Pediatrician Interview Questions And Answers

If you don't have this information already, this would be the time to ask.

Some pediatricians have a specific call-in period each day. In some practices, a nurse answers routine questions. Find out how such phone calls are taken and if there is a charge.

You won't be able to cover every parenting hot topic, but pick and choose what is most important to you and listen closely to their answers. Do they have a definite preference? Do they fall in the middle? Do they share any examples or research?

Your child may have an acute need and thus you'd like to know who your pediatrician is partnered with. I often listen to see if they work with a nutritionist or a chiropractor. Feel free to guide the conversation with some background on your child and your past experiences.

It may be comforting to know if your doctor has children the same gender.

Please share your experience.

☛ Are you accepting new patients?
☛ How long have you been practicing?
☛ Why did you decide to become a pediatrician?
☛ Do you have any areas of specialty?
☛ What journals or other publications do you read regularly?
☛ How many children do you have?
☛ What are your office hours? Do you offer evening or weekend appointments?
☛ Do you offer same-day sick appointments? How far in advance do check-ups (“well baby/child visits”) need to be scheduled?
☛ What if my baby gets sick when the office is closed? Who covers in an emergency if you aren’t on call?
☛ Is this a solo or group practice? If it’s solo, who covers when you are gone? If it’s a group, how often will we see you, and how often will we see other members?
☛ Do you have separate sick and well waiting rooms?
☛ How long does a patient typically wait in the waiting room?
☛ How long does a patient typically wait in the exam room?
☛ On average, how long do you spend with each patient?
☛ Do you accept calls for routine and non-emergency questions? If I leave a message, how long does it usually take you to return the call?
☛ Do you respond to questions by e-mail?
☛ What hospitals do you work with?
☛ Do you take my insurance? Is there an extra charge for: 1) Advice calls during the day? 2) Advice calls after hours? 3) Medication refills? 4) Filling out forms? What other fees will apply?
☛ What tests are handled in the office, and what is done elsewhere? Where?
☛ What are your policies for insurance claims, lab policies, payments and billing?
☛ What is your schedule for well baby checkups? Are you comfortable with families who do not follow the recommended schedule?
☛ Are you familiar with the signs of sexual and other abuse?
☛ Have you ever felt one of your pediatric patients was being abused? If so, what did you do?

☛ Tell me about a time you had to face an uncooperative child. How did you handle it?
☛ Recall a time you had a disagreement with a parent. What did you do?
☛ Describe a time you had to determine the symptoms of a child who was only crying without complaining
☛ Give me an example of a time you felt fulfilment for your job

☛ How long have you been practicing?
☛ Do you have any sub-specialties?
☛ What are your hours? Do you offer evenings or weekends?
☛ Do you offer same-day sick appointments? How far in advance do well appointments need to be scheduled?
☛ What if my baby gets sick when the office is closed? Who covers in an emergency if you aren’t on call?
☛ Is this a solo or group practice? If it’s solo, who covers when you are gone? If it’s a group, how often will we see you, and how often will we see other members?
☛ Do you have separate sick and well waiting rooms?
☛ Do you respond to questions by e-mail? Do you accept calls for routine and non-emergency questions? If I leave a message, how long does it usually take you to return the call?
☛ Will your initial meeting with my baby be at the hospital or the first checkup? What is your schedule for well baby checkups?
☛ Will you discuss my child’s general growth and issues like discipline and social development?
☛ What are your views on… Bottle feeding? Circumcision? Parenting techniques? Getting babies to sleep? Alternative medicine? Antibiotics? Immunizations? Childhood obesity?
☛ What hospitals do you work with?
☛ Do you take my insurance? Is there an extra charge for…Advice calls during the day? Advice calls after hours? Medication refills? Filling out forms? Will any other fees apply?
☛ What are your policies for insurance claims, lab policies, payments and billing?
☛ What tests are handled in the office, and what is done elsewhere? Where?

