So, I’ve been living in DC for over a year, and as it looks pretty definitive that I’m never moving back to New Hampshire (thank Ford), I think I should probably find a good local dentist and a physician for checkups and such.
My question - what’s the best way for me to do that? Is my university’s health services office likely to have good advice, or just point me to whoever left their business card there? Is there any better source of information than word-of-mouth from students/profs/etc?
Talk to people - coworkers, friends, people whose opinions you trust. People will tell you if they don’t like their doctor or dentist and they’ll tell you if they adore them. If they’re sort of meh about them, you’ll be able to pick up on that too.
It’s how I found the doctor I saw in Youngstown, and at least 3 others in the library were seeing her by the time I left - the one who recommended me and 2 more.
Lots of hospitals have a referral service where you call and specify what kind of doctor you want and what qualifications. They can tell you things like how many years they’ve been practicing, which medical school they went to, where they did their residency, which specialties they are board-certified in, etc. That’s not personal recommendations like Lsura suggests, which are probably the best way, but it’s a way to narrow down a group.
Word of mouth has always worked well for me.