Urgent Care Site Evaluation

At my seventh rotation I was privileged to rotate through Center’s Urgent Care. This rotation allowed me the opportunity to rotate with many providers. Many of the providers also worked in other specialities. This gave me the chance to learn about their specialty as well as ambulatory medicine. Each provider was so excited to teach me about their specialty and I really feel like I was able to be educated on so many different topics of medicine. I was also able to do so many different procedures. I was able to practice my suturing. Each provider gave me tips on how to best suture a wound and ways to perfect my technique. Another thing that I believe was so important to learn was how to properly understand the difference between an urgent patient and a patient whose treatment was not so urgent. For example, many COVID-19 positive patients entered the clinic. However, there was one patient who entered and when we took his oxygen saturation he was at 88%. He had stated that he had been vomiting for three days and felt weak and fatigued. The providers recognized that this patient needed more immediate treatment and sent him to the Emergency Department. Another patient came in in acute distress because of a fall that she experienced in her home. The patient stated that she fell off her dining room chairs and landed on her feet. The patient was screaming and seemed hysterical. Her reaction seemed extreme to the history. Upon evaluation and radiology the patient was diagnosed with multiple fractures in her feet. This taught me never to judge a patient. The patient is always the person who is able to provide the most accurate description and rating of the pain they are experiencing. One of the most exciting things I was able to do was an Incision and drainage of an abscess in the left buttock of a patient. After the procedure the provider taught me how to properly pack the wound after the incision and drainage. I was also able to see how to give over bad news. A patient, who was an ultrasound technician, came to the practice after she found a uterine sac. However, she took a pregnancy test at the office and it came back negative. The provider had to be very sensitive to the patient and how they were feeling. It was a very emotional time for the patient. Overall, this site provider me with much opportunity to learn and grow in my clinical skills. I feel that it was one of the best ones that tested my clinical skills, as well as my clinical judgement.