A Pediatrician who doesn't have kids - poss. debate

[pirateofthecarolinas]

My ped. and her husband are in the same practice. She didn't have any children when we first started seeing her. We were pregnant at the same time with our last children. Her husband told me that she wanted to know everything about my newborn DS and that he had to take careful notes. He would be quizzed when he got home.

I always thought she was a great doctor but after having children she became a wise doctor. There's something to be said for personal life experiences. They change you. My ped.'s first DD had heart surgery. I know that she can relate to other parents going through the same thing on a different level.

justhat- don't tell your husband but I won't see the new peds. doctors either. I like seasoned doctors and teachers. Congrats on your husband's graduation.

Lori

 

[annegal]

My kids go to a Periodentist whom we all adore.

Married, older & no kids.Not an issue at all, in my opinion.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I was thinking as I was reading this... Is it necessary for an Oncologist to have cancer or someone in his family have cancer???

I do not think it is necessary for a pediatrician to have children. In fact, my pediatrician did not and was never married....He was a good pediatrician and always good to my children.

 

[lbgraves]

LOL, I'll have to show this to my husband who graduated from med school on May 22nd and starts work this Sunday. So beware of getting sick this weekend cause most interns are starting around now!! But if it's any consolation, all residents have to report to an attending who signs off on any work they do, so if the resident is wrong the attending should notice that from the notes and take care of the mistake. They're not left to their own doings till at least their 2nd year of residency for that precise reason. So though my husband is now a "real" dr, before his orders go into effect he has to review the case with an attending/higher resident and they make sure he's right.

I hope that your DH has a wonderful career. I tend to be unforgiving to anyone who is in any way negligent to my kids & don't give them a second chance to mess up. Yes, that one resident messed things up for anyone else. There are a couple seasoned doctors who are not allowed to touch my kids if it makes him feel any better. It is noted right at the top of both kid's charts. That situation was much more serious. I had strep & DD was sick. I took her in on a Friday & that doctor did a strep test...nothing else since it came back positive. Antibiotics & blah blah blah. Her fever didn't go down & her coughing didn't stop. It was croupy at night. I took her to the UC center run by the same group and due to the two hour wait we weren't seen until almost closing time on a Sunday. She was in such bad shape that her regular doctor came in & stayed there with us until 2 hours after closing. She had developed pneumonia...from the flu that he hadn't even checked for!!! She was very close to being admitted that night. Her doctor was also furious when he found out that this had happened since her symptoms that Friday were more than just strep. This was two years ago when lots of kids were dying from the flu. It was very scarey.

 

[kbkids]

The best pediatrician we ever had didn't have kids. She's since moved, but at the time, she wasn't married - never had been, probably in her late 30's. She was truly amazing and did an awesome job with the kids.

 

[Stacerita]

I dont think it matters if they have kids or not. They are trained to deal with children and take care of children, even if they dont have any of their own. I work in a children's hospital and I can say the majority of doctors do not have kids of their own. And the majority are excellent at what they do and I wouldn't hesitate to take the sweetpea to one of them.

 

[JVL1018]

It doesn't matter to me. Our ped does have kids, but that's not why I chose him.
I actually chose the practice and he was the one on duty when I had DD.So he came into the room and was so nice and wonderful, and then he asked if we lived in such and such town. Turns out he grew up a block away and his brother was friends with my BIL, so that sealed it. Now when we call, I know we are not some faceless patient, as can be the case with such a big practice,but that he always remembers us and that is important to me.

We saw another ped last week when DS had strep and she was wonderful, I have no idea if she has kids or not and couldn't care less, all that matters is how she treats MY kids.

Now for ME, I specifically chose a female OB/GYN. When I go and talk about something I want her to know exactly what I am talking about.
The 2 men in the practice were actually the two who delivered my two kids,because they happened to be on call and I did see them while pregnant for some appointments.
I didn't mind and in fact really liked one of them a lot. But for my regular ongoing care I am more comfortable with a woman. Same with my primary care physician.

 

[justhat]

Without going too far off topic, I am a little skeptical of interns myself, for certain things anyway. Pediatricians wouldn't bother me at all-the dr who did my daughter's 1st check up after we took her home from the hospital was a 1st year resident and she was excellent and actually went on to be chief resident her 3rd year. I am a little nervous though that my baby is due in August so I'll have intern OBs in just their 2nd month of work and same with anesthesiologists (which is what my husband is). Now the anesthesiologists I think are the scariest in terms of interns cause their job is really skilled and serious so if they're inexperienced and mess up, well, that's a big problem!

 

[crz4mm2]

One of the most successful pediatricians in our town has no children of her own.
She has been in business for over 20 years.

 

[maddiemouse]

The OP mentioned this, so I hope it's OK to comment on it. I don't have kids, and I personally go to the Dr. as seldom as possible, But I would most definitely NOT want to take my furbabies to a Veterinarian who did not have a pet of their own. I've had animals all my life and have worked with animals for over 20 years, and the only vet I've ever known who didn't have a pet of their own was the coldest witch I've ever met.

 

[momof2inPA]

Without going too far off topic, I am a little skeptical of interns myself, for certain things anyway. Pediatricians wouldn't bother me at all-the dr who did my daughter's 1st check up after we took her home from the hospital was a 1st year resident and she was excellent and actually went on to be chief resident her 3rd year. I am a little nervous though that my baby is due in August so I'll have intern OBs in just their 2nd month of work and same with anesthesiologists (which is what my husband is). Now the anesthesiologists I think are the scariest in terms of interns cause their job is really skilled and serious so if they're inexperienced and mess up, well, that's a big problem!

If you're having a boy, make sure the real doctor does the snippin', if you know what I mean. There's no room for error in that procedure. I told my doctor that the residents and interns could watch the circumcision, but that's it.

 

[Lisa_Belle]

We used to have a world-renowned pediatrician in our city who didn't have children because he thought they would make him too focused on his own family and less focused on patients. As long as (s)he is a good pediatrician, I wouldn't worry about it.

I used the eenie, meenie, miney moe method to pick my OB/GYN because I was new in town and didn't know any of them even by word of mouth. She's great, but there are male doctors in the clinic who are also great.

I, too, would avoid interns.

 

[justhat]

If you're having a boy, make sure the real doctor does the snippin', if you know what I mean. There's no room for error in that procedure. I told my doctor that the residents and interns could watch the circumcision, but that's it.

I thought about that actually. But my husband (who works at the hospital I'm delivering at) says that he's never seen an attending do a circumcision, that they're always done by the residents, so he's thinking that having the OB attending who hasn't done one in awhile do it will be worse than a resident who does several a day. I'm very conflicted about it. I told him it's only getting done if he stays in the room to watch and make sure there are no accidents.