Dr. Sujata kumar - Novel Pediatric Center
In this interview with Dr. Sujata Kumar a Pediatrician in Wesley Chapel, Florida, Dr. Kumar discusses why she chose to open her own Pediatric Center, and what sets her practice apart from other Pediatricians. Read about Dr. Kumar's membership-based Pediatric Clinic. A Doctor who facetimes? Really? Yup! Dr. Kumar is changing the face of Pediatric care from impersonal to personal, from rushed appointments to thorough personalized treatment. Please reach out to Novel Pediatric Center to schedule an appointment for your children today.
Why did you choose to become a Pediatrician?
Initially, I joined pediatrics thinking it would be helpful with my OB-GYN background, but then I fell in love with the specialty. Children are cute, fun, and are usually not responsible for their illness. This unique specialty gives me a chance to build a lasting relationship with parents by following a child from birth to adulthood. You get to act as the child’s physician, psychologist, and occasionally as a social worker and an educator depending on their ages and developmental abilities. You also get to deal with the child’s attitude as well as the parent’s attitudes and personalities, which certainly keeps life interesting.
What sets you apart from other Pediatricians in the Tampa Bay area?
I am different from other pediatricians in the Tampa Bay area because my clinic (Novel Pediatric Center) is based on the direct primary care model. It is a membership-based clinic (like Netflix or Amazon prime), meaning that there is direct interaction between the parents and I without any third party interference. You have direct access to me by phone, email, facetime, or office visits. There is no wait time for appointments - you get immediate care when your child needs it, not 2-3 days later. Increased face to face time with me allows for you to ask questions about your child’s illness or medication; you are not limited to asking just one or two questions, but rather you are encouraged to ask however many questions you need until you are satisfied. You don’t have to make separate appointments if your child has multiple problems and you get a care plan personalized to your child and your family. Your child’s mental and emotional well being will also be taken into account when assessing his or her overall health as opposed to just physical well being. My plan is a low cost option (less than your cell phone bill), so even if the family is not able to afford regular health insurance, they will have access to an experienced pediatrician for their routine healthcare needs. Except for a small monthly fee, there is no co-pay or co-insurance. Most office procedures (with a few exceptions) and most in office labs (like strep throat) and treatment (nebulizer / antibiotic shots) are included if you are a member of the clinic.
Why did you choose to open your own practice?
In the last few years, I was seeing a gradual decrease in my face to face time with my patients. In today's traditional medical environment, doctors are expected to see 30-40 patients per day and enter useless information in electronic medical records, which decreases face to face time with the patients and increases doctor's frustrations. It also causes patients to become frustrated due to long wait times, having to make multiple appointments if they have more than one complaint, and not getting answers from their physicians. All these things made me start to think about quitting medicine for good, but I realized that I would not be happy doing any non-medicine related job. I decided to open my own clinic so I could deliver care in an ideal manner. This way I wouldn’t be dissatisfied and a significant number of parents who want good care for their child would have a chance to evaluate an alternative option.
What is the most interesting part of your job?
The most interesting part of my job is to provide an effective treatment plan for both the child and his or her parents. Children are very different from adults in the following regards: they may not be able verbalize their symptoms, their symptoms of a disease may be different in different age groups, and their illness may change character as they grow (which may give them a false sense of security). To me, each and every child is different and presents a unique puzzle – I have to be a detective and piece together the clues to come up with a diagnosis and treatment plan. I need to deal with not only my primary patient (the child) but also the secondary patients (the parents). Putting together all these clues keeps my intellectual curiosity alive and inspires me to continue practicing medicine.
What is the most important piece of advice you can give to parents?
The most important piece of advice I have for parents is to keep an open mind, especially if you have a difference of opinion with your pediatrician, and to hug your children. A pediatrician is your child’s health guidance counselor, so utilize them to understand the reliable versus unreliable sources of health information. Furthermore, children grow up fast, so it is important to let your children know that you love them.
What is most challenging about being a Pediatrician?
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of caring for a child is working with different types of parental personalities. Our patients are not just the child in front of us, but also their parents and other family members. Both the pediatrician and the parents may have the best interest of the child at heart, but clear communication and good intentions may be overshadowed with misinformation from the internet and other family members. It can be very frustrating to face the reality of a parent who disagrees with your recommendation. It requires a lot of patience and skill to communicate effectively with parents who disagree with you.
What is most rewarding about being a Pediatrician?
Prevention can be so effective in this age group. Heart failures and Type 2 diabetes are related to poor habits early on. It is nice to be able to address these things early on before they become a problem. We may not be able to prevent everything, but it is rewarding even if you are able to prevent a few hospital admissions or able to stop obesity from progressing to diabetes. Children can also be a great stress reliever. There is nothing more rewarding than walking into an exam room and receiving a huge smile or hug from your patients or getting a drawing that they made for you. Helping others always makes me happy, and it is extremely satisfying to know that I have made a difference in someone's life.
