Do you trust your ped?

[kusumat]

Though I didn't use the estrogen on DD to treat her vagina adhesion as her Ped firmly recommended, I was angry why the Ped even suggested it at the first point. I am glad that I looked up the info and did research before I agree/disagree to any of her advice. They can't be trusted!!




http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/02/05/healthmag.creams/index.html

[JTsMom]

I don't trust any doctor 100% of the time. I always double check what I can- I just think that makes me a responsible patient/mother. Doctors are human too- they make mistakes just like the rest of us. Plus- and this was actually a point driven home for me by doctors that I very much respect- medicine is not an exact science- it's an art too.

I'm fortunate enough to see several doctors who I really like and respect. My son has a cardiologist that I fly him out of state to visit. Our ped is fantastic. Unfortunately, I've also seen the other side.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Ditto Lori- I don't trust any Dr. 100% and I feel I have a responsibility to research things too.

I don't really think that my ped is awesome so I always do some leg work on my own if she recommends things. I plan to switch peds soon. :)

Beth

[geochick]

Always follow your gut and always do your homework. My dh is a physician. While he graduated in the top 10% of his class, many didn't even come close to the top 90% of the class! They still graduated. They went into all sorts of fields. If you don't trust a physician, it's time to get a new one.

[egoldber]

I do trust my ped group.

But I also always double check whatever they tell me. Better safe than sorry.

[JBaxter]

I really like my ped but I dont trust anyone 100% with my child. I always question things. I'd say I trust him on all things except his view of vaccinations and he respects my views and research. He diagnosed my sons migraine problem when no one else did, didnt agree with the ent on taking Nathans tonsils out ( I agreed with my ped) and picked up Connors mono and gastro issues. I trust him as much as any doctor

[lisams]

Tricky question. Do I trust my ped. as a person - yes. I will admit that we do not always follow his recommendations, but he sees so many patients a day there's no way he could know my children the way I do, or our beliefs on health care.

I'm actually considering using a naturopathic physician instead for the entire family, it just fits better with our beliefs on health care.

[maestramommy]

I trust my ped for certain things, because she tends to err on the side of caution when it comes to 1) giving meds 2) fevers or other illness in an infant 3) developmental milestones.

However, I have noticed that she is sloppy on the paperwork. For instance, we declined the rotavirus vax for Arwyn at 2 months. But she didn't mark that down in the chart. The next appt. the nurse started giving it to her before I realized what it was, and when I told her we declined it, she said, "oh the doc had it written on her chart." Probably meaning that she wrote it before trying to give it, and didn't change the info when I declined it. I was pretty pissed.

So in the future I feel like I have the be the one that makes sure our paperwork is accurate, which is pretty ridiculous if you ask me.

[ThreeofUs]

I see my pediatrician as a consultant. He's very smart, very up on the current research, but not so strong in some areas - like allergies.

So we talk about symptoms, and discuss possibilities, but then the decision is mine. As I've usually done pretty extensive research on pubmed or other child-specific sites, we can come to a good understanding together. That is, I help him understand DS and he helps me understand a physician's and researcher's point of view.

[nov04]

ITA w/ Lisa. It is a tricky question.

I trust our ped. very much. He manages 5 sub-specialties for dd1 and is very knowledgeable. He also cares about our girls.

We don't always follow what he says though. He thinks that dd2 doesn't need to be fed during the night. We had an almost heated discussion and although I think he was slightly annoyed I didn't concede, he knows I do respect him and agree with him quite a bit too. (sorry rambling).

I did ask him to look at dd2 for her cough and he caught the hopefully temporary asthma. He specifically thanked me for allowing him the chance to manage her early asthma instead of waiting for it to become serious and end up in hospital.

Doctors spend many years in school, but we as parents have the responbility to question things when we have doubts.

[elektra]

I do trust my ped, but not 100%. It's so scary because I am not a doctor (as most of us are not) but sometimes I just feel that the doctor isn't right in their diagnosis. And I'm talking about doctor's that I have had in the past treating me. Luckily I haven't run into any disagreements with the ped yet.
In one of the exam rooms at our ped's office there is a little sign on the wall that says something along the lines of "we value and respect a parent's opinion". And so far I have never encountered anything there that has gone against that.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Always follow your gut and always do your homework. My dh is a physician. While he graduated in the top 10% of his class, many didn't even come close to the top 90% of the class! They still graduated. They went into all sorts of fields. If you don't trust a physician, it's time to get a new one.

My mom's motto after a lot of bad experiences is "someone had to graduate at the bottom of the class."

