We all have our own methods of choosing a doctor. Some people select a doctor in their HMO directory who's close to home or work. Others like to do more extensive research. They'll ask friends about their doctors. They may ask someone they know who works at a hospital for advice. Or they'll go online and look up the doctor's education and credentials.

All of these methods have something to recommend them. Here's some advice from medical professionals on how to pick the right doctors - primary care and specialists - for your needs.

Checking credentials

The local chapters of the American Medical Association provide a free referral service that can help narrow down your list of likely doctors, said Dolores Green, executive director of the Riverside County Medical Association. The physician locator is at the association's Web site of http://www.rcmanet.org. One is also available at the San Diego County Medical Society at http://www.sdcms.org.

The physician locator allows you to search by location, specialty and name. Click on the doctor's name and you get a biography, including medical school, internship, board certification, affiliations and languages spoken, Green said.

The doctors have agreed to the American Medical Association code of ethics, a point of reassurance in case any conflicts arise, Green said.

Veteran physician Michael T. Kennedy agreed with Green. Kennedy is a clinical faculty member in the Introduction to Clinical Medicine program at the University of Southern California.

"Medical association membership is one mark of quality," Kennedy said. "Another is the school attended. … The family docs have their own colleges and boards, and they should be checked."

Some Internet searching is a good idea, said Dr. Joseph Scherger, a clinical professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at UCSD School of Medicine.

"I think 'Googling' your doctor is an interesting thing to do," Scherger said.

Doctors will often list personal interests along with their medical training on their Web sites, Scherger said, and it's helpful to pick a doctor whose interests parallel your own. For example, if you're a runner or otherwise athletic, a doctor who takes part in sports can empathize more with your activities.

Doctor-rating services can help, said Scherger, who belongs to such a service called Revolution Health (http://www.revolutionhealth.com) founded by Steve Case, the former chairman and chief executive of AOL. Scherger contributes medical articles to the service and maintains a blog there at http://tinyurl.com/yteqax.

Word-of-Mouth

It's old-fashioned, but it works, Scherger said.

"First and foremost, the best way to find a primary-care doctor is by personal recommendation," he said. A personal recommendation provides a sense of the doctor's likability and caring, which makes it easier to develop trust.

"Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care," Scherger said, quoting a medical maxim. "You want to know they'll go the extra yard for you."

Talk to a lot of people, he said, and a consensus should develop.

Kennedy suggests looking at the doctor's staff as a way of gauging compassion and effectiveness. That means going to the doctor's office and chatting with the receptionist or another staffer when they have some free time.

"If they are rude, find out now," Kennedy said.

Finding a specialist

Specialists are doctors who, once out of medical school, have chosen to work in a specific field of medicine. They include oncologists, who specialize in cancers; hematologists, who work with blood disorders; gynecologists, specialists in women's health; and so on.

Good specialists are certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties, said Green, Kennedy and Scherger. The board is at http://www.abms.org.

Board certification requires additional intensive training in that field, an exam to prove knowledge in that specialty, and continuing medical education to keep current with new findings, Green said.

After doing your research, Green said, it's a good idea to ask your primary care doctor for a recommendation. If you're in an HMO, it's important to be aware of which specialists are in your network.

"For surgeons, American College of Surgeons is important, as ethics are a major consideration," Kennedy said. "The medical colleges, cardiology, etc., are good too."

However, Kennedy said finding out negative information from the boards may be difficult.

"The boards are gun-shy because they have been sued so many times by scoundrels. The directory is probably the best source."

Kennedy said his aunt found an amusing shortcut to the process when she had a mole removed.

"She went to the library and got out the Directory of Medical Specialists, published every year or two. She found the surgeon with the longest resume in Sun City and had him remove her mole," Kennedy said. "I think he was a cardiac surgeon."

Nurses know

Perhaps the best source for specialists are those who work with them constantly, nurses, Kennedy said.

"Always ask an OR (operating room) nurse about surgeons and anesthesia," Kennedy said. "They know better than anybody. The anesthetists know the surgeons but they like the fast ones better. You can be too fast, but slow surgeons tend to be indecisive. Usually not good. Exception is neurosurgeons. Avoid fast neurosurgeons, usually."

"The bottom line is, if you want to find a new doc, look up the qualifications and then ask a nurse who works at the hospital. They know."

- Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.