☛ Do you ever take continuing education classes on breastfeeding topics?
☛ What percentage of your patients are breastfed?
☛ Do you provide formula samples/literature to your expectant mothers?
☛ If a breastfed baby seems to have trouble gaining weight, what would you suggest the mother do?
☛ What are your views on bottle feeding? Nipple confusion?
☛ Do you ever recommend putting baby on a feeding schedule?
☛ What care do you recommend for a baby who appears to be jaundiced?
☛ Under what conditions do you suggest a breastfeeding mother supplement with formula?
☛ What do you recommend to breastfeeding mothers who are returning to work?
☛ What is your family’s breastfeeding experience?
☛ When do you recommend a baby start solid foods?
☛ At what age do you feel a baby should be weaned from the breast? Why?
☛ Are you supportive of child led weaning?
☛ Do you have working relationships with any lactation consultants?
☛ What are your views on childhood obesity?
☛ What are your views on vegan/vegetarian/etc. lifestyles?

☛ How many pediatricians are in the practice? Do you use nurse practitioners or physician assistants? What is their role?
☛ What is your policy on sick appointments? If your office is busy, can my child be seen on the same day he becomes sick.
☛ What is your average wait time for scheduling a routine, well visit?
☛ Do you have separate waiting areas for sick and well patients?
☛ How often are you on call for emergencies? Is there a pediatrician on call from your practice for emergencies at all times? Does a pediatrician or nurse respond to emergency calls?
☛ What are your offices hours, days open and locations?
☛ How quickly will a pediatrician or nurse get back to me during regular office hours?
☛ Do you have weekend hours? If so, what are those?
☛ What resources do you have available for nursing mothers?
☛ What is your philosophy on sleep training, antibiotics, medication use, vaccinations, wellness and healthy lifestyles, etc.?
☛ How do you monitor the growth and development of my child? Do you have available resources if these become an issue?
☛ How do you manage adolescent and teen visits? Do you allow parents in the room? How do you handle difficult issues like peer pressure, birth control, safe sex, suspected drug or alcohol use, STDs, depression and anxiety?
☛ Do you see children with special needs?

☛ Tell me about your background: How long have you been a doctor, and how long have you been in this practice?
☛ Are you board certified?
☛ Are you a pediatric generalist, or do you have a subspecialty?
☛ What is your philosophy on such child health issues as breastfeeding, immunization, co-sleeping, toilet learning, etc.?
☛ What is your policy on the use of antibiotics?
☛ Do you offer early, late, and weekend appointments?
☛ Do you offer call-in hours, or does your office field calls at any time? If I leave a message, how long does it typically take to get a return call? Will you answer questions by e-mail?
☛ How are emergency calls handled by your office?
☛ Which tests are handled here (throat cultures, blood tests)? Which have to be done somewhere else (X-rays)? Where?
☛ Will you be the one who handles my well-baby visits, or will another doctor in the group or a nurse practitioner do so?
☛ Will I be able to get a same-day appointment if my child is sick? Will you be the one who handles sick-baby visits, or will another doctor in the group or a nurse practitioner do so?

☛ Was the office clean?
☛ Was the waiting room kid-friendly, with toys and books?
☛ How soon could the interview be scheduled? How long were you in the waiting room?
☛ Was the office staff helpful? Were the nurses friendly?
☛ Was the interview rushed? Did the doctor seem open to questions?
☛ Did the communication feel natural? Was the doctor easy to understand?

☛ If a child complained about a continuous pain on their leg for the past two weeks, what would you suspect?
☛ Imagine that a parent calls and tells you their child has high fever and a rush. How do you respond?
☛ If two children come into the emergency room at the same time and one is crying while the other is silent, which one do you attend to first?
☛ What would you tell a parent who isn’t sure that they should vaccinate their baby?

☛ When was the last pediatrics conference you attended? What did you get out of it?
☛ Is there a particular pediatrics subject you’re interested in?
☛ Do you have experience in mass screening?
☛ Can you explain the meaning of triage?
☛ What’s the process of examining a newborn?
☛ How do you decide when to prescribe an antibiotic? How do you decide which one?
☛ What’s your experience with online prescription systems?
☛ How many children have you attended to from birth to adulthood?

