Can Anyone Give Me Suggestion on Pediatricians? Thank You!!

Check out - Childrens Medical Associates. They have a lot of great doctors and you can call them to schedule a tour of the office.

www.cmanva.com

6303 Little River Turnpike
Alexandria, VA 22312-5045
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We are using Children's Medical Associates Alexandria office. They are located very near the mall. We have been very happy with them so far. We switched our kids there based on some friends' recommendations. The practice we had been using downtown always seemed overbooked and to see an actual doctor you had to make an appointment more than 3 months in advance. We have never had a problem getting an appointment at CMA and the doctors we have seen have been great. http://www.cmanva.com/

We really like Sleepy Hollow pediatircs. We go to the office off Leesburg Pike in Falls church. There are about 7 Drs and all are great.! Good luck.

We use ALL Peds in Alexandria (at Seminary and 395). They have been great since with us - also first time parents. They have separate waiting rooms for sick and well child visits and they are open 7 days a week. Dr. Park is fantastic - she is calm and encouraging and very laid back. I highly recommend them.

We like Pediatric Associates of Alexandria. They will give you a tour and answer your questions if you call. ###-###-####. I have 4 children, and I like the doctors and nurses and their policies. Good Luck and congratulations.

I don't have a specific practice to recommend because I don't live near you, but a couple of tips:

Be sure to make office visits to several peds., not just take the first one that sounds good. Call and say you're pregnant and deciding on a pediatrician. Be sure they are "taking new patients at this time" --some practices get "full" and don't really want new patients so don't waste your time with them. Go with your gut--I visited a few peds. where the office staff was brusque, or the person who talked with me didn't seem interested in having a new "customer," or the waiting area seemed poorly maintained and cleaned, so I kept looking. I think we did informational interviews at about four different practices.

Ask a lot of questions:

--Does the office have a "well child" waiting room that is separate from the main waiting room? Not all have space for this, but if they do, it's good, because it keeps kids who are just there for checkups away from kids who are there because they're sick (and possibly contagious, coughing, sneezing, etc.).

--Does the office have what our doctors call the "nurses' triage line" or something like that? It's where you can call the office, talk to a nurse, describe your child's symptoms and get a read over the phone on whether they think you really need to bring in your child. This is very useful if you just aren't sure if the little one's seemingly mild symptoms are something or nothing. I even called our nurses' triage line from overseas once and they gave great advice on making homemade "pedialyte" solution to give my sick child!

--Does the office have any weekend hours? Look for a practice that offers at least some weekend hours when it sees kids. Our practice has limited office hours Saturday and even Sunday mornings.

--Does the practice have enough doctors that you will get to see one the same day you call becuase you need a sick-child appointment? Any good practice should get you and your very sick child into the office the SAME DAY you call (if you call early enough; for many if you call after a certain time they just can't see you the same day, which is fair enough). But if I've called early in the day, I would be furious if a practice told me they just couldn't fit in my sick child until the next day or later. It's different if your child has non-urgent symptoms, but if it's something that is potentially urgent, you should be seen.

This was a HUGE help to us when my daughter, who didn't seem very sick to me, got in to see her dr. at 5 p.m. after I made a last-second appointment, and the dr. very astutely thought she had very early-stage appendicitis and was right! If we'd been fobbed off until the next morning, it would have meant panicked emergency surgery instead of the careful tests and less hectic, scheduled surgery she ended up having!

Children's Medical Associates "CMA" http://www.cmanva.com/

The are located on the corner of Little River Turnpike and Beauregard. On the left hand side. Arby's and Balley's total fitness strip mall is on the right.

Virginia Pediatrics and Adol. They are located in Springfield, but they are worth the ride. I live in Woodbridge. As long as my insurance has allowed them, I take my kids, 17 14 and 3. They are AWESOME... ###-###-####