CHILDREN’S HEALTH: WORKING TOGETHER
Once you’ve found a doctor whose medical ability you trust, there are practical steps you can take to maintain a good working relationship between the two of you.
For instance, when you call the doctor’s office because your child is sick, you may not talk to the doctor but to a professional nurse practitioner who acts as the go-between in your communications with the doctor. You can have the same confidence in the nurse that you do in the doctor. The nurse is a qualified medical professional in his or her own right, and is well able to handle many of your questions. This means you don’t have to wait for the doctor to get through with a patient before he or she can talk to you. Of course, if your child’s condition does require the doctor’s attention, the nurse will have the doctor talk to you on the phone, or help you set up an appointment to see the doctor.
Whether you talk directly to the doctor or to the nurse when you call the office, be prepared to give the following information:
• Your name and the child’s name.
• Your child’s approximate weight; this is important because medications are prescribed by body weight, and the dosage that is appropriate for a 55 kilos teenager is very different from that given to a 11-12 kilos toddler.
• Your child’s temperature; whether or not the child is running a fever – and if so, how high a fever – is a clue to the child’s condition. Use a thermometer to take the child’s temperature. A guess based on flushed cheeks or a hot forehead isn’t good enough.
• Information on any illnesses the child has been exposed to recently.
• Details of medications the child is allergic to.
• The name, phone number, and business hours of your pharmacist so that the doctor can phone in a prescription if necessary. (Although the nurse can handle many of your questions and perform some examinations and medical procedures, only a doctor can prescribe medication.)
Be sure to have a pencil and paper at hand so that you can write down any information or instructions the doctor or nurse gives you.
When you call the doctor’s office you probably have an idea as to whether you just want some advice on the telephone, or whether you want to bring the child in to see the doctor. So tell the doctor or nurse what you have in mind – don’t expect them to guess. If the doctor or nurse feels it’s not necessary to bring the child in, you’ll be told the reason for that advice. However, the decision is yours, and if you still want a personal consultation you’re entitled to insist.
Another way to stay on good terms with your child’s doctor is to plan ahead so that both you and the doctor know what an office visit is intended to achieve. A common cause of communication breakdown between parent and physician is the parent’s complaint that the doctor was too busy, didn’t answer questions, or cut the visit short.
To avoid this, at the time you make the appointment also tell the receptionist what the visit is for. If you feel you’re going to need extra time with the doctor, make a point of saying this so that your request can be included in the doctor’s schedule. And, when you see the doctor, do not confuse the issue by trying to get a complete update on other family members’ problems in the course of one appointment. Let the doctor examine your child and deal with the reason you brought the child into the office. If you have other concerns not directly related to the present one, make an appointment to come back another time.
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Tags: General Health
This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 at 10:06 am and is filed under General Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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