☛ What medical school did the pediatrician attend, and w​here did he or she undergo postgraduate and residency training? (Medical directories in many public libraries—such as the Directory of Medical Specialists and the American Medical Directory—can also help answer these questions.)
☛ What are the doctor's present hospital appointments? If it becomes necessary for your child to be hospitalized, where would he or she be admitted?
☛ Is the pediatrician's office conveniently located? Is it easily accessible by car or public transportation?
☛ Are the office hours convenient for your own schedule? If you are a working parent, you may desire evening or weekend hours.
☛ What is the doctor's policy on taking and returning phone calls? Is there a nurse in the office who can answer routine questions?
☛ Is the doctor in a group practice with other physicians? Does another physician cover for the doctor at times? Who handles phone calls when the office is closed or during vacations?
☛ Do you sense a genuine interest by the doctor in the problems of your child, including particular health disorders he or she may have?
☛ Do both the physician and the office staff appear amicable and courteous? Do they demonstrate compassion and patience? Or do you feel rushed in the office, as though the doctor is eager to move on to the next patient?
☛ How are visits for acute illnesses handled? Can you make an appointment on short notice if your child needs to see the pediatrician because of a sore throat, cold, or a potential ear infection, for example?
☛ Does the doctor communicate clearly to explain illnesses and treatments, and does the doctor make an effort to ensure that all your questions are answered?
☛ In what managed-care programs does the doctor participate? What is the office policy regarding the processing of insurance forms?
☛ What will be the fees you will be responsible for when seeing the doctor for sick visits, routine examinations, etc.?
☛ If your child ever develops a complex illness that requires he care of one or more specialists, will your pediatrician coordinate care among all the doctors providing treatment?

☛ What are your views on alternative/natural/holistic medicine? (Chiropractors, acupuncture, etc.)
☛ What is your policy on antibiotics? (Does the doctor try alternatives before prescribing antibiotics?)
☛ Do you welcome patients who do not vaccinate or vaccinate on a delayed/alternative schedule?
☛ Do you feel there are adverse reactions to vaccines? If so, do you report them to VAERS?
☛ What percentage of your patients are circumcised?
☛ Do you provide parents with information about circumcision (the functions of the foreskin, possible problems associated with circumcision, the AAP’s stance, etc.)?
☛ Do you perform circumcisions on males? Why or why not?
☛ Do you perform circumcisions on females? Why or why not?
☛ Do you feel it is helpful to retract (or “pull back just a little”) a boy’s foreskin for any reason?
☛ Have you been educated on the proper care of intact boys?
☛ Have you ever recommended circumcision for an intact boy later in life?

☛ How many patients in the age of 0 – 3 years do you currently have?
☛ Do you consider yourself busy?
☛ How many people are typically sitting in your waiting room?
☛ How long has you been in practice?
☛ Where did you study and where did you take your medical residency?
☛ What are the office hours? Is there any possibility to take care of our child outside of these hours? If yes, what are the conditions?
☛ How long in advance do I need to book a visit?
☛ How does the office deal with after-hours emergencies?
☛ What are the options to book a visit at your practice?
☛ Do you visit your patients at home if the situation demands so? If yes, what is the procedure? How many of these visits did you pay during the last 12 months?
☛ Do you go for a longer holiday during the year? If yes, who cares for your patients during this time?
☛ Is there a 24-hour answering service that can connect you to a doctor?
☛ Do you accept our insurance company?

Ideally, at least 20 minutes.

They may not be able to give you an exact answer due to patient privacy, but I would expect them to know a decent range with a short explanation of their vaccine policy and general philosophy.

It's impossible for pediatricians to be experts in everything, so feel free to ask what they enjoyed the most about their medical schooling, specialized seminars they have attended and ongoing research they are a part of. One pediatrician I interviewed had extensive experience with infectious diseases in third-world countries. Another was very familiar with milk allergies and intolerances due to his own son's experience. Another saw that my daughter was wearing a cloth diaper and immediately shared that her child had the exact same one!

Please share your answers.

Talk to him about breastfeeding, circumcision, alternative medicine, vaccinations, sleep and discipline issues.

Some offices accommodate same-day walk-in visits. Ask how after-hours emergencies and questions are handled.

Take note of their answer and research on your own if what they recommended is something you would choose too. I once had a pediatrician recommend a liquid vitamin for my six-month-old. I was shocked to find the first ingredient was high fructose corn syrup. No doubt that pediatrician and I were on different pages when it came to infant nutrition.