretty

useless except for ordering an MRI and an EEG.

Suzi

> > Okay, I am in a very interesting predicament, and I thought I'd

ask

> > you guys what you would do.

> >

> > I mentioned in a post earlier that we are moving. Well, the

people

> > buying our house are both pediatricians. My insurance doesn't

> cover

> > the wife, but it does cover the husband.

> >

> > We are moving nearby, and are still going to be very active in

our

> > old neighborhood. We'll be going to all of the street block

> > parties. My son's best friend lives across the street from our

> > current house (not the new one). We are also going to be

members

> of

> > the neighborhood swim club.

> >

> > Basically, it means that the people buying our house will see us

> > socially, and know all of our best friends.

> >

> > He's nice and I'm considering whether it would be good to change

to

> > him as our pediatrician. Or is it better to have someone that

will

> > not know us as well. I'm going to ask him how much he's had to

> deal

> > with a special needs kid. It would be nice to have a

pediatrician

> > that is a little more vested in 's (and my other kids) care.

> >

> > However, what happens if there is a problem in their care.

> >

> > What do you guys think?

> >

> > Suzi

[Guest guest]

I am one of those people that doesn't like mixing business and personal.

Most professionals keep confidentiality but what if this one doesn't. I can

understand that you want someone who knows you well however I think it is

too cozy if they are in your circle of friends. If your current

pediatrician isn't working out, I would look for a new one but try to find

someone outside of your circle of friends.

Just my gut reaction...

Good luck,

Tricia Morin

North Carolina

Suzi wrote:

Okay, I am in a very interesting predicament, and I thought I'd ask

you guys what you would do.

I mentioned in a post earlier that we are moving. Well, the people

buying our house are both pediatricians. My insurance doesn't cover

the wife, but it does cover the husband.

We are moving nearby, and are still going to be very active in our

old neighborhood. We'll be going to all of the street block

parties. My son's best friend lives across the street from our

current house (not the new one). We are also going to be members of

the neighborhood swim club.

Basically, it means that the people buying our house will see us

socially, and know all of our best friends.

He's nice and I'm considering whether it would be good to change to

him as our pediatrician. Or is it better to have someone that will

not know us as well. I'm going to ask him how much he's had to deal

with a special needs kid. It would be nice to have a pediatrician

that is a little more vested in 's (and my other kids) care.

However, what happens if there is a problem in their care.

What do you guys think?

Suzi