Pediatrician or Family Doctor - New Baden,IL

I have 2 boys, 15 and 11. They have always gone to the Family Prac. Dr. that my husband and I see. The VERY nice thing about it now is that my boys are getting older and so private matters need to be discussed. They go to their appointments with Dad, Dad has a good report with the Dr. and that helps with my boys feeling comfortable. I have always felt that my boys have gotten good care.

M

I'd keep the kids with a pediatrician until they were closer to being a teen or older elementary school age. Just because they do have the knowledge specific to that younger child. Once the kiddo's reach 8 or older I don't think it matters much what kind of doc they go to. They've had shots, yearly physicals for sports, etc...so it's not like they go unless they're sick and need a prescription.

My story's a bit like Diane's. When our oldest was born I just took him to my family doctor. Everything seemed just fine - friendly doctor and staff. Then we moved, so I took my son to a pediatrician. From the beginning I could tell this was going to be a different experience. It wasn't just about the medical. They were asking developmental questions at every check-up. When I asked questions I could just tell that they were so much more knowledgeable about children. The questions they would ask me were so specific to his age.

Family doctors are great. But pediatricians have very specific knowledge and training. I wouldn't change it if I had the option. Pediatrician all the way.

I have found our pediatrician not only has kid specific knowledge but his office is overwhelmingly more accommodating when I have a sick kid that needs to be seen this red hot second.

For what it is worth I did run the question past our family practice doctor before we had our first. He said his (a) general family practice would not be his recommendation for my (any) child. He mentioned things like specific knowledge, being up to date on the latest diseases/medications/treatments, available for sick children, responsiveness to sick kids, etc. He likened it to me seeing an ob gyn versus seeing him. Basically he said there are times you need a specialist; I remember him jokingly saying “vaginas and kids are specialties.” I would suggest asking your family doctor and gaging his or her response and reaction.

If you decide to stick with a pediatrician, can you find a closer one? An obvious question and undoubtedly one you have already considered but I have to ask the obvious. Good luck.

switch them all to the family doctor. I loved our pediatrician but the problem was that once the kids hit 18 they couldn't go. with an age span of 13 years between first and last kid we ended up switching them one at a time. so if an illness spread through the house and you had to go to get meds. then you ended up at 2 doctors not just one. since the ped wouldn't prescribe meds for the older ones. and the family doctor was great. so yes I would switch.

When I fist had children we used a family practice. It worked well for a while but I found that there were a couple times they couldn't squeeze in a sick kid. When you have a little one with a high fever you just want them to be seen asap.

Our insurance changed and the fp wasn't in network so I selected a pediatrician. Best move ever. Pediatricians always seem to be able to fit a sick kid in the schedule plus they had covering physicians that were available nights. The practice had 3 offices including 1 that was open on the weekend as a walk in.

My kids all still go to our pediatrician - Ages 13, 8, and 6

My kids go to the same pediatrician they have gone to since they were born, however, when he retires I plan to move them to my family doctor. If they had any sort of medical conditions or behavioural problems I would probably keep them with a pediatrician, who has more training in specific childhood diseases and medications. It is probably best to wait until your kids are older and you are pretty sure there are no issues you would need a pediatrician for.

ETA: I liked the OB/GYN analogy. I get my pap test done by my family doctor, as long as everything is normal. If something were abnormal, or I were pregnant I would start going to an OB/GYN.

I prefer a family doctor - always have, even when DD was a baby. Our family doc even came to the hospital to check her out after she was born.

We were with a ped practice for a short while due to moving and it being more conveniently located... meh. I wasn't impressed.

We are now back with a family doc and happy about it. My DD and I have the same doc and she will also take care of my little one when he is born. I also get my well woman care (PAPs and such) with her.

I would only see a ped or other specialist if there were issues.
If you don't care either way, choose what is most convenient.

After our pediatrician got into a shouting match with an ER doctor over my 2 year old daughter (life threatening situation, ER doc wanted her admitted, pediatrician wanted her to go home- ER doc ended up sending her by ambulance to a bigger hospital), we fired him and went with a general practice doctor. We love our GP!!!

My girls go to a GP but they usually see a nurse practitioner within the practice who specializes in pediatrics.

