Would you change Drs Office?

[VillainV]

We have had a few bad experiences with my son’s current pediatrician practice. His PCM is pretty good and we like her, but our issues have been with a handful of nurses and one other pediatrician who we saw today because the regular doctor wasn’t available.

The short version of our “issues” have amounted to extremely poor bedside manner when dealing with my son, who is almost ten, and has some pretty bad medical anxiety. Specifically he hates needles and needs procedures explained to him in detail before they happen….and the nurses and doctor haven’t respected that and have instead proceeded forcefully with minor procedures (vaccinations, draining an abscess) while he was visibly uncomfortable and pulling away yelling at them to stop.

There’s more that I won’t go into…but honestly I’m not sure that I’ll ever get C to go back in that building again, especially if he has to see anyone other than his regular doctor. The problem is that he has a prescription that needs to be called in every 30 days, so we would have an extremely narrow window to switch to a new doctor and establish care before needing a new prescription called in.

[wanderingback]

Yes if you’re not comfortable then switch.
You can set up a new appointment with the new doctor and send his records. If it’s too far away then the option would be to see the old doctor 1 more time before switching. I’d def get some recommendations if able. The practice I chose I heard good things about all 3 doctors there so knew we’d be in good hands even if couldn’t see our regular doctor.

[Susie]

This sounds like it could be a "yes/and" situation.  Yes, as a matter of practicality you may need to stay for another 30 day cycle with your current office to maintain continuity of Rx refills, and yes, you can and probably should work on establishing care elsewhere in the meantime.  If your family, including your son, have lost trust in the current office to care for him with compassion and dignity for him, then it's not a fit.  

My kids' pedi's office has 4 doctors, and there's one I don't care for.  We've had to see her for sick visits a few times, and she was the one who was rounding at the hospital after DS was born.  However, the reasons I don't care for her are not as fundamental as what you're describing, or as central to care, so I've been ok with letting it ride.  Your case sounds different.

[countthestars]

100%

[sent]

You can change. I changed pediatricians for my kids like 5 times before I settled with the group they currently go to. I don't necessarily love the group but it works for our needs at the moment.

Every time, most of the previous offices did.not.care that we left. The one office that did say "no, stay! We like you!" was the one I had to leave because we had moved an hour away from her practice and they understood it was a hike. She was also my favorite office and doctor. Reminded me of how I like to treat people in my office.

I understand this was not how your son deserves to be treated given his medical anxiety. You would think compassion doesn't cost money, except for some people compassion apparently does cost money if it slows them down in getting to the next room. And they can't be bothered. I left DD's first pediatrician for this and she wasn't even rude like what you described. I always got this feeling that she was just there to check all the boxes to be able to bill the visit, she made sure cover all of her medico-legal bases, and then she'd turn and leave. There's a way to do that without making me feel like the sole purpose of her walking into the room was to "diagnose and bill."

[minzy]

I’m sorry he had to go through that, poor guy. I’d absolutely switch. Christ, if they can’t give a little latitude to a child cancer survivor, WTF are they even doing in pediatric medicine!?!

[felicity]

I would try and switch. Can you just have the old doctor keep calling in the prescription until you get set up with the new one? I've switched our pediatrician a couple of times in the past year while trying to find a new one and it wasn't a big deal on either side to do it.

[waverly]

Yes absolutely. But yes also you don't have to tell the other office you are switching until you formally move the prescription over. So you can definitely overlap there for your protection.

Anytime I find myself questioning should I switch, the answer is 99% of the time, yes switch.  

[rhian]

In this case, I'd definitely switch. I'd make an appt with a new provider and request to transfer records/care over once you're within less than 30 days to the new appointment so that you'll have the prescription the whole time.

[dcn]

Yes!!

[VillainV]

Mar 7, 2024 5:32:18 GMT -5 minzy said:

I’m sorry he had to go through that, poor guy. I’d absolutely switch. Christ, if they can’t give a little latitude to a child cancer survivor, WTF are they even doing in pediatric medicine!?!

Yeah, I know the doc we saw yesterday hadn’t had time to review his medical records (based on a medication she recommended that I had to remind her that he can’t take), but I think a fear of needles is super-common in kids, so you’d think most pediatricians would be ready to deal with that. If nothing else, a kid shouting “No, stop! What are you doing? Stop!” would clue you in that a kid needed a little more care.

[mrsGreeko]

Mar 7, 2024 11:36:06 GMT -5 VillainV said:

Mar 7, 2024 5:32:18 GMT -5 minzy said:

I’m sorry he had to go through that, poor guy. I’d absolutely switch. Christ, if they can’t give a little latitude to a child cancer survivor, WTF are they even doing in pediatric medicine!?!

Yeah, I know the doc we saw yesterday hadn’t had time to review his medical records (based on a medication she recommended that I had to remind her that he can’t take), but I think a fear of needles is super-common in kids, so you’d think most pediatricians would be ready to deal with that. If nothing else, a kid shouting “No, stop! What are you doing? Stop!” would clue you in that a kid needed a little more care.

My DS is extremely needle phobic and my peds office is terrible with it. I called the peds office to ask if they could do a couple of things to make vaccines go smoother (no taking temp prior or touching him prior and to bring the needle in in a closed container rather than a tray (that they set right down next to him to look at, WTH??!). They said they absolutely could not accommodate those requests. So I started taking him the the little clinic inside the grocery store for vaccines. I asked them to make sure they didn’t touch him before the shot and that they keep the needle out of his eyesight. They said cool and did it and it went much better. I like the pedi and didn’t want to switch. So we just do the needle stuff elsewhere, and I told the pedi exactly why. So maybe that’s a compromise?

