Waiting Room at Ped's Office

[ekbecker1]

Wow - a brand new message board. How exciting!

Anyway, back to business. I am due with my first in 5 weeks and have recently been on the hunt for a pediatrician. I wanted to share something I learned that figured heavily in my decision.

I did all the usual research and had narrowed it down to 2 physicians who were in different practices. The deciding factor for me was that one of the practices has separate waiting rooms for sick kids and healthy kids. I think this is a great idea! Maybe it's common in some areas, but I've never heard of it before.

[flagger]

I really like that idea. I have also learned never to schedule appointments on Mondays or Fridays or days after holidays. :)

[houseof3boys]

I think it is becoming standard practice to have the two different waiting rooms. I miss being in the newborn room (less than one month old) since I felt like that one was less germy.

Flagger posted some great questions on what to ask when interviewing a ped several months ago. You should peruse those even though you already chose your ped since some of them may be questions you had not thought of (it was a very extensive list).

[MinnieMouse]

We carefully screened our ped choice before dd's birth. Lengthy interview w/ the head of the practice, had the big long list of questions and he gave all the right answers. They had a roomy waiting room, big fish tank, toys...and a sick waiting room downstairs...with a separate entrance.

One year later we went RUNNING for a new practice. We were treated like cattle. Anything we questioned labeled us an "uncooperative parent" and the drs treated me like a moron w/o a brain. There were 4 peds and 4 PNPs (pediatric nurse practitioners)...we hated all the peds and loved 2 of the PNPs. Not very good odds. The office ALWAYS ran late...sometimes we waited over an hour to get INTO an exam room...and it didn't matter what time of day it was. One time we actually had the very first appt of the day...but the doc didn't show up until 30 minutes AFTER it was set for.

We now are going to a ONE ped practice. She has evening hours 1x a week...and we just make our well appts well in advance to make sure we get in. She respects us, has about a gazillion times more bedside manner than the ENTIRE other practice. Now instead of walking 10 min to the office we have to drive 25min...but it's well worth it.

I could give you specific instances of how horrible the first group was...but it would take about an hour to list them all (and most are not minor issues). Just be careful of who you pick and if you aren't happy go elsewhere.

Christine

[mamahill]

Adding to Flagger's recommendation, I also take the first appointment of the day, or the first one after lunch - less likely to wait.

[C99]

You know, I think this is a good idea, but in talking with many of my friends and fellow-mommies, it seems that many people have similar experiences to whoever posted in post #5. So many people go to a pediatrician and then end up changing after a few months.

[emilyf]

You know, I was initially a bit concerned about our ped's waiting area-it is tiny, no toys-just a table with some books, some regular chairs and a rocking chair. It is in a clinic type setting and the adults (seeing different drs) are essentially in the same area-just on a different side. I loved the doc though, (it is a 2 dr practice) so I went with it. Well, I have to say I have never spent more than a minute or 2 in the waiting area! Occasionally I will have to wait in the exam room while she finishes up with another patient, but the waiting room is a complete nonfactor.
Emily \r\nmom of Charlie born 11/02

[C99]

whoops! double post

[hellokitty1]

I have an opposite situation with Christine's post (MinnieMouse). Before DD was born, we were looking for peds and one of the most important things for DH and I were that it not be a huge practice run solely by business people who didn't know a lick about medicine. We wanted to try to avoid those huge offices where you never get the same doctor. So we ended up going with a solo doctor office.

After the first one-week well-check, we fled the office. Something about the doctor just made me uncomfortable. DD had a scratch on her head (DH and thought it might have been caused by the dr. breaking my water) and we asked the ped about it and she looked at her head and replied "beat's the he$# outta me!" This was my first clue to get out. I saw her office as we made our way to the receptionist and it was pretty disorganized. She had no answering service and told us she could always be reached by cell. The worst part is that we asked for dd's records to be transferred to the new ped after we left and we just got them yesterday after 4 months of chasing them down. Apparently, they were holding the file for payment...a payment for which they never sent us a bill (and gladly admitted they had never sent a bill).

Anyway, my 2 cents is that you should do your best to choose a ped b4 baby is born but never feel stuck after baby is born to move to another ped. For first-time parents, choosing a ped is like choosing a daycare...you think you're asking the right questions but you never notice the whole picture until baby is here.

BTW, this ped is in Cary, NC so if anyone reading wants to know who the ped is to stay away from, just send me a private note and I'll let you know.

[ekbecker1]

Vivian,

Totally off-topic, but I love your name! It's high on my list of girl's names. Do you frequently have problems with people mispelling it? I have seen it spelled with an "e" or Vivien.

Have you gotten people who try to shorten it or give you a weird nickname? (My name is Elizabeth and it drives me crazy when people try to sound all familiar and shorten it to Beth. Noone who knows me EVER calls me Beth.)

[hellokitty1]

Thanks, Beth, I mean Elizabeth :)

I've never had a a problem with it being mispelled. While I know Vivien Leigh spelled it differently, I think the norm is "Vivian" and it's usually only mispelled by people who just plain don't know how to spell it, not because they think it should be with an "e".

Edited to add: When I do have to spell it, people usually get confused because I'll say "v-i-v-i" and after the second v-i, they'll say something like, " I got the v-i" and I'll say another "v-i" and they get all flustered. But quite frankly, it's just about spelled like it sounds. When we put our name on a list, we just say "Jeff", my husband's name. :D

I have to say as a kid, I knew no one but adults with my name so I thought it was an "old-timey" name (I'm 30 now). Now at work, there are 2 other people names Vivian (but they're still much older :)

Only certain people who know me well and that I've acknowledged it's okay call me "Viv". I don't like it too much when someone assumes it's my nickname and uses it (like my boss}() . And it's only used by my friends, not by work colleagues (unless we're really good friends) But I don't generally like it to be used in a business setting.