My second rotation was Ambulatory Medicine at STATcare in Hicksville. It was really helpful going from family medicine to ambulatory medicine as I was able to continue to work on and perfect the procedures I performed in my family medicine clinic while also learning many new procedures I didn’t get the chance to do before. The quick environment and much greater load of patients seen in the urgent care differed from the primary care setting and was something I thoroughly enjoyed.

Based on my schedule, I was able to work with 3 different providers, one MD and 2 PAs which allowed me to learn various styles in the way they each practiced medicine. My preceptor, Andrew Riofrio, was eager to teach me and encouraged me to do any and every procedure that was available. One new procedure I was able to perform was suturing a patient’s pinky toe which he lacerated while getting out of the shower. It was my first exposure to performing a simple suture on a patient and it was helpful that my preceptor was there to guide me.

There was a difficult situation I found myself in in which I asked a patient if he had a history of sinus infections as he presented to the clinic with sinus pressure and pain along with congestion. The patient began to yell about how difficult his life is, listing one traumatic event after the next, and so he didn’t know of any history of sinus infections. He implied that he’s gone through so much, he can’t focus on little things like past medical history. I was able to put an end to his tirade, remain composed and extract the needed information.

One patient presented to the clinic for immunizations and I had never administered a subcutaneous injection before. As I was preparing the injection and confirming with my preceptor where and how to inject it, the patient knew I had never given a subQ injection before. My preceptor confirmed with her that it’d be okay if I administered the vaccine and she happily allowed me for the sake of learning. I truly appreciate when patients are willing to be practiced on for the sake of furthering my experience and medical knowledge!

I feel that between my family medicine and ambulatory medicine rotations I have greatly improved in my venipuncture and IM/SQ injection skills. An area I need improvement in is my suturing skills. I only had one opportunity to practice them in the urgent care and I had a difficult time rotating my hand to drive the needle through the other side of the skin. Hopefully as I continue on in clinicals, I will get more opportunities to practice this very important skill!

I cherish the experiences I had in this urgent care and all the knowledge the providers bestowed upon me. As I head to my next rotation and first specialty, pediatrics, I hope to take the experience and newfound confidence I gained at STATcare to further my learning!