Pullman & Ariza Pediatrics

Some of the reviews are on the money about the long wait times and the front staff, but Dr. Valois is amazing. We almost left the practice before she arrived, but now we are glad we stayed. She is intelligent, caring, gentle with our son, and always spends enough time to answer all our concerns. We have recommended her to everyone we know.

I can't even begin to describe how terrible I feel about the experience I just had with Dr. Ariza. It's a long story, but the jist of it is that she wouldn't take the time during a morning sick visit to explain to me how I should administer the three different asthma medicines that she had prescribed, so she asked me to make an afternoon appointment for a later date. When I showed up for that appointment, she told me I was going to be charged $160 (out of pocket) for a consultation. All I wanted was five minutes of her time so I could understand what she had prescribed my son, but she wouldn't give me the time of day unless I coughed up the cash.

These people are arrogant, rude, and seem only to be in this business for the money. Do yourself a favor and stay far, far away from this awful practice.

These people are simply unreal. You really cant believe how bad it is. I challenge you to talk to anyone that uses this ofc and not hear complaints on the long, long waits, the rude front desk staff.
Dr Pullman should be a Vet because she has the perfect bedside manner for a cow. Although if that was the case the PETA would file suit and save the cows. You cannot believe how bad this place is. We took our child in after a 4 day stay in the hospital and were not even allowed to see one of the doctors. They pawned us off to a nurse. YES, we had been in the hospital and we couldnt even see our doctor.
These people treat you like your child is a widget on an assembly line. They get to you when they can and dont give a rip about your child. clearly they lost the love of children that they must have had a one point to go into this business. i suggest that they get out of the business and if you are considering taking your child here...STOP, RUN...go anywhere but here.

We went to Pullman and Ariza after my infant son had 6 ear infections his first year and the first pediatrician thought I was a "nervous mother" and did not take my concerns seriously until he came down with pneumonia - yet was laughing and not looking very ill. They were and are terrific.
What is written here is true: the front office staff is just-so-so (they have never been rude to me) and the bills come with mistakes. Sometimes they don't come at all, but since they moved, the desk staff seems more competent and the practice now has a professional billing company - things are better on that score. The doctors and nurses ALWAYS return my calls and the MDs, Nurses and PAs are top notch.
When we have made an appointment, we have always waited an hour or more, so don't go thinking you'll be there for a short length of time. However, when we have gotten in to see either Dr, we have spent a 1/2 hour or more - necessary when our son has been ill with strange combinations of things and when we also discovered he had serious learning disabilities. Because it is MY child, I'd rather wait for a doctor who gives me the time we need. I know they are doing the same for the other kids and parents. We use the drop-in when the situation gets complicated - like the time the strep didn't respond to the amoyxicillin prescribed at Nightime Pediatrics. Otherwise, we go to Nightime Pediatrics in Rockville for the occasional mishap or sore throat. As far as exams go, my now 8 yr-old son has a great fear of anything done with his ears - they have been as gentle as possible, but he still cries. He likes Dr. Pullman a lot. If you can't be REALLY patient, go elsewhere.

We have had some of the most bizarre experiences with this practice. We toy with the idea of leaving, but the doctors, nurses and PAs are what keep us coming back.

Dr. Pullman has been a rock for our family, very involved with us and very responsive. When our first child was born, we panicked over his crying, we called her at 3am and she returned our call within 10 minutes.The other docs are top notch. We really loved Dr. Cohn, but she only sees the newborns in the hospital as of right now.

The office staff is horrendous, the billing person is merely a figment of our imagination. I have never actually spoken to her on the phone. She is either away from her desk or "working" from home. On time, there was only one person, worth repeating, ONE person, who could make appointments. It took forever to get her to call us back. We finally had a heart to heart with Dr. Pullman. We told her of our talk of leaving the practice. She took our concerns very seriously and was very upset to hear such negative things about her practice. We continue to complain when it is warranted. We stay because of the doctors and don't want to leave because of the office staff.The doctors are kind, caring and very knowledgeable. But I would love to see an overhaul of the office staff.

