Should I stay or should I go...

In December (the last day of school before Christmas break) Little Miss came down with pink eye. It was her first bout with it but I was pretty sure it was contagious and the school nurse confirmed that and suggested that she go straight to the doctor. Easier said than done, apparently.

LM has been going to the same pediatrician since she was born. She has been for all her scheduled checkups to this same doctor. I have only had to take her ONCE in almost 8 yrs for something other than a checkup (she had swimmers ear when she was about 2). I am not one of those people who call for an appointment every time she has a sniffle. Apparently, that doesn't mean anything. At least not at Dr. O's office.

I call in the late morning to see if LM can get in for her (contagious) pink eye. The receptionist says WITH A STRAIGHT FACE 'let's see, we can see her on Jan 6th.' OH, apparently she didn't hear me say she had pink eye. Yes, she heard me and then babbled on about how they are shorted handed, Nurse Practitioner is out until end of the year, blah, blah, blah. That's all good and well but what do you suggest I do with my contagious child? TAKE HER TO URGENT CARE. I explained to the desk lady that I am very disappointed, we have never called unless it was necessary,etc. Desk lady didn't care. She acted like she didn't care one bit.

So, I make an appt with urgent care for 3:15 that day. She was seen right away and they even had a pharmacy that was able to supply me, I mean LM, with the proper drugs. I am quite happy with urgent care, thank you.

My dilemma is whether or not I should keep my appt with Dr O or take LM to a family practice Dr (the one my husband sees) for her 8 yr appt. Does she really need a pediatrician at 8 since she is pretty healthy? I will call Dr W tomorrow to see if she can take her and if I would have a problem getting her in if she were ever to need to come for something (contagious pink eye, for example). I would like to think they would tell me the truth and not just say 'yes' to get another patient. I kind of think that moving to a family practice doctor would make sense long term but I am not sure. The other pediatricians in town (2 others) are not as well respected as Dr O so I can only imagine what it would be like to move to one of them.

Any thoughts? Has anyone else ever had to deal with anything like this?

Give Kellie a visit when you get a chance to see her beautiful new little ones!

Comments

Anonymous said…
I would change!! Really, can't sneak you in for a oink eye appointment?? Sheesh. I would change :) Best o luck!
Anonymous said…
OINK EYE! LOL I think you know what I meant! LOL
Tina Leigh said…
Yes I think that would be a good idea. Many of the doc's where I live (the good ones) are full & wont even take new patients. So maybe the GP you are talking about will be that honest too.

Something else I think you should do....write a letter to your Ped's doc explaining to him what happened to you, the date, time, your diagnosis from urgent care, and the name of the person you talked to at his office that day.

They could have saved you time & money by calling in a simple RX for you. That is something his nurse could have done, espc since your daughter was a regular patient.
I think his desk person should be culled.... like she decided to cull his patients! All she had to do was relay the symptoms to the doc...pretty cut & dry!
Mrs. Darling said…
I stick with pediatricians for my kids. I have had them diagnose stuff that the GP didnt get. They are also usually much more in tune with the kids and their fears and such.

I would definitely complain about that lady at the desk. That is ridiculous that she couldn't get you in. Every doctor leaves times for emergencies in his schedule. When I need an emergency appt. they route me to the triage nurse who is always able to find me a spot!
Laurie Anne said…
We all see our family dr. He delivered both kids so he has treated them since the beginning. So far this has worked for us.
:0)

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