Choosing a paediatrician to care for your little one is an essential decision that you will want to make before you give birth. The paediatrician you select will come to know your family well and provide you with medical guidance during the various stages of your child’s growth.
Parents tend to go to an extreme level when choosing a paediatrician for their child and Dr. Bijender Gautam is one of the renowned paediatricianin South West Sydney, Australia. Some simply choose the paediatrician on call in the hospital when their baby is born or pick a doctor randomly from a list in the phone book or their insurance directory.
While others do detailed research, read customer feedback, have a conversation with the doctor and go through the scores and qualifications of the doctor before making the final decision.
Dr. Bijender Gautam says regular child check-ups with family doctors are vital. Especially important are in-person visits and vaccination for children below 24 months or young. In today’s time, even Telehealth visits seem to be quite helpful if there is no emergency or non-acute health concern.
Choosing the right paediatrician is very important than most parents think. You can simply change a doctor if you don’t like the first one. Choosing the perfect doctor can be a life-changing decision.
Experience and Credentials
Proper training and qualification like FRACP are the most important factors to consider when selecting a paediatrician. It tells you that the doctor has the necessary training, skills and experience to provide healthcare for your child. Parents consult the paediatrician Dr. Bijender Gautam for everything from regular check-ups to treatment of chronic medical conditions . So experience does matter. The more experience a paediatrician has, the better the results are likely to be.
Recommendations
A simple way for parents to select a paediatrician is to get a recommendation from their friends or family members. This is probably one of the best ways. If your known one says they like going to their doctor, make sure to ask them the reason for it and what is so special about them.
Many parents have different requirements, and you may be turned off by the reason that they like their doctor. For instance, there might be some people who like a paediatrician just because they are fast and it is easy for them to manage with office, but you might not want someone like this. Rather you would prefer to go with someone who is slower and spends more time and discusses problems in detail. Always try to get some explanation behind a recommendation to make sure you understand why someone likes or dislikes a paediatrician.
Choosing the Right one
Although we feel that things like cost and convenience should be secondary when deciding for your child, to be honest, this is something really important when choosing a paediatrician.
Some of the things you need to get clarity on are:
Is the paediatrician board certified from Royal College of Paediatrics and Child health?
- Do you have any late or weekend hours?
- How long is a typical appointment?
- Is the paediatrician visit would be costly and how much out-of-pocket gap after Medicare rebate and make sure to ask how much each visit costs and maybe compare it to other paediatric practices in the area?
Interacting with Paediatricians
Although you can typically narrow down your choice of paediatricians by figuring out who can complexity around child’s medical needs and who is accepting new patients. It is important to get some recommendations from friends and family, the best way to find a good paediatrician is to set up an appointment.. Having direct interaction with them is going to be helpful.
Keep in mind that while most parents like to think that they are looking for a good paediatrician, you are mostly looking for a paediatrician who is good for you and your family. And that often comes down to how well your characters fit together.
A couple of questions you can ask during the interview to help you figure out if this is a good fit are:
- How long should I Breastfeed the baby?
- What is your opinion on alternative medicine, attachment parenting?
- What is your basic philosophy on discipline, potty training, prescribing antibiotics?
Also, setting up an appointment to interview a paediatrician is something you can do when you are expecting as well as if you already have kids and have moved to a new zone or simply want to change doctors. Also, it’s always a great idea to meet with a few doctors before choosing a new paediatrician. It doesn’t matter whether your paediatrician went to the best medical school. Rather you would want someone who is going to care about your child and respond to your needs.
Conclusion
Determining a good paediatrician for your child may be the most important choice you will make for your health. The task may seem daunting. But you must realize that you are not looking for the best paediatrician in the whole world but trying to find the most appropriate one for your kid. A paediatrician who may be willing to listen patiently and respond to all your wants and is available when you require him may be the right one for you.
By making healthcare easier, Dr. Bijender Gautam empowers you to make decisions based on information not just based on character.