My Condescending Pediatrician Is The Worst

I am one of those mothers who doesn’t freak out over a stuffed nose or scraped knee. Earlier this year my pediatrician’s office thanked me for scheduling so few sick appointments as opposed to “well visits” for regular check-ups. But this weekend we had one of those classic situations where the kids went from moderately under-the-weather to full-on sick right around the time the pediatrician’s office closed on Friday. They had fevers and were hot to the touch. They complained of aches. They had weird coughs.

What did I do? Pretty much waited it out for the weekend and decided that if they were still sick on Monday morning, I’d call the doctor. Which I did. And the nurse barked a few questions at me, which I answered, and told me to come in later that morning. Which we did.

They took our $50 co-pays for both kids and then proceeded to berate us for bringing them in. You know, I’m fine with a doctor telling me not to bother bringing my children in with 103-degree fevers. I’m absolutely fine with that. But if they wanted to mock me for it, why not just tell me not worry when I called that morning asking if I should bring them in? This isn’t that difficult. It’s not like I enjoyed taking the time off of work or telling the nanny she need not come over today. I would have loved to hear that there was no problem with my children. That was the whole reason I was taking them to the doctor — because I was worried that there was something wrong with them. It’s not like I coveted a trip to their offices.

It’s just that I spent the weekend giving my children cold baths, holding them as they moaned during the day and holding them as they shivered or sweated during the night. I think it was reasonable for me to wonder if something was wrong as it lasted throughout Friday, Saturday, Sunday and into Monday.

It turns out that the nurse practitioner wanted us to know, in extremely condescending terms, that all children go through this each summer (really?) and we should have known better.

Guess what, I’m not a doctor or a nurse practitioner. Again, if you didn’t want me to come in, the time to tell me that was when I made the appointment.

Should I find a new pediatrician’s office or are they all this way?

Similar Posts