Since I had a bit of a hard time finding the right pediatrician at first, I made a short list of things that might be helpful when you are in need of a new pediatrician for your child especially if you are new in Jakarta or you are considering to switch doctors.
Please do keep in mind that you are really looking for someone who is going to care about your child, listen to and respond to your needs, and be available when you need him/her.
5 Tips to Find The Perfect Pediatrician
1. Recommendation:
Friends or family members can easily provide you with recommendations for pediatrician based on their own experiences. Ask what they like about the doctor and judge for yourself if you would like that or not. Keep in mind sometimes what works for other families won’t work for yours. Always try to get the reason or explanation behind a recommendation to make sure you understand why someone likes or dislikes their pediatrician. Also, forums like Living in Indonesia will be helpful for newcomers.
2. Google away:
Sometimes this will help especially if you already narrow down some names of the doctors you are interested in.
3. Set up an Initial Interview:
Okay, this may sound daunting right? But believe me, it will do good if you can meet your ‘future’ doctor first and ask a couple of questions. Your pediatrician should also be knowledgeable in proactive qualities such as disease prevention, and child development. Keep in mind that while most parents like to think that they are looking for a good pediatrician, you are mostly looking for a pediatrician who is good for you and your family. And that often comes down to how well your personalities fit together. Here’s your opportunity to get the ‘feel’ of the pediatrician. Does the pediatrician make you feel uncomfortable or stupid when you ask for additional details? That’s not a good sign!
4. Assessment of the Clinic/Hospital:
Ask these questions to put your mind at ease:
- What are the typical costs for office visits? If you do have health insurance, do you pay during each visit? What are the processes for handling billing, insurance claims and co-payments?
- What are the office hours? If you work full time, ask if they see patients on Saturdays or evenings.
- Is the doctor available over the phone during office hours? If not, is there a nurse who can answer your questions?
- Just in case — Who should you call in the middle of the night, on weekends or on holidays in an emergency?
- Do they have after office hour phone number?
- How quickly are calls typically returned during evening hours or on a weekend or holiday?
- Does the office have separate waiting rooms for healthy and sick children? The office’s waiting room is important since you take your kids to the doctor to stay healthy not to catch more germs.
- While you check the clinic/hospital see how well the staffs are. Are they friendly and accommodating
5. Trust Your Guts:
Nothing beats your parental guts when it comes your child’s health care. If you find that the pediatrician is not making you or your child comfortable at all then it’s a sign that you need a new one. And while you may have to initially trust your instincts that you found the right pediatrician, it may take several visits or even several years to know for sure.
Good luck!
Great tips! Stopping in from SITS!
Thank you for droppin’ in, Brandy 🙂
All are amazing tips…..we learned the hard way…and have had to switch our ped because we were just not impressed! Happy SITS day
Aww yes I think it would takes several ‘attempts’ until we finally find that right ped for our family. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Thanks for stopping by my blog! These are some great tips! I love my ped but hate the office she is a part of. I deal with the grumpy office ladies because our ped takes my concerns seriously and she supports my decisions to breastfeed, question medications etc. Many a mommy in my playgroup gasp when they hear where we go but none of them have ever gone to her- I’ve heard bad things about some of the other doctors there and apparently so have they and they just wrote off the whole office as ‘below par’ which is far from the truth. 🙂 I hope I never have to find another ped!
Happy SITS Tuesday to you too!! 🙂
Sometimes we just have to go against the wave, right? As long as you have a great ped and you are comfortable with. Maybe the ladies will change? 😉 Thanks for stopping by and your kind comment.
We’re so lucky that we have such a wonderful pediatrician. When I was pregnant with Jake I asked my (also wonderful) OB for his recommendation. The pediatrician is very friendly, very easy to get a hold on him, he has 24 hours standby nurse, in case of emergency, he would call us right-away. Same thing as my OB, he even called me at work and home just to let me know that my screen test was okay.
That’s so wonderful, Sylvia and you’re right maybe it’s luck. We had the best pediatrician back in Dothan and I really miss her but I’m glad we found a new one here in Jakarta.
Pretty much the same advice could be used for adults looking for a good doctor as well. There were times in my life when I would avoid going to the doctor simply because I didn’t have a doctor I liked all that much. The most important thing is a doctor that will actually listen to you.
So true about a doctor who will listen! Sometimes doctors here tend to ‘ignore’ your concerns and that ticks me to no end LOL. Thanks for stopping by Alissa 🙂
Excellent advice! I especially like the tips about setting up a consultation/interview and trusting your gut. We consulted with a couple of practices before we found the perfect fit for us and now we have someone we trust completely with our new baby. Great post and thanks for stopping by my site via SITS – have a wonderful day 🙂
Good to hear you have found the right doctor for your new adorable little baby.
Thank you for visiting me back and your kind comment 🙂
A lot of people are too afraid of setting up an interview, because they’re intimidated by the doctor. But remember that you’re essentially his/her employer, so make sure he/she meets your standards, and if not, fire him/her! And always make sure you like the location, because if it’s too far away or they aren’t open long enough then find another one.
These are some really nice tips Maureen. You can never really gamble with your child’s health care now, can you. And switching peds every other time is not particularly wise since children tend to form some kind of attachment to their doctor. Read late but worth the read.
My sister just gave birth to twin boys. She’s also moving to a new state in a few weeks. Finding a good pediatrician will be very important. I like your tip about setting up an initial interview with a potential baby doctor. Asking them about things like disease prevention and child development seems like a great way to get a sense of their qualifications. I also like your point about trusting your parental instinct too.
This is some really good information about finding a good pediatrician. It is good to know that it would be smart to ask people you know and trust for recommendations. That does seem like it would help speed up the process of finding a new doctor to go to.