Our first pediatrician interview
After work yesterday, Sarah and I visited a pediatrician in Rockville, just north of our house. We hadn't discussed it much, so I don't think either of us knew what to expect. The parenting class we took at the hospital provided us with a list of questions we should ask and friends had also suggested some questions to ask and things to look for, so we were more or less prepared.
One thing I read online was that there should be two separate waiting rooms--one for well kids and one for sick kids, to prevent spreading germs. This small practice did not have to separate rooms, and the doctor later justified this by saying that the kids don't actually spend a whole lot of time with each other because they get them into the exam rooms quickly. After sitting in the waiting room for a couple minutes, the main doctor in the practice came out to greet us. He then gave us a tour of the rest of the office.
They have five exam rooms, and a small lab. Each of the two doctors in the practice has a small office and there's a little break room in the back. There are two nurses on staff, and they both seemed very nice. At least one of them mentioned dogs in bio, and Sarah and I always take that to be a good sign.
The doctor gave us an overview of the services provided in their office. Because of financial and logistical reasons, they do not perform more than three different lab tests in the office itself. They work primarily with Quest Diagnostics. (This is a bit of a concern because those big labs can barely handle adults... Not sure how they would do with a baby or kid.)
Both doctors were really nice. We met one only briefly, and spent more than an hour with the main doctor. The two of them had worked together in a large practice before the main doctor started his own. Philosophically, the practice jived with our approach--conservative, but thorough. Having dealt with our fair share of illnesses, we're big researchers (I probably get this from my mom, whereas Sarah comes by it naturally) and the doctor cautioned against un-judicious (that a word?) use of the internet, but appreciated our desire to have informed conversations with him.
The risk with a small practice is responsiveness--what happens in an emergency? The doctor reassured us that all after-hours calls go to a voicemail system that immediately pages the doctors. He indicated that he won't return calles between 7pm and 9pm so he can have time with his family. In the case of a true emergency, he said, we should be going to an ER anyway. I didn't have a problem with any of this.
The benefit to small practice is consistency of care. We've had a little experience with this. A few years ago, Timber was diagnosed with bladder stones, eventually requiring an operation. We had been taking her (as well as our other pets) to a large vet hospital in northwest DC, and we pretty much saw a different doctor every time. The first doctor we saw did not diagnose the bladder stones, and it wasn't until we took her back a second time (maybe a third?) that another doctor finally zeroed in on the problem. With a large practice, the care can be inconsistent. Worse, you could get conflicting opinions from different doctors.
With a small practice, of course, the care will be much more consistent. The two doctors in this particular practice seemed to be in sync with each other.
Sarah laid on a few more difficult "tests", and I was proud of her. She asked about rare conditions that I have, to see how well-connected the doctor is. If he could name a handful of specialists, we'd take that to be a good sign. He did so without batting an eye.
Our overall impressions were good, and if we didn't see any other doctors, we'd be happy to go to this guy. We're meeting with a large practice this afternoon, so we'll see if that changes our inclination toward a small practice. This practice is well-known, endorsed by some friends of ours, and is probably the closest to our house.
One thing I read online was that there should be two separate waiting rooms--one for well kids and one for sick kids, to prevent spreading germs. This small practice did not have to separate rooms, and the doctor later justified this by saying that the kids don't actually spend a whole lot of time with each other because they get them into the exam rooms quickly. After sitting in the waiting room for a couple minutes, the main doctor in the practice came out to greet us. He then gave us a tour of the rest of the office.
They have five exam rooms, and a small lab. Each of the two doctors in the practice has a small office and there's a little break room in the back. There are two nurses on staff, and they both seemed very nice. At least one of them mentioned dogs in bio, and Sarah and I always take that to be a good sign.
The doctor gave us an overview of the services provided in their office. Because of financial and logistical reasons, they do not perform more than three different lab tests in the office itself. They work primarily with Quest Diagnostics. (This is a bit of a concern because those big labs can barely handle adults... Not sure how they would do with a baby or kid.)
Both doctors were really nice. We met one only briefly, and spent more than an hour with the main doctor. The two of them had worked together in a large practice before the main doctor started his own. Philosophically, the practice jived with our approach--conservative, but thorough. Having dealt with our fair share of illnesses, we're big researchers (I probably get this from my mom, whereas Sarah comes by it naturally) and the doctor cautioned against un-judicious (that a word?) use of the internet, but appreciated our desire to have informed conversations with him.
The risk with a small practice is responsiveness--what happens in an emergency? The doctor reassured us that all after-hours calls go to a voicemail system that immediately pages the doctors. He indicated that he won't return calles between 7pm and 9pm so he can have time with his family. In the case of a true emergency, he said, we should be going to an ER anyway. I didn't have a problem with any of this.
The benefit to small practice is consistency of care. We've had a little experience with this. A few years ago, Timber was diagnosed with bladder stones, eventually requiring an operation. We had been taking her (as well as our other pets) to a large vet hospital in northwest DC, and we pretty much saw a different doctor every time. The first doctor we saw did not diagnose the bladder stones, and it wasn't until we took her back a second time (maybe a third?) that another doctor finally zeroed in on the problem. With a large practice, the care can be inconsistent. Worse, you could get conflicting opinions from different doctors.
With a small practice, of course, the care will be much more consistent. The two doctors in this particular practice seemed to be in sync with each other.
Sarah laid on a few more difficult "tests", and I was proud of her. She asked about rare conditions that I have, to see how well-connected the doctor is. If he could name a handful of specialists, we'd take that to be a good sign. He did so without batting an eye.
Our overall impressions were good, and if we didn't see any other doctors, we'd be happy to go to this guy. We're meeting with a large practice this afternoon, so we'll see if that changes our inclination toward a small practice. This practice is well-known, endorsed by some friends of ours, and is probably the closest to our house.
posted by dan at 6:43 AM
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