Things to consider when choosing a pediatrician
There is nothing compared to the joy that children bring to the parents. As parents we always want the best for our children, and one aspect of child care is choosing a good pediatrician or doctor for them. We don’t like our children to get sick, but even if we take care of them with the best care we can give, sometimes they still get sick and we need to consult a doctor for it. We also need pediatrician to track the physical, emotional and mental development of our children through the help of psychologists.
Definition of terms : According to wikipedia Pediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. The upper age limit of such patients ranges from age 12 to 21, depending on the country. The word pediatrics and its cognates mean healer of children; they derive from two Greek words: (pais = child) and (iatros = doctor or healer).
A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician.
choosing a pediatrician video
Other Things to Consider when you look for a medical doctor for your chiild
Is the baby’s health insurance accepted? how about the payment system? Are you going to pay every time you visit or for a follow up check up?
When choosing a pediatrician, it is important that you know the pediatricians mentality or philosophy like their take on vaccinations/shots immunizations. What about their take whether medicine is for prevention or cure. You should first consult them and ask their overall take on children’s health taking into consideration the use of antibiotics too.
When choosing a good pediatrician, ask a referral from your obstetrician-gynecologist or some friends in the area. Get the best three and then trim it out down to your choice. You can call them by phone and some pertinent questions aside from the comments of your friends.
When choosing a pediatrician, you should research on the overall credibility of the pediatrician, like age, is he/she above fifty, or whether they have knowledge of the new scientific theories pertaining to their specialization, their gender whether it matters to you, first whether they are a member of a particular body or general medical association like American Academy of Pediatrics.
And lastly as parents, we are the one responsible for the overall care of our children and we should decide what is the best for them in collaboration with their pediatrician. We should always use our common sense and instinct in matters pertaining to our children’s health.
I hope this hub will help parents and caregivers to choose the best pediatrician for their children.
When choosing a doctor for your baby there are necessary things to consider:
When you choose a pediatrician you need to consider the nearness of the pediatrician to your residence. This is obvious as when the children gets sick, they will not be transported to a far place and you can get there immediately if they need one.
You should also ask:
- If the pediatrician is available when there is emergency after consultation hours?
- Is the facility a clinic or a hospital?
- Can you get an appointment any time?
- Is he going to be available 24 hours or can you contact her/him during off hours?
- Is she/he going to give their number to you so that you can communicate with them any time? (this is the most important thing in my opinion).
- If your child will have laboratory tests, where do you go?
- Is it available in the pediatricians clinic or do you need to go somewhere else?
