Question for bored parents AND doctors

[minimetoo26]

About doctors. If you're a parent.

ANYway, at what point would you switch your child's doctor from a Pediatrician to a Family Practitioner?

Stephen was hacking up thick mucus and he had been sick for two weeks, but I didn't want him to miss any more school and the after-hours appointments for his pediatrician are held at the downtown office in a neighboring city and not the office on the line between my current city and former city. I didn't want to haul him all the way down there at rush hour, especially with Erin in tow, because Steve was in a late meeting, so I took him to the neighborhood Doc-In-A-Box.

This center is a combination General Practice and Urgent Care, but the doctors who handle the walk-ins don't take patients by appointment, which is a shame because my favorite doctor is one of the walk-in guys. But if Stephen doesn't need developmental guidance or any more vaccines, I'd prefer to switch him to a place close by to make it easier for him to get checkups without missing school. He gets home at 4 and the pediatrician's office is a slog so we end up at the distant office which gives appointments after 5, but I don't want to change pediatricians because of Rain Man. Since Stephen is physically mature (he's bigger than I am) and also very emotionally mature I'd consider treating him as an adult if he wouldn't be missing out on something by switching.

Are there pros or cons I may not have thought of? My dad uses that group even though they are in my neighborhood and not his, and they are affiliated with the hospital Steve works for, so they have more going for them than just proximity. I want what's best for Stephen, not just convenience, but convenience would help him not miss class.

[sunflower]

I'm not a parent but I went to the pediatrician until I went away to college (17). I also had a lot of allergies, so it was good to have the history with the doctor, so that might be a special situation.

But it certainly made it a lot easier, when I had to submit all the required records for college, that they were all in one place with my current doctor. If you do switch, I suggest getting all those records (getting a copy for yourself) at the time you change, so that you have them. Some of my friends had horror stories, one almost had enrollment cancelled because she was having a hard time getting her vaccination records from a previous doctor.

[silvercamaro]

I think 13 is an appropriate age to switch over to an adult practice, particularly when the 13-year-old is large or physically mature for his or her age. Teenagers are less likely to face any more of the standard childhood diseases and more likely to receive injuries from sports or household chores. IMO, the general practitioner usually is better prepared to recognize and deal with those setbacks than the average pediatrician. Since such common ailments as the flu are treated by either, I see no reason not to use the doctor that is most convenient for the parent.

I have two sons who saw GPs from the time they were in their early teens.

[MarleysGh0st]

IANABPOD, but why should that stop me from replying?

Wikipedia's entry on Pediatrics says:

The upper age limit ranges from age 14 to 18, depending on the country.

And also:

In the UK and many other parts of the world, a paediatrician is also a specialist physician for children, but generally not in primary care. He or she sees children who are either urgently taken to a hospital or who are referred by general practitioners; the latter see the bulk of child patients in primary care.

Since Stephen is in this age range, I don't see a problem with going with the more convenient GP, so long as you dealing with routine coughs and colds, etc. Does Stephen have medical issues that might require the specialized input of a pediatrician?

And what does your doctor husband think?

[christie1111]

Our pediatrician retired about the time the kids were 9-12. So when he transitioned his practice to a new family practice, the timing was perfect.

[minimetoo26]

Steve tends to be a bit behind on things that don't relate directly to his practice. He was looking for St. Joseph's Children's Aspirin last year--he hadn't heard of Reyes Syndrome! He usually deals with really old patients. So he thought pediatrics ended at 18.

Stephen has no chronic health issues, no developmental issues, and seems immune from peer pressure right now. He tells the kids who curse the whole time they play games together on Xbox Live to clean up their language or he won't play with them anymore. He really is too good to be true. The doctor was surprised he passed up Disney so he wouldn't miss any more school, but that's just how he is.

I dropped him in a parking lot when I tripped over a speed bump when he was two. That must have knocked some sense into him. Or maybe I just raised him right. Nah.....

[ulysses5019]

Steve tends to be a bit behind on things that don't relate directly to his practice. He was looking for St. Joseph's Children's Aspirin last year--he hadn't heard of Reyes Syndrome! He usually deals with really old patients. So he thought pediatrics ended at 18.

