My daughter is 18 monthes and we just moved to a new city. Our insurance assigned the family a primary care physician. It's a famly practice dr and I have always taken her to a peditatrician. I am allowed to change if i want to, but is it neccesary. Will she get the same quality care that she would from a ped? Any advice would be great.
2007-02-13 12:44:31 · 13 answers · asked by Kookie Momma 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
You really want to know how many children this family practitioner sees regularly. IMO - you want at least 40% or more of his practice to be children - this way he's familiar with the childhood ailments, and won't brush off anything potentially serious. The doctors I work for say: kids' medicine is different from adult medicine - they have generally no clue about anything for adults - and many adult docs have no clue about kids.
The other reality is - you want to see if he can develop a rapport (the best he can) with your child. Little kids generally don't enjoy visits to the doctor, and if she is scared of the doctor or the doctor just doesn't relate to her, it'll make it that much worse.
My advice: see if you can meet with the doctor and see how he relates to your daughter. (If he ignores her or something like that, thank him for his time and RUN.) and find out if he sees lots of kids. You want the doctor who does this regularly - not the one who sees one kid a year.
Good luck!!!
2007-02-13 13:24:13 · answer #1 · answered by zippythejessi 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is a reason thay there are Pediatricians in the world. They specialize in child care. They may have a more detailed depth of knowledge as far as child care goes and what they need to live in a healthy way. However it is probably a benefit to have one doctor for every family member, but sometimes I would wonder why would there be pediatricians if Family Doctors can do the same thing?
If you are concerned then I think you hsould call to her pediatrician and ask what her opinion is on it. It is likely that she may recommend you find a pediatrician for her until she is a certain age.
2007-02-13 13:30:43 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A good family doctor is an excellent choice for the family. This doctor sees the whole family and is exposed to your family dynamics, and, how often do the same family members fall ill to the same bug.
At eighteen months of age I think your daughter would be best with a pediatrician. Wait till she's a little older before using the family doctor. Usually all it takes for smooth change of doctors is when everyone is coming down with the same thing. One doctor to visit is plenty when you have a family.
2007-02-13 12:57:23 · answer #3 · answered by dino 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
During residency, a family practictioner rotates through a lot of different specialities--pediatrics, internal medicine, psychiatry, etc. A pediatric resident spends all of their time doing pediatrics. As a result, they have much more training in treating children and in recognizing developmental problems earlier.
A lot of pediatricians can prepare you for the next stage of development before you even hit it. I don't think a lot of family practitioners take the time to do that. A lot of family practictioners can treat colds, ear infections, and allergies as well as a pediatrician, but if something goes wrong, it would be nice to have an ongoing relationship with a pediatrician before you have to get referred to one. Also, like I said, a pediatrician can often identify the problem earlier because they have more experience anything "out-of-the-ordinary".
2007-02-13 15:42:55 · answer #4 · answered by LilyRT 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I went through the same thing. I tried out the family doctor for 1 yr and then swicthed to a pediatrician, it seemed like they were better at answering my questions than the family dr. I also had a few miss diagnosises with the family dr.
2007-02-13 16:20:33 · answer #5 · answered by KeshiaF 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I always took my first child to a pediatrician but with the second switched to family practicioner I straight out asked my family doc if there was a need for a pedaitrician He told me that for preventative care or common illnesses a family practicioner doc is fine but if anything unusual arrises I would then have to be referred to a peditrician which never happened thank goodness! I think your family practice doc is fine but if anything out of the ordinary that the family practice doc can't diagnose and cure in a reasonable amount of time then you need to take the child to the pediatrician.
2007-02-13 14:05:18 · answer #6 · answered by sbj95 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
From bad experience with my baby I would take her to a pediatrician. I was taking my son to a family practice D.O and I was worried that the circumcision just didn't look right. I noticed after the bell fell off that it didn't even look like he had been circ. She said oh it looks fine, just put some neosporn on it and it will heal normal. Well i took him to a baby doc, and it turns out my poor baby needs another circ. I want to cry. Always trust a ped. that's why they are there, to specialize in children.
2007-02-13 14:00:52 · answer #7 · answered by sarah 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It really depends on the physician. Some family doctors know a lot about babies because they have children and have a lot of infants as patients. Others do not and prefer not to see infants. I'd stick to a pediatrician. They specialize in treating your baby and do it all day long.
2007-02-13 12:50:54 · answer #8 · answered by Nette 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Peditricians are sometimes better because they specilaize in childhood illnesses/ailments/surgery. a family practicioner is versed in "generalized" medicine rather than specilized and may not be up to date on new things in the world of pediatrics. My daughter saw a peditrician until she reached puberty, which was when she was 9 years old.
2007-02-14 20:26:22 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i would check out a few local family docs and a few pediatricians and see if there is one you like more. we're going with a pediatrician but we really like the guy. i think its more important that the doctor listens to you and you feel comfortable calling and visiting himnot just what his title is. good luck
2007-02-13 12:49:47 · answer #10 · answered by confused mom 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