Initially, I joined pediatrics thinking it would be helpful with my OB-GYN background, but then I fell in love with the specialty. Children are cute, fun, and are usually not responsible for their illness. This unique specialty gives me a chance to build a lasting relationship with parents by following a child from birth to adulthood. You get to act as the child’s physician, psychologist, and occasionally as a social worker and an educator depending on their ages and developmental abilities. You also get to deal with the child’s attitude as well as the parent’s attitudes and personalities, which certainly keeps life interesting.
What sets you apart from other Pediatricians in the Tampa Bay area?
I am different from other pediatricians in the Tampa Bay area because my clinic (Novel Pediatric Center) is based on the direct primary care model. It is a membership-based clinic (like Netflix or Amazon prime), meaning that there is direct interaction between the parents and I without any third party interference. You have direct access to me by phone, email, facetime, or office visits. There is no wait time for appointments - you get immediate care when your child needs it, not 2-3 days later. Increased face to face time with me allows for you to ask questions about your child’s illness or medication; you are not limited to asking just one or two questions, but rather you are encouraged to ask however many questions you need until you are satisfied. You don’t have to make separate appointments if your child has multiple problems and you get a care plan personalized to your child and your family. Your child’s mental and emotional well being will also be taken into account when assessing his or her overall health as opposed to just physical well being. My plan is a low cost option (less than your cell phone bill), so even if the family is not able to afford regular health insurance, they will have access to an experienced pediatrician for their routine healthcare needs. Except for a small monthly fee, there is no co-pay or co-insurance. Most office procedures (with a few exceptions) and most in office labs (like strep throat) and treatment (nebulizer / antibiotic shots) are included if you are a member of the clinic.
Why did you choose to open your own practice?
In the last few years, I was seeing a gradual decrease in my face to face time with my patients. In today's traditional medical environment, doctors are expected to see 30-40 patients per day and enter useless information in electronic medical records, which decreases face to face time with the patients and increases doctor's frustrations. It also causes patients to become frustrated due to long wait times, having to make multiple appointments if they have more than one complaint, and not getting answers from their physicians. All these things made me start to think about quitting medicine for good, but I realized that I would not be happy doing any non-medicine related job. I decided to open my own clinic so I could deliver care in an ideal manner. This way I wouldn’t be dissatisfied and a significant number of parents who want good care for their child would have a chance to evaluate an alternative option.
What is the most interesting part of your job?
The most interesting part of my job is to provide an effective treatment plan for both the child and his or her parents. Children are very different from adults in the following regards: they may not be able verbalize their symptoms, their symptoms of a disease may be different in different age groups, and their illness may change character as they grow (which may give them a false sense of security). To me, each and every child is different and presents a unique puzzle – I have to be a detective and piece together the clues to come up with a diagnosis and treatment plan. I need to deal with not only my primary patient (the child) but also the secondary patients (the parents). Putting together all these clues keeps my intellectual curiosity alive and inspires me to continue practicing medicine.
What is the most important piece of advice you can give to parents?
The most important piece of advice I have for parents is to keep an open mind, especially if you have a difference of opinion with your pediatrician, and to hug your children. A pediatrician is your child’s health guidance counselor, so utilize them to understand the reliable versus unreliable sources of health information. Furthermore, children grow up fast, so it is important to let your children know that you love them.
What is most challenging about being a Pediatrician?
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of caring for a child is working with different types of parental personalities. Our patients are not just the child in front of us, but also their parents and other family members. Both the pediatrician and the parents may have the best interest of the child at heart, but clear communication and good intentions may be overshadowed with misinformation from the internet and other family members. It can be very frustrating to face the reality of a parent who disagrees with your recommendation. It requires a lot of patience and skill to communicate effectively with parents who disagree with you.
What is most rewarding about being a Pediatrician?
Prevention can be so effective in this age group. Heart failures and Type 2 diabetes are related to poor habits early on. It is nice to be able to address these things early on before they become a problem. We may not be able to prevent everything, but it is rewarding even if you are able to prevent a few hospital admissions or able to stop obesity from progressing to diabetes. Children can also be a great stress reliever. There is nothing more rewarding than walking into an exam room and receiving a huge smile or hug from your patients or getting a drawing that they made for you. Helping others always makes me happy, and it is extremely satisfying to know that I have made a difference in someone's life.
Call for an Appointment Now
Phone : 813-371-0388
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: @novelpediatriccenter
Website: https://www.novelpediatrics.com/
Address: 2754 Windguard Circle, # 102, Wesley Chapel, FL 33544
Clinic Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday – From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
* Wednesday and Saturday – From 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Please call for an appointment)
* You can call in for an appointment for other times and weekend hours that might suit your schedule better
* Walk-ins are welcome, but might have a slight wait if the doctor is with a patient
Phone : 813-371-0388
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: @novelpediatriccenter
Website: https://www.novelpediatrics.com/
Address: 2754 Windguard Circle, # 102, Wesley Chapel, FL 33544
Clinic Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday – From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
* Wednesday and Saturday – From 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Please call for an appointment)
* You can call in for an appointment for other times and weekend hours that might suit your schedule better
* Walk-ins are welcome, but might have a slight wait if the doctor is with a patient
Thank you Dr. Kumar from Novel Pediatric Center, Wesley Chapel for sharing your story of success with the Gulf Coast Review and the Gulf Coast community.