Am I doing the right thing?

Well it's important to have good role models, but when you choose a doctor, the most important thing is that you trust that doctor and that the doctor is good at what he or she does. I don't think it's practical to have to drive all that way for a physician. I'm sure you'll be able to find other ways to provide diversity in your child's life. I know that's important too and it sounds like you are really trying so that's commendable! :-) But if it were me I'd get a doctor who is close to home and can see your child right away if necessary. Also I'm not sure how your hospital works but if (god forbid) your child were to have to be admitted it would be much better to have a physician who can see him in the hospital or at least have a provider who works with your physician to keep her up to date on what's going on. I just think that when it comes to medical care that shouldn't be the most important thing to consider. All 3 of my babies go to an aa pedi who is right down the street... but I was sort of miffed by the fact that she put in my Athena's medical chart that she was drug exposed in utero, which is not true!! And she also pushed me to pierce Athena's ears and kept asking me at every visit, which I didn't like, and the staff keeps trying their hardest to foist us off on the np, which normally would be fine but since I'm a physician I just don't want to take my kids to someone who has less training than me. So my roundabout point is that you should consider how the doctor is, how the staff is, the location of the office and so on before deciding. Good luck.... let us know what you decide!

Thanks for posting the question, because I have been mulling over dropping our AA pediatrician as well. Sounds like you are cognizant of keeping role models in his life, so dropping this one shouldn't be a problem. Like Ocean said, having a doc close by who has hospital privileges is important, as is not making your kid miserable with a long car ride for such a short visit. Don't beat yourself up about this one. :) Ours isn't a distance thing, but a competence (?) problem. Every time the man sees DD he 1) doesn't know her name or sex (easily readable on the chart your holding!); and 2) doesn't ever remember she's adopted and had in utero drug exposure. Three very basic things a doc should know about his patient.

I agree with oceanica. Proximity is paramount.

It is so important to have your child's Dr. close by.

I had the opposite problem. I had a latina woman pediatrician for Liana, who was walking distance from home. She was a good doctor, and Liana liked her, but her clerical staff were TERRIBLE. When she was sick, I had to BEG to get an appointment. When she was little and needed a note to go back to daycare after the flu, they refused to give me the note in her legal name, after her name change. It took hours to get the issue resolved. And finally, when she needed the documentation for preschool, we went through the whole name issue again. I had court documents proving her name, I had a passport in her legal name, and even though the documents were good enough for Homeland Security, they were not good enough for the clerical staff in Liana's doctor's office. With much sadness, I moved to a doctor who is a $15 cab ride away, $30 round trip. It is in a very fancy neighborhood, (a few blocks from the multi-multi-million dollar celebrity homes), and they just treat patients and families better. They reserve a certain number of appointments every day for "sick kids" because they understand that kids get sick overnight. They are open 7 days a week, with 3 hours for emergencies on Sunday morning. There are 3 doctors in the practice, one white man, one white woman, and one latino man. I wish I could have stayed in my neighborhood. I wish Liana saw the same doctor every visit (but that is a trade off for an office that is open every day) and I really loved bringing my latina daughter to a latina doctor. But when Liana is sick, I need a doctor NOW. When I need paperwork from Liana's doctor, I prefer clerical staff who are going to treat me like a celebrity, not a humble beggar. I don't regret my decision to change doctors. And this morning, I called at 8:30, and have an appointment for 11:45. And that is what matters.

Its important to have someone reasonably close. I think 45 minutes each way is unreasonable. That said, having a black pediatrician is extremely important to me. I want my son to interact with black people of color in our social class as regularly as possible. I think it is one of the most important parts of transracial parenting. Our ped is about a 20 minute drive each way but we frequently end up using urgent care if the kids are sick because of how our medical system works here. Of course, I also drive 30 minutes to the urgent care in a not so great part of town and use the county hospital because I think they do a better job there.

Can you use a nearby walk-in clinic for the urgent needs and keep the AA pediatrician for well child exams and routine appointments? That would be the best of both worlds, especially if you plan to move closer to your pediatrician in a matter of time. Otherwise you'll change Drs now and again when you move.

I'd go with one who was closer.

I'm AA and our pediatrician is CC. She was a foster parent the same time we were and she's an adoptive parent. We hit the jackpot on this one. We've never had to deal with any of those awkward or even offensive moments in a doctors office because the kids were adopted. She gets it and so does her staff.

I'd go with a closer doctor for now. And if you move then switch at that time. It was a tough choice for us, we found this pedi when we were in the process of adopting a child with special needs, that fell through, but I LOVED the personalized attention I received from him and his staff at the time. But now I'm having reservations with him and staff. So I'm thinking it's time for a change. I don't want to have the same discussion everytime I am in there about how I am the Mom and that I am spreading out our daughters vaccines, I don't want to start a debate on vaccines, S will get them all but I will not do more than 2 at a time. If she has a reaction I want to know to which one. I don't have all of her medical history and so I don't know if she is predisposed to have them. I'm tired of explaining myself every time, and I'm sick of the nurses giving me dirty looks over it! Ugh!

Convenience is important in this case. If you can't find an AA doctor, would another race/ethnicity be a good substitute? (There are a lot of Indian/Pakistani doctors in my area, for example.) My daughter is Hispanic and her doctor is AA (actually from Africa, I believe). I didn't feel the need to find an Hispanic doctor but was glad to find a doctor that I like who is of a diverse background. She had a Sikh dentist for a while until her dental problems necessitated moving to a more pediatric dental specialist (who is white).