We interviewed 3 different pediatrician offices before our daughter was born. One doc in particular, Dr. Kirby Smith, had been specifically referred to us, so we were excited to meet with him. We went in with a whole list of questions- how emergencies are handled, their thoughts on immunizations, breastfeeding support, average wait times in the office, etc. Our meeting with him went perfectly- he was patient and not rushed at all, he seemed very knowledgeable and gave us all the answers we wanted to hear. We left feeling confident that he would be our pediatrician when the time came.
Fast forward 2 months to our daughter's first check up (at 3 days old) and that was the first of our red flags. We waited almost 20 minutes in the waiting room then WELL OVER AN HOUR once back in the exam room! All with an infant the nurse had had us get undressed down to the diaper! The nurse wasn't friendly at all, not to us nor to our newborn- never so much as cooed at her. Once the doc made it into see us, the appointment went fine. So we chalked it up to the office having a bad day and made our next appt. for her 2 week check up.
No change the next time- total wait time was just shy of 90 minutes and a different nurse was still not the least bit friendly. She did tell us, however, when we inquired about the long wait that they were short staffed and that we would just 'have to be patient.'
Dr. Smith referred us to a specialist for a minor issue with our daughter, assuring us that he would follow up via phone after her appointment the next week. We NEVER heard from him nor anyone in his practice. Had we not called the specialist ourselves to get the results of our daughter's tests and his treatment suggestions, we would've never gotten any information! What kind of doctor feels something is significant enough to refer a newborn to a specialist, but then doesn't even remember to follow up with the parents- or at least have his nurse do it!?
The final straw for us came when we were having horrible reflux/constipation/gas issues and just wanted to speak with someone in the office (doc or nurse) about our options. The nurse that finally returned our call not only wasn't friendly, but wasn't knowledgeable in the least! Her only suggestion was to make an appointment to come discuss it in person with the doc!
In a nutshell, while Dr. Smith seems intelligent and nice enough, it's certainly not enough to make up for all the other shortcomings in this practice. Unfriendly nurses, insanely long wait times, no follow through and the inability to handle 'minor' stuff over the phone without an appointment...Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else. We've switched to Palmetto Pediatrics and have had 2 appointments so far- both have been FANTASTIC. Definitely recommend them (Drs. Nordby and Leonardi) so far.
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