I had my ambulatory medicine rotation at Statcare in hicksville, which was such a great rotation. I really liked this location because it was closer to my home and it was in a more suburban setting. Since this was a major hub for the Statcare company, this clinic was always super busy so I was able to see a lot of variety of cases as well as help out with as much as I could. The entire faculty and staff were very friendly and welcoming and were always willing to help me whenever I needed it. I really enjoyed working in a clinic where everyone feels like family and enjoys what they do, as this translates into providing great overall patient centered care. Prior to coming to PA school, I used to scribe at an urgent care similar to this one so it was nice coming back to a familiar place and fortifying all the knowledge I have gained in PA school.  

Since an urgent care is the mid ground between a general practioner and the emergency room, we saw a lot of cases that fell into both categories. A lot of patients would come see us as they could not find any appointment when there PCP, and there complaint was not severe enough for the ER. However a lot of people don’t use this appropriately, and come to the clinic when they really should be in the ER (for example patients coming in for localized sharp abdominal pain, or chest pain), as well as patients who come in repeatedly using the clinic as their PCP. So I really learned how to sift through and properly triage these patients so the are in the best place possible for them, and so they can get the best care. I also noted how this urgent care had a lot of checks in place so patients would not use it as their PCP, for example, they would not start a controlled medication and would only give a refill for 1 month so the patient could reach out to the respective professionals and be properly followed up.  

At this clinic we saw a variety of patients, from COVID testing and vaccinations, to strep throat, gastritis, otitis media etc. Here I followed a provider fort he day, either a PA, NP or Physician. I then worked closely with them and helped out the MA and scribe as much as I could. The providers would let me go evaluate the patient by myself first and get a good history and physical. I would then come back and discuss the case with the provider and what I think we should do for the patient. More often times then not, the provider would agree with my assessment and plan and would go in with me and talk to the patient while I started typing up the history and physical. At times, some of the providers would also let me give the patient the plan and educate them on treatment and follow up myself, while answering any questions the patients may have. This gave me a lot of confidence as I felt like I was my own independent provider. We would also guide the patients as to proper referrals and who they should see next. 

One particular patient case that I remember I got to help out with was when an elderly male came in after a trip and fall on to his hands. Since he was on blood thinners, he had extremely thin and paper like fragile skin and he had multiple tears and abrasions to the dorsum side of his right hand as well as the left elbow. I was able to do his wound care and treat the affected areas and apply the proper bandage and wrapping. I think helped him understand why the most appropriate place for him to be at this moment was the emergency room. We then explained to him the risks of him being on a blood thinner and how any type of fall needs to be followed up with proper imaging and treatment.  

Some procedures that I was able to do at this clinic included doing different types of injections. Since a lot of people were coming in for their COVID vaccines, flu shots, as well as there titers and booster shots for varicella, Hep B, PPD etc, I was able to learn different injection techniques. I did many subcutaneous, intramuscular as well as intradermal injections. I also helped with swab and culture collection, such as nasal swabs for flu and COVID, and oropharyngeal swabs for Strep. I also got to assist in an abscess incision and drainage. I helped with ear irrigation for cerumen impaction, wound care, suturing as well as nebulizer administration. Since the MAs were so diligent here, I did not do as many blood draws, but I have had that experience in the past. Overall I was able to do and see a lot. I had an overall great experience at this rotation!