[redheadk]

I would absolutely switch. We've switched just because I was underwhelmed at our old office so nothing as big as what you are dealing with. The one we've been with for 5 years now is wonderful. The office staff is great, the nurses are great, and every pediatrician we see, from DD's actual pedi to the extra pedi who only handles sick visits and everyone in between has always been thorough and never made us feel rushed even though I know they must be. Unless you live somewhere with poor access, there is just no need to settle for a practice that isn't a good fit.

And I'm very sorry for your DS that he is dealing with medical trauma and healthcare professionals who are not treating him with kindness.

[redheadk]

Mar 7, 2024 11:36:06 GMT -5 VillainV said:

Mar 7, 2024 5:32:18 GMT -5 minzy said:

I’m sorry he had to go through that, poor guy. I’d absolutely switch. Christ, if they can’t give a little latitude to a child cancer survivor, WTF are they even doing in pediatric medicine!?!

Yeah, I know the doc we saw yesterday hadn’t had time to review his medical records (based on a medication she recommended that I had to remind her that he can’t take), but I think a fear of needles is super-common in kids, so you’d think most pediatricians would be ready to deal with that. If nothing else, a kid shouting “No, stop! What are you doing? Stop!” would clue you in that a kid needed a little more care.

This blows me away. Our pediatrician's office is huge on consent for any kind of touch which is kind of shocking given where we live (suburbs in Texas). Every doctor we see talks about consent and reminds DD that another adult should always been in the room when physically examining her.

[outnumbered]

Yes, I would switch. I have a 17 year old with needle phobia/medical anxiety that started when he fainted after a blood draw when he was 10. They block off extra time for his check ups that include vaccines because they know he needs extra time before and after. He sees a specialist at Boston Children's for an autoimmune disorder and they are amazing at settling his anxiety and getting his bloodwork drawn. In short there are practices that will be more caring.

[livinitup]

When my DD was elementary school age she had a few throat cultures for run-of-the-mill illnesses. One doctor was so terrible that it caused a gag response and DD projectile vomited that HIT THE WALL as the doctor ran out of the room. Literally, ran. So, DD developed a phobia. Then, by a miracle, we got the kindest, most respectful pedi for a throat culture and I WATCHED a truly gifted physician do an amazing job. That is the level of care we should always get.

Keep looking and tell them why you are leaving, too. I hope the logistics work out.

Can you use a phlebotomy center? We have a few local ones for blood draws. Maybe they can do injections?

[havarti]

As an aside, I have a relative who is herself a needle phobic pediatrician and she likes to use these in her practice . paincarelabs.com/buzzy

[VillainV]

Mar 7, 2024 17:47:38 GMT -5 havarti said:

As an aside, I have a relative who is herself a needle phobic pediatrician and she likes to use these in her practice . paincarelabs.com/buzzy

The doctor we like was telling us about these! She uses them with her patients, so I know the practice has them. Cant for the life of me figure out why this other doctor wouldn’t try using ANYTHING except that she was in a big hurry and didn’t want to slow down to make a kid more comfortable.

[quesyrah]

I switched practices due to a ped’s poor treatment of both me and my kids. She also had a bizarre scheduling process.

Both me and my kids need to be comfortable with the person providing our care and I am really glad we left.

[wanderingback]

Mar 7, 2024 17:57:13 GMT -5 VillainV said:

Mar 7, 2024 17:47:38 GMT -5 havarti said:

As an aside, I have a relative who is herself a needle phobic pediatrician and she likes to use these in her practice . paincarelabs.com/buzzy

The doctor we like was telling us about these! She uses them with her patients, so I know the practice has them. Cant for the life of me figure out why this other doctor wouldn’t try using ANYTHING except that she was in a big hurry and didn’t want to slow down to make a kid more comfortable.

Of course people have off days. But some doctors, nurses, providers, etc just suck, it’s as simple as that. I mean medicine can def be soul crushing with todays corporate and insurance culture, especially peds cause they get paid poorly so it’s "just a job" but obviously it’s not fair to patients. Sorry that you experienced that and I hope you find a better fit.

[freshsqueezed]

I’d absolutely be gone because the office doesn’t follow body safety rules we teach in our family from the sounds of things.

[loira]

I feel like if I answer this I'm going to end up on some American conservative news channel about "terrible" socialist healthcare. We would never switch because BC has a major family doctor shortage and no other practice is taking on patients in our area. In your case, if you can switch with relative ease, I don't see the harm in exploring your options.

[ECB]

Yes, I would change. We switched offices after DS was diagnosed with celiac. We had already had an issue w/ a "stand in" doctor when our pedi was on maternity leave. Then when DS got really sick- both the NP who was officially covering for our pedi and the same "stand in" doctor were SO dismissive of our concerns.

Another doctor in the practice ended up seeing us - after I broke down in tears over the phone - and thats when we got the diagnosis. While that doctor was great, and we liked our actual doctor - the way the overall practice ran and the fact that 13 years later that VERY problematic "stand in" is still there, we booked out of there.

We've been VERY happy at our "new" (of 13 year) doctor.

[jg183]

yes i would switch but because of the pain that is RX i would not transfer the chart until the last possible minute in case i needed to use them again a few more times since "new patient" appts are really far out here