Stephen has no chronic health issues, no developmental issues, and seems immune from peer pressure right now. He tells the kids who curse the whole time they play games together on Xbox Live to clean up their language or he won't play with them anymore. He really is too good to be true. The doctor was surprised he passed up Disney so he wouldn't miss any more school, but that's just how he is.

I dropped him in a parking lot when I tripped over a speed bump when he was two. That must have knocked some sense into him. Or maybe I just raised him right. Nah.....

Whew. I thought you were looking to remarry and were looking for a new hubbydoc.

[minimetoo26]

Steve tends to be a bit behind on things that don't relate directly to his practice. He was looking for St. Joseph's Children's Aspirin last year--he hadn't heard of Reyes Syndrome! He usually deals with really old patients. So he thought pediatrics ended at 18.

Stephen has no chronic health issues, no developmental issues, and seems immune from peer pressure right now. He tells the kids who curse the whole time they play games together on Xbox Live to clean up their language or he won't play with them anymore. He really is too good to be true. The doctor was surprised he passed up Disney so he wouldn't miss any more school, but that's just how he is.

I dropped him in a parking lot when I tripped over a speed bump when he was two. That must have knocked some sense into him. Or maybe I just raised him right. Nah.....

Whew. I thought you were looking to remarry and were looking for a new hubbydoc.

I just got this one all broken in! And the thought of more in-laws? {{{{{{{{{{SHUDDER!!!}}}}}}}}}}

Not gonna happen....

[trevor_macfee]

My son will be 18 next month, and we've stuck with his (and my turning-12-in-2-weeks daughter's) pediatrician. He (my son, not the doctor) has struggled with several challenges including Tourette Syndrome and sticking with the doctor he and we know has been a good thing. I'm sure this year's birthday checkup will be the last with the pediatrician for my son, but I can't imagine having switched him during Middle or High School.

I guess it's a decision based on the individual child - as flexible as my daughter is, I could see switching her to a family doc in the next couple of years. Or not.

[marriedmefliesfree]

We use a family practitioner here, and I love her. She's really great with Nina, and I'll be seeing her myself tomorrow. I suppose there are certain circumstances when having a pediatrician could be beneficial. But I figure that the benefits of having one doc who really knows the whole family outweigh anything special that a ped could offer so long as the wee one is happy and healthy - and I trust her to know when to refer us to someone else if something should ever come up. She has three young kids herself, and seems pretty up to date on baby-related issues.

This is just anecdotal of course, but the way our family has been treated by her office when compared to the pediatric practice we saw while still in PA is night and day. The pediatrician's office basically had a one-size-fits-all approach and never made any attempt to get to know us. We just got the standard new-parent verbatim lectures that every other new parent probably got there, and never saw the same person twice in 4 visits. Only one person every introduced themselves, and I still don't know who was the doc and who was the nurse practitioner, etc. We were chastised for delaying/selectively vaccinating when what we really wanted was an intelligent conversation on the subject. Contrast that to our FP here in Cleveland...it's a much bigger practice, but we always see the doc, she always spends as much time as is actually needed, and she *gasp!* asks our opinions and *double gasp!* supports them! My only complaint: there's no changing table in her bathroom. We will use her right from the beginning with this coming baby so long as everything goes well, and she is even going to be my physician backup with the pregnancy as we are planning a homebirth this time.

Anyway, that's my three cents. I would say as long as you feel confident that the doc is up to date on kid-related issues, go for it.

[SportsFan68]

Podunkville usta be really small, and the town dint get a pediatrician until my siblings and I were in the age range you're talking about. The doc who delivered us was a GP and our only doctor until he retired. Then we switched to other physicians for various reasons -- I went to same doc my mom switched to, and my older brother went to the father of one of his best friends. I can't remember who my younger brother switched to -- same as mom, I think.

There were no issues or problems with the GP.

[Bob Juch]

What does Stephen think?

[VAdame]

Wow -- ours (pediatric practice) sees 'em up to age 21! Leah just switched when she had her birthday in December.