Taking a child to the doctor is often stressful. To help make those visits go as smoothly as possible, here are a few tips that my experience has taught me really help make a big difference for everyone.
1. Please don’t use your cell phone in the exam room – to make a call or answer a call. It is distracting and delays us from seeing the next patient on time.
2. Please don’t let your child eat in the room. Food in the room is a risk for kids with allergies. It is hard to examine a mouth that has food in it.
3. If a child has been vomiting, don’t give your child anything to drink with out talking to the nursing staff first.
4. If your child has a particular worry, let us know so we can find a way to address it and you’re your child more at ease.
5. Remember your child is the patient, so please don’t interrupt us if we try and get the history from your child. You can fill in the blanks after we are done with that part of the history.
6. Both the history and the physical are important, and we need to do both at every visit.
7. Small children usually have to be restrained gently during parts of the exam. This is for the safety of your child when examining sensitive areas like the ears or mouth. This process goes best if you assist with it by following our cues.
8. If your child has a major medical problem, clue us in even if you think it is in the chart.
9. Be patient if there is a wait. If you have a time crunch, let the staff know to help find solutions if you need to be somewhere.
10. Make sure you have distraction toys to help pass the time. Books. Crayons. Your child’s favorite stuffed animal.
So, give these tips a try. I have a feeling you’ll find they’ll be just what the doctor ordered for making the next visit go better for your child, and for you.
