Choosing a Pediatrician
by Gina W. Roose
CBS 42 News
2008-05-08 20:00:00.0
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You take your children to the doctor for their vaccinations, for a fever, for a bad cut... But just how well do you know your pediatrician?
Is your child's doctor certified? A frightening study shows quite a few pediatricians aren't, as many as 11%. But there are some important steps you can take to ensure your child's health is in the right hands.
For first time dad Kenya Rogers, the choice in doctors wasn't too hard. He selected little KJ's doctor's office after talking to other parents.
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"What's important to me is to see if the child takes to him see if the child wants to interact with him. I also like to see how gracious he is in his job. Does he look like he really wants to be there," said Rogers.
The search brought him to the clinic at Children's Hospital in Birmingham. And on this day, KJ got to bonk heads with a pretty well known pediatrician, Dr. Carden Johnston.
After 30 years at Children's Hospital and being the former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Johnston knows quite a bit about treating children. He says after college it takes an extra seven years of schooling to become a pediatrician. Then the doctor can get the national board certification.
"Certifying in pediatrics means that you have gone through an accredited training program like here at Children's, and you have been able to pass an exam to test your level of knowledge. So you have the determination, skills and attitude to be a pediatrician as determined by your peers," said Johnston.
But the certification is only good for seven years. Doctors must re-examine to maintain their certification.
"Board certification helps the parent realize that this person is well trained and can not only realize common presentation of common illnesses, but uncommon presentations of uncommon illness, so it's a lot of time spent to get to that point," said Johnston.
Dr. Johnston recommends a few other things for families.
"You want your pediatrician to have similar values that you do, then you want to interview those pediatricians that are on the short list and see if they are friendly to you and if you can communicate and relate. Then that's the time you can ask if they're board certified," said Johnston.
As for Kenya Rogers and KJ, they couldn't be happier.
"I wanted to be some where I trusted, and I’ve always known Children's Hospital to have the best and do the best, so if we can get with the best then that's what we want for him the best," said Rogers.
It's easy to find out if your pediatrician is board certified or to get help finding a pediatrician. Click here to learn more from the American Academy of Pediatrics website or click here to check out the American Board of Pediatrics website.
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