Christensen Rick - Virginia Pediatric-Adolescent

Took my child to this practice 2 years ago in search of needed assistance for ADHD. We were asked to have the teachers fill out some paperwork before we met the doctor. He spent 30 minutes w/ us and than looked at my son and said "Well, we have been here for 30m and I can tell by looking at him he does not have ADHD". We spent 2 more years in pain and after going to a much better doctor (Dr. Audra Reynolds - strongly recommend) we have discovered not only does he have ADHD, but now he is depressed and have anxiety issues as the ADHD has only caused additional problems for his ability to concentrate at school and his overall belief in himself. ADHD is way more than some child who is hyper and I would have thought a medical doctor would have known that. Unacceptable, lazy, dismissive behavior. Maybe the doctor we saw should see if he has ADHD.

Posted 02/20/09 | Report Abuse

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I have an 11 month old girl, who has never been sick a day in her life, except for recently. She had a spiked fever, was very uncomfortable, obviously in pain, would not eat, would not play, and cried constantly.
I called the practice (we had been patients at the practice since her birth, routine stuff) and told them the situation, and that I wished to get an appointment that day. I was told that they could not see her, because they were booked through the day. I again explained that I felt, as a mother, that my kid needed attention from a doctor, and that she had never acted that way, through teething or anything else, ever, before. They told me that I needed to speak with the "adviceners" (type of nurses on call - until 4 pm) and that they would determine if my girl needed to be seen, and that in any case it probably would not be until perhaps the following day (a Friday). I told them that I was not going to speak with any adviceners, because I was a pretty good judge on my baby's condition, and that she needed a doctor. Let alone the high fever, she was in pain and it was obvious. I had already given her some Tylenol, and it was not helping at all. Pretty much, I was told to go screw myself because they would not squeeze her in. I said I wanted then to speak with my pediatrician, and was told not until after 5 pm. (I called about 1:30 pm)
I could not believe that they would be so
a) condescending,
b) irresponsible,
c) rude, and, even more important,
d) uncaring about a baby's condition, who was obviously not doing well enough to wait around for hours.
I ended up taking her to my regular doctor, who took her in and saw her without any problems. It turned out she had a pretty bad ear and sinus infection, which can be dangerous for little babies.
I would never, EVER, recommend a practice like this. I would NEVER recommend a practice where you need to jump through hoops to get a little baby in pain in to see the doctor, unless you have scheduled it at least a month ahead!!!! I am not a physician, but I can tell hen a baby needs one.
Stay away. Do your research, look around, and if you care for your little ones, you will consider that a day might come you will need to see a doctor pronto, not just for routine visits. You don't want to get stuck with a practice that allows a stinking operator to decide whether or not your kid important enough to steal 15 minutes from a doctor. Your baby's health is certainly worth more than that.

Posted 07/31/08 | Report Abuse

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We lived in Fairfax, VA for about 16 months. I took my son to this practice and all of the doctors were wonderful. The nurse practitioner and the physician assistant were wonderful as well. They have many years of experience and truly have the best interest of the children in mind. I believe that they prescribed medication only when it was deemed necessary unlike many practices where the doctors prescribe medication to just make you feel better. The PA and NP were available more often when little advanced notice was given. The doctors were more available if you scheduled far in advance or called in for a same day sick appointment. I do agree that they have become increasingly busy over the past couple of months, and the time in the waiting room has increased, but I felt that my son truly received quality care, and I didn't mind waiting the extra time. I believe that a doctor's office that is busy is a good thing. This means that the patients love the doctors and feel like they are giving them wonderful care. I would be worried if no one was in the waiting room.

Posted 05/10/08 | Report Abuse

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Our son has been a patient at Va Pediatrics since his birth over 4 years ago. He is a healthy child, so our main experience with the practice has been routine physicals and the occasional minor sick visit (colds, etc.). During the time our son has been a patient of the practice, we have noticed a steady decline in patient service. The practice has clearly taken on too many patients, as it is now necessary to schedule appointments 2 months in advance. For a busy working couple, this just isn't realistic. Additionally, in 4+ years time, I can count on one hand the number of times we've actually seen a doctor - we almost always see a nurse-practioner. She is very capable, but it would be nice to see an actual doctor at least some of the time - especially for sick visits or once-a-year physicals and it would be even better to have a doctor actually take the time to get to know our child, which has never happened at this practice. Due to our growing frustration, we are now leaving the practice. When I requested our medical records from the office, I expressed some concerns and mentioned that we are choosing to leave the practice, and no one really seemed to care, which confirmed my impression that we are just a faceless number to this practice, which is frankly unacceptable to us when we are talking about one of the most important services for our child. I hope that a doctor or other party affiliated with this practice will read this review and take a thorough look at the way the practice is being managed and explore ways to make improvements for the benefit of their patients and their parents.

Posted 07/16/07 | Report Abuse

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