When selecting a rheumatologist, personality, bedside manner, and educational background are all important factors.

Tips From People Who've Been There

“I looked for a gentle, confident, wise, reassuring bedside manner,” says Ginsberg. 

“I’m interested in a doctor’s educational background,” says Meyer.

"Good doctors will guide you with advice or suggestions while still supporting and encouraging you to do what improves your quality of life,” Neils says.

When you have pain in your joints or bones that your primary care doctor has been unable to ease, you may want to consider consulting a rheumatologist. 

These specialists treat arthritis, including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and can also help you deal with tendonitis, osteoporosis, bursitis, and inflammatory back pain.

In addition, rheumatologists treat diseases such as lupus, Sjogren’s syndrome, myositis, and scleroderma, plus pain syndromes like fibromyalgia. 

So how do you choose the right doctor for you? And how do you know when the time is right for you to see one? 

“That’s a difficult question,” says James Udell, MD, division chief of rheumatology at Temple University Health System’s Jeanes Hospital in Philadelphia.

“It’s easier to know with some other specialties. For example, if you can’t breathe, you see a lung doctor, and if you’re having loose stools, you see a gastroenterologist,” he notes.

But the symptoms people have when they need to see a rheumatologist are often vague. “It’s not uncommon for us to see a patient after he or she has seen multiple other doctors,” he says. 

RELATED: 9 Secrets Only People Living With Arthritis Pain Know

As soon as you suspect you have a bone or joint problem, check in with a rheumatologist, suggests Dr. Udell. “The earlier we see a patient, the better they will do in the long run.” 

These answers from Udell and people living with RA to questions about selecting the right rheumatologist will help you find the best specialist for you: 

What Did You Look for in Your Rheumatologist?

“I looked for a gentle, confident, wise, reassuring bedside manner,” says Seth D. Ginsberg, cofounder and president of the Global Healthy Living Foundation, an advocacy group for people living with chronic illnesses, and coprincipal investigator for Arthritis Power, a patient-managed research initiative.

“I was interested in someone I could relate to, have a conversation with, and explain my situation to in broader terms than just my aching joints. My wife came with me during the first visit and joined us in the exam room. Her opinion mattered, too,” says Ginsberg. 

Udell agrees that one of the first things to consider is the doctor’s personality and how well it meshes with yours — especially if your disease is a serious, chronic one such as rheumatoid arthritis. 

“That’s because your relationship with the rheumatologist could be a very long one, which is one reason I went into this specialty,” Udell says. 

RELATED: 10 Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Rheumatoid Arthritis

And, he notes, the doctor-patient relationship should be nurtured as time goes on. If there's an issue that the patient and physician don't see eye-to-eye on, for example, they need to discuss it.

Or you might want to be more aggressive about treatment options while your doctor wants to be less aggressive — this is also something you two must discuss, he says. 

“I’m interested in a doctor’s educational background,” says Anna Marie Meyer of Happy Valley, Oregon, who lives with RA and volunteers as a patient advocate for CreakyJoints, an arthritis support community. “My rheumatologist is rated highly by her peers in the Pacific Northwest.”

What Are Some Red Flags to Watch Out for When Picking a Rheumatologist? 

Be wary of someone who doesn’t look you in the eye; eye contact is crucial, Ginsberg believes.

If the doctor’s head is buried in your chart or electronic health record during your appointment, that’s a red flag. You want someone who relates to you, not your chart or lab results, he says. 

Another major red flag is when doctors, nurses, or other members of the office staff don’t respond to your phone calls, says Meyer. 

How Can Working With a Rheumatologist Help You?

Rheumatologists understand the biology of rheumatic diseases and are well-equipped with information to target and treat them, notes Ginsberg. A family practitioner may not have the depth of knowledge about some of these syndromes. 

RELATED: 5 Top Arthritis Questions Patients Ask a Rheumatologist

The best-case scenario is having a primary care practitioner as well as a rheumatologist who both regularly coordinate arthritis care, he says.

“As I was growing up, my pediatric rheumatologist used to send a report to my pediatrician after every visit. That made my file, back when they were kept in folders, very thick for both doctors. But it was important to have as much documented as possible,” he says. 

What Do You Like Most About Your Doctor?

“My rheumatologist is compassionate,” says Meyer. “She’s cautious about changing or adding medications, and about injecting steroids into my joints. Plus, she helps me keep up with activities, such as exercise, and she’s open to diet changes — trying a gluten-free diet and avoiding certain vegetables, for example. She also has a spiritual side, and believes that I'll achieve full remission.” 

Other Tips for Picking the Right Rheumatologist

“Make sure to always have your best interests in mind,” recommends Dina Neils, a CreakyJoints SpokesAthlete who is also known as the Titanium Triathlete. Neils was diagnosed with RA when she was just 18. 

When it comes to a treatment plan, she says, “Ask yourself, ‘does this improve the quality of my life?'” 

“Never, ever let a doctor tell you what you can or cannot do, whether it’s trying different treatments or performing your favorite physical activity. Good doctors will guide you with advice or suggestions while still supporting and encouraging you to do what improves your quality of life,” Neils says.