We have only seen a family doctor, except for a few months when my oldest was born. I did not feel loyalty to a pediatrician either. Your time is worth something.

My kids went to a family doctor until they were 6 and 4 and we moved. We loved our family doc. Her team of midwives delivered the kids too. We got excellent care there. Now we have a Ped and we are very happy with her too. I see very little difference between the two practices.

Can you do some combination of both? Take them to the pediatrician for well child checks or unique or specific matters, but take them to the GP for throat culture, mild rash, that kind of thing. I prefer a pediatrician because there are issues that are specific to children and certain meds work differently in kids than adults, etc. They can also address development and sometimes behavioral issues--are they hitting this milestone, is this within the range.... I would only take them to a GP/Family Doctor if the particular doctor had a fair amount of experience working with children. It's not fair to generalize, but in my experience most pediatricians also have a better "bedside manner" with kids. My kids are 14 and 17, still see a pediatrician and always have, although I don't have the driving issue you have. Our pediatric pulmonologist sees "kids" until they are 21.

I started out with a pediatrician for my kids (30 years ago)... when we moved to a small town, I had considered changing over to the local group.. there were two physicians in a small clinic in our very small town... I did change over and never regretted it.

When we moved out of state 10 years later, I went with a general practice clinic.

Yes, a pediatrician may specialize more in the little ones, but a GP can do everything they can do, also.

Personally, I would prefer to stay with one doctor than get the revolving doctors in the pediatric group it seems you are in, especially since the GP you are talking about is 30 minutes closer to you. That can make a BIG difference when you have a sick, whiny child you are transporting.

I plan on keeping my kids with their pediatrician that they have been seeing since they were born until they are old enough that she can't see them or until my kids specifically ask not to see her anymore (which I see being highly unlikely!).
Our pediatrician has said that when needing to choose between taking them to Urgent Care or the pediatric department to always choose the pediatric department. There will always be a way to get them in, even if it's with one of the other doctors there. The reason is that the general doctor doesn't have the same knowledge that really makes treating children easier and better. The Urgent Care has done things that our ped wondered why and changed treatment. Policy is to follow up with the ped the next day if we need to bring them to Urgent Care after office hours of the ped department.
No matter where we've lived, we've stayed with the office because they know what they are doing. I would rather drive a little extra to insure proper care of my children by a doctor that's had to take extra schooling in order to understand them better to treat them properly.

I used to take my kids to a separate ped. But, when my daughter was born, I accidentally gave the name of a doc from the practice I go to. I just switched them all over after that. They do have pediatrics and the docs are awesome--not just a regular family practice. And I don't sit around for an hour in the waiting room. They have peds and internal med so covers all of us. I would see if the doc office you go to does have the ped training or if they are specifically regular family practice.

I always picked peds when my kids were little, and then family docs when they were high schoolers.

Ped offices only had children for me o copete against when it came to appointments and walk-ins. If I had had a family doc, I would have been competing with adults, too.

One of my specifications was having an office that had a quick strep test. Also, my peds offices could do blood tests and used a butterfly needle if I asked for it. My younger son had to have a lot of blood work, and I don't know what I would have done if it hadn't been for those butterfly needles.

Fast forward to the family practicioner. Same thing with the quick strep, and the bloodwork could be done across the hall. We really like the family doc, too. My teens' bodies are much more "adult-like" and the doc sees all of us.

You should definitely stick with a pediatrician while your kids are still this young. Children's bodies are not the same as adults and it is highly beneficial to have a doctor that specializes in children examining them at both well and sick visits.

Aren't there any pediatricians closer to your home? If not, I'd stick with the pediatrician you have now.

I'd stick with a pediatrician.
Kids are not little adults and aren't treated as such.
We use a pediatrician and a pediatric after hours clinic instead of an adult urgent care.
Could you find a smaller ped practice near you?

I'd stick with Peds too. My husband's an Internist and wouldn't even consider using a Family Practice doc unless he had first-hand knowledge of the FP's knowledge base and confidence in his/her diagnosis accuracy.

if i had a family doctor i really liked, and who incorporated kids routinely into her practice, i would have no qualms at all about taking my kids to her rather than a pediatrician.
khairete
S.