Pediatric doctors who are not available when children are available.

[Anonymous]

I am progressively more and more ticked off with my children's doctors, dentists, speech therapists who expect me to bring in my children during the school day. YOU chose to be a medical provider for CHILDREN. You need to be available when children are AVAILABLE. Yes, once or twice, I will pull them out of school for an appt. HOWEVER, not on a regular basis (speech therapist, I am looking at you; we see you once a week; she is not missing school every WEEK!) and NO, not more than once or twice. Also, you are not the ONLY doctor my child sees; I cannot be pulling them out every time I turn around, b/c yes, you ALL try to pull this one me. I repeat: you are the one who chose to work with children. You should have taken this into account and hey, here's a thought, maybe don't close every Friday at 2 pm? I sure would like to get off at 2 pm every Friday, but hey, I don't, and I think that is a pretty unrealistic expectation for a FT working professional.

Latest episode that prompted this? Just got a call from my pediatric dentist. She has decided to go on spring break the week of April 28 - March April 1. So the appointment I had scheduled 6 months ago (March 28 in after-school hours) is now not available. When receptionist asks me to come at an alternative time DURING school hours, NO, I am not going to do it. Would I like to drop everything and take a random vacation any time I want to at my job? Yes. Do I do it? No.

Added twist; I have to get my little one into same pediatric dentist. Can I bring her along at same time older daughter is being seen? OH heavens no. "Dr. ____ only sees the little ones in the morning times." So I cannot schedule two siblings back-to-back, b/c she only sees little ones in the morning times??

Are these people TRYING to drive me crazy? They are doing a pretty good job of it.

[Anonymous]

Jesus, lady. I get that it sucks to take your personal / annual leave for this, but being a working parent can suck. Find other providers with different hours, or get over it.

[Anonymous]

Um, yes, you take them out of school to go to the dentist and doctor. That's how it works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jesus, lady. I get that it sucks to take your personal / annual leave for this, but being a working parent can suck. Find other providers with different hours[u], or get over it.

Have any suggestions? I'm open. The only ones I find are the ones like Minute Clinic and obviously won't cut it for the dentist or the speech therapist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Um, yes, you take them out of school to go to the dentist and doctor. That's how it works.

Then when do your kids GO TO SCHOOL? My kids see pediatrician, dentist, orthodontist, ENT, and speech therapist (weekly). A kid can NOT miss this much school.

[Anonymous]

What about during winter break, spring break or summer break? My dentist is slammed with kids all summer long. A weekly speech therapist is harder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Um, yes, you take them out of school to go to the dentist and doctor. That's how it works.

Then when do your kids GO TO SCHOOL? My kids see pediatrician, dentist, orthodontist, ENT, and speech therapist (weekly). A kid can NOT miss this much school.

The speech therapist is the only weekly appt, no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Um, yes, you take them out of school to go to the dentist and doctor. That's how it works.

Also, I have 10 days for the year. The year. Even if I used every single one of those 10 days for doctors' appts., and not vacation, I'd still run out of days before I had all the doctors' appts. covered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Um, yes, you take them out of school to go to the dentist and doctor. That's how it works.

Then when do your kids GO TO SCHOOL? My kids see pediatrician, dentist, orthodontist, ENT, and speech therapist (weekly). A kid can NOT miss this much school.

The speech therapist is the only weekly appt, no?

Two kids, two speech appointments per week.

[Anonymous]

OP you are in the wrong here. If working evenings and weekends was prerequisite to being a pediatric healthcare provider, few would choose to go into that profession. Certainly no one who ever envisioned having kids would do this. Would you choose to work evening and weekends yourself? How many of your providers have children themselves?

You are obviously stressed out and I empathize, but turning your frustration into irrational anger will not help the situation any.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about during winter break, spring break or summer break? My dentist is slammed with kids all summer long. A weekly speech therapist is harder.

OP here. This is what prompted my whole vent. She jsut decided she is taking off for Spring Break. Which, to her credit, is the week AFTER most kids have their spring break. But my kid happens to have the same week she is taking off!

So, I had an appointment I had made 6 months ago. SHE decided to go on vacation. Now finding a time to reschedule anytime before now and six months from now is a beast.

[Anonymous]

Can your speech therapist meet your child at school? That way he only misses 30-1hr but not the whole day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP you are in the wrong here. If working evenings and weekends was prerequisite to being a pediatric healthcare provider, few would choose to go into that profession. Certainly no one who ever envisioned having kids would do this. Would you choose to work evening and weekends yourself? How many of your providers have children themselves?

You are obviously stressed out and I empathize, but turning your frustration into irrational anger will not help the situation any.

Well, the dentist is the one who started the whole thing, b/c I had planned ahead, and then she decided to go on a vacation and cancel her whole week. I view that as unprofessional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can your speech therapist meet your child at school? That way he only misses 30-1hr but not the whole day.

My child has cleft lip and cleft palate and cannot just see any speech therapist. The one we have found with cleft experience is not in a location that is close to my children's schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Um, yes, you take them out of school to go to the dentist and doctor. That's how it works.

Then when do your kids GO TO SCHOOL? My kids see pediatrician, dentist, orthodontist, ENT, and speech therapist (weekly). A kid can NOT miss this much school.

The speech therapist is the only weekly appt, no?

Two kids, two speech appointments per week.

Are those during school hours or are they after school/weekends?

Are you a single parent?