Family Practitioner Vs. Pediatrician - Page 2

[One_Girl]

I like pediatricians for kids, they are much more knowledgable about things that kids get and about issues that affect them wheras family doctor's tend to freak out a lot. I have brought dd to a family practice doctor a few times and each time I have regretted it, they just freak out or don't freak out enough and it isn't good. Her pediatrician is really good and has been doing this a long time, she has a great reaction for everything.

If there is any chance of a real childhood problem then I definitely think you should go with a child specialist, my friend's son has excema that got to a dangerous point because her family practice doctor wouldn't do anything for it and told her she was over reacting. As it turned out the pediatrician she saw said that this is something she can sue the family practice doctor for neglect over.

[Mamja]

Well, I can't speak from much experience since DD is 9 days old, but I take her to my family practitioner. I love my doc, have been going to her for a few years, and she sees lots of babies. I feel completely comfortable with her, and she's really supportive of everything so far. I like that she will care about both of us, not just the baby.

Also, another couple things I remember when I was a kid: I was obsessed with being grown-up, and didn't like going to a pediatrician when I was a pre-teen. They're baby doctors, ya know? Also, I was going to a male doc and I'm super shy and would feel more comfortable with a female. So those were two reasons I am taking DD to my doc. She can take care of her as long as she wants, into adulthood, and I hope DD will be completely comfortable talking to her about any girl issues. (Well, I hope DD is not shy like me and can feel comfortable talking to a male doc too, but that's another issue )

[`guest`]

Doctor of Naturopathy is the best.

[LuxPerpetua]

Thanks everyone for your responses. Definitely lots of good info to consider . . .

I was going to ask this in the Finding Your Tribe arena, but this board has more traffic and it's related to my origional query so here goes:

Does anyone know of a good family dr., nurse practitioner, pediatrician, naturopath, or all-around holistic physician in the Pittsburgh, PA area, preferably in the North Hills region?

[Lollybrat]

We see a med-peds. This is a doctor who is board certified in both Adult Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. For us this is the best of both worlds. We (myself, my husband, and our son) have the same primary doctor who sees all of us and is able to treat us individually and as a family. And he is great with all the kid issues and problems. My son has autism and asthma, so he sees a lot of specialists at our local children's hosptial. Our doctor has privileges at the children's hospital (in our area, family doc do not) as well as the major adult hospitals. The specialists and our med-peds doctor work well together to see that our son gets the treatments he needs. He also has great contacts with adult specialists for when my husband or I have had problems come up.

I love our doctor. He and his staff are great with time management. We don't end up spending a lot of time in the waiting room and I have never felt rushed through an appointment. Most importantly, I feel that our doctor respects me as a patient and as a parent. He always takes the time to explain things clearly and he makes sure that I get all my questions answered. He presents me with treatment options and helps me find information to make informed decisions.