Imagine this: you wake up in the morning and head over to your child’s bedroom to help them start to get ready for their day at school. However, when you come into the room you walk in to find your child laying in bed in a cold sweat and a fever. You suspect the flu that has been going around your child’s elementary school has finally made its way to your home but you can not be sure. With going to school out of the question, you tuck your child back in and head over to the phone to call-in at work. When you check back with your child, their temperature has climbed up even higher. You decide that you would feel much better if you could get some guidance from your family’s pediatrician. But, can you even get an appointment to have your child seen by a doctor so short notice? If your child’s doctor does have a same-day sick visit policy, then you are in luck. The best pediatrician will ensure that there is a set aside time every day their office is open for parents to bring in their sick children for doctors to examine.
These visits can cover a wide range of illnesses and injuries. If your child’s doctor does have a sick child appointment policy, it is best that you call as early as possible in the morning to schedule an appointment to be seen. Most pediatric offices are too busy to offer walk-in appointments to even current patients, let alone new patients. So, it’s imperative to call ahead of time to ensure that your family is on the doctor’s appointment list. If not, you could end up spending a long, agonizing time waiting in the lobby of the pediatric office with a sick, potentially very grumpy, child. No one wants that. Instead, call as soon as the office opens to snag a spot in the daily schedule.
Say you have twins and they both come down with the same bug, it is best practice for you to schedule an appointment for both children to be seen. While this might extend your time waiting initially, it is the best course of action in the long run. Otherwise your pediatrician might be forced to ask you to wait until after the provider sees a scheduled patient who is waiting. As much as pediatricians want to be there for their patients when they need them, they also have to be courteous to all their patients. Every child that the doctor examines that day should be scheduled to be seen, it is the only truly fair system. Also, your child’s doctor might not even have time to see the additional child at all, in those cases they might be forced to ask you to schedule an appointment for the following day. While this might be aggravating in the moment for parents who simply want their child to receive medical care, the entire situation can be avoided if parents call ahead of time.
Should your child be experiencing a medical emergency, such going into anaphylactic shock or experiencing severe bleeding, most pediatric offices, such as an aurora Pediatrician will make allowances and ensure your child receives the care they need. In emergency situations, there is not enough time to consider waiting to schedule an appointment and coming back later. If a child’s life is at stake or in critical condition, of course a medical professionals first reaction is to ensure that child is getting all the necessary attention he or she needs to start recovering from whatever incident caused the emergency. If you are unsure if your child’s doctor offers same-day sick appointments, give them a call or check on their website. On the doctor’s medical website you should find your practice’s policies surrounding appointments for well and sick children.
