Interviewing Potential Pediatricians

Once I had my list of potential pediatricians, I started calling each one and asking the following questions:
Is Dr. (Name) accepting new patients? I am currently pregnant and I am looking for a pediatrician for my baby. Does the doctor accept prenatal interviews? Do you charge for these appointments?

Of the 12 doctors I called, only 5 would schedule a prenatal interview appointment with me. I was actually amazed that the interview process wasn't a standard service for more of them.
With my interview list in hand, I created a folder with each doctor's information and the below list of questions:

• Do you have any sub-specialties? 
• Will you be the one who handles my well-baby visits, or will another doctor in the group or a nurse practitioner do so?
• What is the scheduled length of your appointments?
• How often do you want to see the baby in the first year? Why?
• Which tests are handled here (throat cultures, blood tests)? 
• Which have to be done somewhere else (X-rays)? Where?
• What hospitals are you affiliated with? If my child were admitted to the hospital how often would you see him?
• Will I be able to get a same-day appointment if my child is sick? Will you be the one who handles sick-baby visits, or will another doctor in the group or a nurse practitioner do so?
• Is there an extra charge for…Advice calls during the day? Advice calls after hours? Medication refills? Filling out forms? Will any other fees apply?
• Do you offer call-in hours, or does your office field calls at any time? If I leave a message, how long does it typically take to get a return call? Will you answer questions by e-mail? When we call will we always speak with a nurse or front desk receptionist?
• What are your views on blood transfusions versus transfusion alternatives?
• In case of an emergency, will you support or work with us to find specialists who will work with our bloodless medicine stance as Jehovah's Witnesses?
• What are your views on midwifery?
• Do many of the mothers in your practice breastfeed their babies successfully? 
• What is your opinion on circumcision? Do you perform that procedure?
• What are your views on discipline?
• What are your views on potty training?

Armed with my preparation, I arrived early to each appointment and immediately thanked the doctor for taking the time to meet with me when called back. Luke was able to attend the first 2 interviews with me. Walking out from the first, he turned to me and said, "Well, I hate her." It was nice to have confirmation that I wasn't being overly sensitive. That first doctor came across as totally "put out" for having to meet with us, chastised me for using a midwife, and said we shouldn't even think about circumcising until after 1 year (which is contrary to what every single other doctor and research I did said).

Our second appointment was much better but I still wanted to hold out in case we liked another one better. We skipped the third doctor because he never scheduled a set appointment time with us and it turned out that his office is a clinic staffed by PAs where he just pops in from 5-6pm everyday.

I visited the 4th and 5th doctors on my own and both were very nice and met all our criteria but I hit it off with the 4th doctor better and her office was much nicer and closer. So I feel so relieved and confident that we have found a pediatrician we really like for Minion :)