It can be overwhelming to choose the right pediatric provider for your children when you have young children. While keeping your children healthy is an important priority, finding the right provider for you and your family can be challenging than many people think. Part of the pressure comes from the realization that even the healthiest children (and their parents!) spend a lot of time with the pediatrician.
Experts recommend seven visits to the pediatrician in a child’s first year of life. When you factor in common ailments like colds, ear infections, and sore throats, as well as unusual bumps and bruises and vaccinations, you may find yourself in the same waiting room 50 or more times before your child turns 18. This could be due to the loosening of Affordable Care Act guidelines, which allow children to remain on their parent’s health insurance plans until they turn 26. The pediatric extended care center calls for a change in age restrictions for these instances.
Parents who want the best possible care are no longer required to see a pediatrician. Many parents choose a nurse practitioner as their primary care pediatrician because of increased awareness of different philosophies of care and that nurses have more rights in the office. Here are some reasons why you should choose a nurse practitioner for your whole family:
To Focus on Your Child’s Well-Being
Nursing professionals take a holistic approach to health care and emphasize education, healthy living, and preventative care.
To Ensure Availability
It’s vital to ensure availability: last-minute appointments are not uncommon with children. The number of nursing professionals is growing, even as the rest of the healthcare workforce shrinks. Multiply that, and by 2026, 4,000 more nursing professionals will visit your practice.
To Have Face-to-Face Interaction
Quality face-to-face interactions are essential. Nurses know they need to spend more time with patients, listen better and give more information. Nurses tend to see fewer patients per hour, which means they can spend more time with patients and pay more attention to anxious parents and young children.
Most nurses are highly qualified.Positive94% of respondents are satisfied with their jobs and chose the same profession if they had another opportunity. A nurse practitioner is a good choice if you are looking for a pediatrician who can care for your child from infancy through adolescence and even adulthood.
To Have a Holistic Approach
Many nurse practitioners are a valuable addition to pediatrician practices across the country. Pediatric practices with nurse practitioners are more likely to be successful. Accepting a more holistic approach to health care allows you to see more patients, reduces patient costs, and improves patient satisfaction.
Currently, more than 11,000 pediatric nurse practitioners are caring for children and their families. This number is expected to increase in the future. Nurses can diagnose and treat patients in all 50 states. In 25 other states, nurse practitioners are independent of physician supervision. Parents seeking family- and patient-centered pediatric care can benefit from this growing autonomy.