Picking out your child’s pediatrician can be an important decision not to be taken lightly. This is someone that will play an important role in your child’s health for many years to come. Finding a knowledgeable pediatrician that you and your child like can make the doctor’s visits a much more enjoyable experience for everyone. Read more to learn about what you should be considering when searching for a pediatrician.
1. Takes time to listen to your concerns
Pediatricians are busy people, however, you never want one that doesn’t seem to have time to listen to all of your concerns. Your child’s health should be their number one priority and if they don’t make you feel like it is you need to search for a different doctor. If your initial consultation feels rushed by them, this is a good sign your child’s other visits will feel rushed as well. You need to find a doctor that gives you their full time and attention during appointments.
2. Aligns with your values and needs
When searching online for a pediatrician, make sure to read about their approach to medicine in the about us section. If they don’t have this list, you can always call to ask or talk about it on your initial visit. If you have a more holistic approach to health, for example, mention this to the pediatrician to see their perspective on this. If you are looking for a certain service such as a lactation consultant, check to see if the office offers this.
3. Convenient to your schedule
As you will have plenty of pediatrician visits when your child is firstborn, you want to find an office that is convenient for you. Make sure the office is a distance you feel comfortable driving to and close to your home, school or work. You also want to check office hours to make sure you can easily make appointments that work for your schedule. Some offices offer evening hours or weekends if you are busy during the week. Ask the front desk how long it usually takes to set up appointments. If they are often booked for weeks at a time, it may help to find a different office that has a more available schedule.
4. Highly reviewed
If you have friends who are parents in your area, ask them if they have a pediatrician who they would recommend. If you don’t, luckily these days there are no reviews online for most businesses. Start by searching, for example, a pediatrician in Pittsford, NY to get a list of doctors near you. Before you set up your initial consultation, make sure you thoroughly go over the reviews. This will save you the time from going to an office where many of the patients have had a bad experience.
5. Enjoyable office environment
When it comes down to it, your pediatrician and their staff are people you are going to see for many years to come. You don’t want to go to a pediatrician with a bad office environment or unhelpful staff. This will decrease the chance that you set up all of your child’s appointments on time. If it is a doctor your child doesn’t like, they will dread going to appointments even more.
As you start your search for the perfect pediatrician, we hope this list will help you find one that you can see for many years to come. It’s important to find one that you can trust and fits in with your lifestyle. You and your child’s relationship with their pediatrician can be very rewarding when you find the right one for you.
