Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Umm your 18 year old should start seeing a regular doctor... Not a pediatrician...
NP. Our pediatrician says she (and many pediatricians) commonly see their patients as those patients become young adults of college age. These are young adults who are coming home only part of the year and it's not always easy to get on board with a good, new practice. Also, there is no "turn 18 and go to the general practitioner" rule--it's a choice by the patient and the practice.
When DD was 17 we asked our pediatrician about this and that's what we were told.
Bonus: Our pediatrician knows our 19-year-old's DD's medical history, knows DD very well (and knows things such as, DD has high tolerance for pain etc., details like that).
I'm NOT saying everyone should stay with a pediatrician -- I'm just noting that ped practices often will continue seeing their patients at age 18 and a bit beyond into college age.