This is a horrific practice! I regret not reading these reviews before taking my newborn here. I stayed with them for 7 months hoping they would improve but they have not. I have never waited less than 1.5 hours and my last visit I waited over 2 hours with my son screaming and crying because he was sick. Dr. Pullman saw me standing in the hallway outside of the exam room for over an hour and didn't offer to help. The doctor who finally examined him told me that it wasn't her fault, that she went into the exam rooms as they were given to her by the assistants. When pressed she told me she takes her patients first. DO NOT TAKE YOUR CHILD HERE. I am going to write my OB/GYN and inform him that he should not provide the name of this practice to anyone else!

We chose these guys b/c they are near our neighborhood, and we have no complaints. Everything works very smoothly, the staff is very professional (rude? not our experience at all) and we never leave with unanswered questions or unhappy children. The docs are good with the kids and I was very impressed with how their newest doc made the check-up into a game. She played with our daughter while checking her tummy, legs, and other parts. I didn't even realize that the check-up was being done until it was over.

As for those who complain that their kid cries during the check-up and after leaving, I don't know what to say. Kids cry. Especially when they're being poked and prodded by a stranger and when they are often uncomfortable to begin with due to a sickness. We've always found that Pullman & Ariza are sympathetic to those reactions and try to keep them to a minimum.

I suspect that this is one of those instances where people with a negative experience write a review while the majority with a positive opinion are silent. I know that our opinion has been nothing but positive.

I guess we're in the minority on this site, but we love Drs. Pullman and Ariza. Both doctors know all of my kids, interact with them playfully, but still conduct a thorough examination. They are straightforward with parents - maybe some interpret that as aggressive, but I prefer not having someone sugarcoat for me so that I don't have to guess what the real story is. They were more than willing to refer us to experts in the field to get even more obscure things checked out, and were always happy to follow up when necessary. I think many of the issues surrounding long waits for appointments have been resolved in the new offices, although it's certainly not as quick as some of the large factory pediatric practices where there's always an intern (who you've never met before) ready to see you. I love that they take their own call, we've only had to make middle-of-the-night calls maybe 5 times in 6 years, but in each case, one of the two doctors called us back quickly, sending us to the hospital when necessary, keeping us calm with detailed instructions and follow-up calls at home when more appropriate.
Also, I love being able to go into walk-in hours 4 days a week to check out small stuff that's not worth scheduling an appointment for. What a great system!
The front desk staff is nothing special, the nurses are only OK, but the pediatricians and the nurse practitioners in this practice are really excellent. Personality is certainly important when you pick your kids doc, so go and meet them first - but our experience has been very positive.

I admit I'd read these reviews before taking my son to the practice, but assumed they were from over sensitive parents.. Unfortunately, I was wrong and they were right. I've tried both Doctors - Pullman and Ariza and they both use violent techniques for physical examination. My son sobbed and screamed after his examination, he had been pulled and yanked around and clearly hurt by the exam. This has happened with both doctors. Pullman made him cry for over an hour and a half, something he's NEVER done before, not with accidents or shots or anything.So please, these reviews are spot on. Don't subject your babies to these violent doctors.

Take your kids to Iraq for healthcare before you go to this place. They make the terrorists look like nice, considerate, caring people.

They always make you wait a minimum of an hour before you see anyone....even for scheduled appointments. your time means nothing to them.

The front office people are the most rude, arrogant people you will ever meet in your life. It is astounding that these people get away wiht such attitude. I have several friends that use this practice and they all agree the front office staff are ruthless but everyone puts up wiht it because the office location is close to home. well, if that is the most important thing in a doctor that is caring for your child....go for it.

they just dont "get it." they dont care about your child. apparently its just a business to them...but its my child!

Pullman & Ariza Pediatrics is a terrible choise if you love your child.

First problem: the recepcionists are rude. They talk to you like you are the child. They don't trust you. My baby had eczema and I decided to go there during the walk-in time (8am-9am). They didn't let me go to the Well Room. We stayed 45 minutes in the Sick Room with a lot of kids with diarrhea, cold and fever. She only had eczema...

Once I came 3 minutes late and they send me back home. But I never had wait less than 1 hour for a regular appointment there.

Ah, the bills always come with several mi$takes. And be prepared to call a million times the finance person. She will never call you back.

The doctors are ok, but they don't respect you. I changed to Dr Lang and we are very happy now.