Thursday, August 4, 2011

Update in the Search for a New Doctor

I've done a little more looking and have made several more phone calls in the search to find the boys a pediatrician.  And so far, no luck.  It's not that every office I call is no longer taking patients, the offices that are taking new patients just won't take the boys.  I'm discovering that if you don't follow the CDC's (Center for Disease Control) recommended vaccination schedule, doctors will refuse to accept your child as a patient.  So far I have had three offices, that are accepting new patients, tell me that the boys can't be patients there for that reason.

Honestly, it's really quite baffling.  I know that most doctors advise that you follow the CDC's schedule, but there aren't any laws mandating those particular vaccinations in that particular order.  I also know that a doctor's office isn't a non-profit and they have the right to refuse patients, but I wasn't even offered the option to sign some sort of waiver.  They just refuse to see children based on if their vaccinations are "current." 

But I don't want to get into vaccinations, it's pretty messy business and there are many people who are very opinionated about the subject.  Eric and I just made the choice for our family to delay vaccinations.  We have many close friends who follow the recommended schedule and we never argue over who's right, it's just not important to us.  It's just that, to me, it feels a little like discrimination, mostly because of the fact that I am doing absolutely nothing illegal or even wrong.  I am taking advantage of my right to create a vaccination schedule that I am comfortable with for my children. 

So not only do I have to find a pediatrician, I have the added challenge of finding one who if comfortable with the decision we made.  And that's the clincher, it was our choice, which is just going to require a little more investigation and a few more calls on my part.  I don't think that I will succeed before my goal, but that's alright, I'm happy with the decision that we made.  Plus, I have a new perspective on the boys' current doctor.  He agreed to the vaccination schedule we chose, and I am finding out that that is something to really be thankful for.

2 comments:

  1. it's difficult... i was reading or heard somewhere that doctors are doing this now because they feel like it's a risk to the other children being seen. who knows.... maybe they just don't want to be held legally responsible. my kids aren't on schedule... not for any particular reason. my little one gets really sick after shots... fever etc so why put him through a series of 2- 4 shots if it's not necessary.

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  2. @Betty
    Yeah, I've read some of the same things. It's hard to know how your kids are going to react, and every kid is different.

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