Beth

[s7714]

Having grown up with a condition that very few doctors have experience with (and now having a DD with that same condition), it's just in my innate instinct to question everything to do with doctors. It has nothing to do with my trust or lack of trust in them, it is simply that I know it is not possible for every doctor to know every single little bit of information out there. Do I think that's an excuse for doctors prescribing or misdiagnosing patients? No. But I'm a firm believer that people have to be just as responsible--if not more so--for their health, illnesses and cures as their doctor is. The only time I start distrusting a doctor is if he/she refuses to consider options, treatments or opinions that differ from his/her own.

[ShanaMama]

Interesting question. I trust my ped very much, but the Mommy instinct also fuels my decision. My favorite thing about my ped is that he respects me as a mother and understands my need to research his recommendations. He even helps me with this- he once emailed me links about DD's breath holding to reassure me. He also respects my instinct & asks for input into decision making, like whether to treat something that could go either way (early ear infection, etc.)
I would never be able to handle a ped who didn't listen to me & allow me to ask as many questions as I want. I've found many adult specialists to have that haughty "I'm the doctor & you should do what I say" atitude, but have really not come across that with DD's docs.

[KrisM]

I do trust her, pretty much. She's told me she doesn't know about something a couple times and calls me back after researching the question, which I find impressive. It's hard to find a doctor that admits to not knowing everything.

But, I do a lot of research and back up her answer with my own confirmation from reserach.

[janeybwild]

if you don't trust him/her, perahps you should change. As with everything, I try to be my childrens best advocate instead of following blindly what anyone tells me. Do I trust him to give me his best opinion? Yes.

[kijip]

Toby's new ped is a total gem, extraordinarily concerned and caring about his patients, gives out accurate information on safety, development and nutrition issues, spends nearly 1/2 hour on an annual check up talking to parents and the child, has a great rapport with kids and parents alike. In short, yeah I trust him.

[Gena]

I do trust my pediatrician. We actually go to a med-ped, which is a doctor who is board certified in both pediatrics and in adult internal medicine. It was important to us to find a doctor with this dual specialty so that Hubby, DS, and I can all have the same primary physician. Since we have multiple specialists, it just makes life easier to have one primary for all of us. It also means I have more opportunities to interact with the doctor and to get to know him better.

I don’t blindly trust him just because he is a doctor. I do trust him because he actually listens when I talk and he answers my questions fully. He encourages me to ask questions and to learn about our health issues. I never leave his office feeling like I didn’t understand something or that my concerns were not addressed. Also I never feel like he rushed through an appointment. I feel that he respects me, both as a patient and as a parent, and I respect him all the more for that.

[hellokitty]

I got to one ped out of six in a practice. I like him the best, b/c he is the most AP of them and is a huge supporter of BFing. He is also someone who is very easy to talk to and just truly seems like a very nice person professionally, and outside of his profession as well.

The only thing that we do not see eye to eye about is vax. He always mentions it, I believe he charts that I refuse vax (covering his butt), and then he pretty much leaves me alone about that. I appreciate that, b/c I know other peds who would either berate me about it or they would probably kick me out of their practice. He does agree that there are certain vax that can definitely be delayed (hep b for a newborn, even he thinks that is ridiculous). For those of you who think I am crazy about my stance on vax, I challenge you to do some further research. www.mothering.com has a wonderful vax message board, filled with loads of info. FWIW, I am an RN, and feel that I was brainwashed into accepting what was fed to me about vax. If I could find a ped who was 100% supportive of my opinion on vax, I would, but we live in a conservative, non-progressive region.

[hellokitty]

Always follow your gut and always do your homework. My dh is a physician. While he graduated in the top 10% of his class, many didn't even come close to the top 90% of the class! They still graduated. They went into all sorts of fields. If you don't trust a physician, it's time to get a new one.

I don't even trust the ones at the top 10% of the class. Just b/c they are book smart, doesn't mean that they are the best ones. I know several who were top of their class, but they are total jerks, some have such big egos about being at the top of their class, they refuse to listen to anyone else, thinking that they are always right and sometimes these types totally lack in bedside manner as well. I wouldn't want them as my doc. I believe that their education helps them establish themselves, but just b/c they are at the top of their class it does not guarantee that they will be the cream of the crop, and just b/c they were at the bottom 10% of their class, it doesn't mean that they are the worst docs out there either. You have to look at the entire pkg.

[Mommy Of A Little Angel]

I definitely trust ours. We have a great relationship and he is really good with DD. I usually take his advice as advice. I am not necessarily going to do everything he suggests, but I do keep it in mind. He knows that and he had never tried to push anything onto us. He pretty much takes his cues from me and DD. I also like that he listens to my concerns and has said more than once that the parents usually know what is going on with their child so he would rather be safe than sorry.

Also, when DD was 4 weeks and got an infection of some sort, he had his nurse call us in the morning and he personally called us nightly to make sure everything was going okay. For a first time parent, that was priceless!