I really enjoyed my ambulatory medicine rotation at AG Urgent Care. My medical scribe experience at CityMD came really in handy, especially when it came to the flow of the workday and really busy days.
Patients that were difficult to manage were those that utilized urgent care as their primary care location. Even though on specific days we did see primary care patients, it was my job to educate about the importance of having a primary care provider if the patient’s complaint was not “urgent”. If our office was able to take their insurance, and if they patients preferred our location due to convenience and the quality of care that we have provided, I urged them to set up their primary care location at our office so that a further work-up can be performed, as well as any pertinent screenings.
The knowledge I have gained at this rotation can be applicable in many other rotations. One PA even referred to an urgent care as “bread and butter”. I definitely agree with his statement, as I saw many patients daily, and became better at managing different complaints with more practice. Additionally, this was also a great site for clinical skills. I did numerous blood draws and taught other students, administered injections, sutured, performed pelvic examinations, splinted, interpreted EKGs and Xrays, etc. My knowledge of medication has also improved due to this rotation. I have made a review sheet for myself of the most prescribed urgent care medications, and also used Epocrates application to double check myself and find out other relevant information.
One of the memorable patients that I will carry on with me after this rotation would be a 38-year-old woman who first presented with a previous episode of dizziness. I saw her a total of 3 times, during which she was diagnosed with hypertension and was started on medication. She also switched over to our office as her PCP in order for us to manage her ongoing medical problems. She has not seen her PCP in over 5 years, and our office was a convenient location for her. She even once stopped by the office in order to ask me if the OTC medication she had just purchased can be taken with her prescribed medication.
What I have learned during this 5-week rotation is that I really enjoy working in urgent care and it is one of the fields I will consider pursuing in the future. I like that there is a place where patients can be seen quickly for an urgent complaint, without having to wait hours at either emergency department or waiting days for the next available appointment with their PCP. Additionally, I noticed that with each day I became better at communicating with patients, coming up with an appropriate plan and became more and more efficient. My past experiences from clinical hours prior to PA school, the knowledge and the skills I have learned from didactic and clinical portion of my education came together as I was seeing my patients.
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