Switching Gynecologists

How do you feel when you go to a new gynecologist for the first time? Or the practices that make you rotate and see all the doctors?

I used to get so stressed out every time I had to be seen by a new gynecologist. Never sure what to expect and if he or she would do things differently. Over the years that passed and now I don't care about that and I'm more focused on whether or not they're going to listen and do something about my symptoms.

At some point I also went to practices that didn't let you pick the doctor and said you had to be seen by all of them. Particularly while pregnant. I hated that. Anyone else here had the same experience?

Great topic @shyladypatient. I’m interested to read what other ladies thoughts are on this.

The pregnant-woman-sees-all makes sense, though, so when you actually deliver your baby you will have seen the doctor on call before. I was lucky the first time, delivery by my regular OB-GYN, but the second time I had not met the doctor before and had trouble understanding her due to a heavy accent. (The baby was fine delivered in her care.)

Most of the time when I see the gynecologist, it's just routine matters and who they are doesn't impact the visit very much. When I've had physical problems, though, I'd want to see a person who is not a stranger to me. It's difficult to speak frankly about one's sexual health with a stranger.

I was never part of a group practice, but keep in mind they operate so that revenue is maximized. So while you may think of Dr X or Y as "your" doctor, the practice thinks of you as "its" patient so they will always try to have you see someone else if the doctor you prefer is not in the office for whatever reason. That is more apparent with an OB since they, for the most part, no longer deliver whenever needed. If it happens while they are on their planned shift great, more and more these days they try to schedule birth through induction, and if the baby decides to pop in when your doctor is off duty you'll more often than not have a hospital resident get the ball rolling.