Do you prefer new doctors or more experienced doctors?

[MountainLaurel]

If that choice is available.

I've been pondering this a bit lately, as I have an appointment tomorrow with a specialist so fresh the ink on her residency certificate is still wet. I work in a hospital, and right now those are the only docs who are accepting new patients at all (the joys of health care in post-Katrina New Orleans). Even she was a 2-month wait.

On the positive side, it seems that with a new doc, it's more likely they're using the most current practice standards and techniques. (I read a study once that showed on average, it takes a physician 10 years to incorporate new research findings into their daily practice of medicine.) They're less likely to be burned out and are probably less likely to dismiss patients' concerns because "that never happens." On the other hand, they don't have the intuitive sense for things that comes from years of doing something day in and day out: looking at a cervix and seeing trouble, recognizing symptom patterns, etc.

So, what do you think?