I thoroughly enjoyed my time at my Family Medicine rotation in Far Rockaway. For starters, my preceptor was eager to both teach me and give me responsibilities in seeing patients first, getting their HPI and going through their H&P, performing procedures and adding all the information in the EMR. Being able to really learn the EMR at this clinic was a general learning opportunity and proved beneficial in allowing me to be more comfortable at my next rotation, ambulatory care, where they have the same EMR program.

As this was my first rotation, it was my first exposure to working together with a PA, nurse practitioner, medical assistant and even other students which allowed me to work on my collaborative skills. It was also my first exposure to presenting several patients a day to my preceptor and discussing the potential differential diagnoses and treatment/management plans. This broadened my knowledge base about the common diseases that come up in family medicine such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, asthma and diabetes mellitus. For example, one patient presenting with type 2 diabetes wasn’t being managed with pharmacologic agents and required a prescription of insulin. This led to a discussion about insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance and the pathophysiology behind each one.

One difficult situation that arose included a patient who didn’t want to see a student and only wanted to speak with a provider. This gave me experience in dealing with a hostile individual and learning how to react calmly and professionally. I definitely need more practice in this area and in the future, I’d hope to respond more professionally as I did show some signs of vulnerability and perhaps a lack of confidence.

One memorable patient that I’ll carry with me was a 40-year-old woman coming in for a B12 injection. I hadn’t administered an injection yet and I was eager to perform this procedure. She happened to be a phlebotomist and as I finished gathering my equipment, she smiled and asked if it was my first time giving an injection, picking up on my uneasiness. I told her that it was, and after a funny exchange and giving the injection successfully, she complimented my skills and gave me the confidence I needed. I hope to continue to remain calm and collected in the future when performing procedures for the first time to put the patient at ease and allow them to feel properly taken care of.

The knowledge and experience I gained in this clinic are definitely tools I’ll take with me to the rest of my rotations. A primary care provider follows through and creates a real relationship with their patients. Seeing the PA interact with her patients, engaging them in conversation, explaining both chronic and acute disease states and their effects on quality of life and giving patient education, I feel more confident and better prepared to interact with my future patients.