As a responsible parent, you’re determined to find a great pediatric doctor in San Diego. You’ve asked around and have a list of recommendations from various friends and from doing an Internet search and now you want to make a decision. How do you go about this, and what questions will you ask?
How to choose a pediatric doctor in San Diego
A face-to-face visit with a potential doctor is essential. You need to see the actual practice and to meet the person to whom you will be entrusting your child’s health. The better you choose up-front, the better. This way the doctor can truly get to know your child and his/her medical history, so your relationship will be deeper and well informed. A personal connection is always important as you’ll need support, encouragement, and good advice in the first few years of your child’s life, and you shouldn’t feel anxious about calling your pediatrician if you have fears. You might want to find out whether the doctor will be charging you for the interview, as some do.
Convenience is important
When your child is ill, you want to be able to reach your pediatrician’s office quickly, so having someone relatively close by with convenient parking is going to be important. A good idea during the interview is to discuss something that you may already have an opinion on to see whether the doctor agrees with you, or whether you are given another point of view that’s really helpful. You’ll also quickly know from the tone of the discussion whether the doctor is rushed and slightly annoyed by the question, and whether your opinion is being belittled as the doctor has a different opinion. Just like with any other relationship, you’ll quickly know whether you ‘click’ and whether this is someone you’ll feel comfortable with when dealing with your child’s health.
Check on availability
Parents often bemoan the fact that their children always seem to fall ill at night or over weekends, but this is a reality. As a result, you really need to check on the doctor’s availability, and find out if the practice is a group practice. If it is, there is usually a pediatrician on-call 24/7 and this is what you want.
Find a great pediatric doctor in San Diego
