So often I hear the following complaints about doctors:
- They are inept and did not know how to solve my problem
- I feel like they were rushing me
- The didn’t understand my problem at all
- They didn’t do anything for me
Well for some doctors one if not many of the above may be true…but for most, these problems usually arise because of communication differences and preparation. While most of us would be happy to see 5 patient per day and get to spend as much time with them as necessary, unfortunately it would make the appointment wait times longer than they already are.
One should prepare for a doctors appointment like they would a blind date, job interview, or meeting. You wouldn’t just want show up without a plan or talking points, it gets awkward. Well same goes for a visit to the doctor. We know that you are there for a check-up for your child, we are doctors, not mechanics or massage therapists, but if there is something in particular that you are concerned about you should bring it up in the beginning of the visit. Even if you are just going for a routine check up you should have something in mind that you want to get out of the visit.
Here are some helpful tips to preparing for your next trip to your pediatrician:
- Have an idea of why you are going to the doctor and what you don’t want to leave without having answered.
- Express concerns early in the visit. No one wants to go on a date and after you exchange contact information the other person casually mentions that they are an axe murderer. That would be bad… Just like it would be bad to mention that your child has headache and vomits three times per week after the physical exam is over and the doctor is about the leave the room
- If your child has a specific ailment or concern have details about when it started, how often it occurs, whether it’s new or something that has been going on for awhile. The more information that you can give, the less time the doctor has to spend trying to figure out those details and the more time we can spend coming up with a diagnosis
- Bring necessary paperwork with you. Vaccination history if you are new to a practice, hospital discharge summaries, school physical forms, etc
- Make a list of questions, Keep in mind they may not all be able to be answered in one setting, but questions help guide the visit to talk about the things that are most important to you.
- Have a medication list for your child
- Try to not bring other children with you to the visit if they are not being seen. This allows the focus to be on the one child and eliminates distractions and hold ups.
- Most importantly ask for explainations. If you don’t understand something ask your doctor to explain it again or in a different way.
Follow these tips and believe me you will have a better feeling about your trip to the pediatrician. Hey, they may even work for your next trip to the internist as well!!