Pediatricians do not meet and greet or interview...
I am pregnant with my first child so as most hospitals tell you in all your preparation classes, "Interview Pediatricians." My OB's office is in the same center as Mesa Pediatrics so I stopped in to ask some routine questions such as is the office accepting new patients and do they accept my health insurance and do they have access to the hospital I will be delivering at. In addition I also wanted to see about making an appointment to meet / interview any of their doctors at this location.
According to the gal at the front desk, none of the doctors at this location do interviews or meet and greets. She told me I could view their profiles on their website. That doesn't really provide a feel for the doctor other than what they can do or have done - doesn't show the type of bedside manner or even if you will like them. Being in the hospital with a newborn and a first time mom is not the time I would like to find out that I hate my child's doctor.
I was told I could go to their Tempe location and interview the doctors there but none of the Tempe doctors work at this location. So how does that help me to choose a doctor at the location I was at and she said that it really didn't.
She did mention that other people have left their pediatricians to go to their office but not being able to meet with them to see why, that isn't enough for me to choose them as my doctor's office for my child.
Then she said that I could ask around and see what other people thought of this location but of course they can't provide a list of people who go to their offices. Why even mention that??? What was the point of that?
I was so frustrated by that conversation.
If you are currently interviewing pediatricians, you can cross this one off of your list of phone calls and drop-ins since the doctors will not meet with anyone who is not a current patient.
I did ask a few of my friends who do have children about my experience and they did tell me this is unusual or they have not heard of this happening.
So if the doctor that I do wind up taking my child to doesn't work out, I'll interview with other pediatricians before I even think about taking my child here.