End of Rotation #2

Sorry it has taken me so long to post.  I have no excuse, just didn't feel like typing I guess.  But, in case you were wondering where I was the whole month of August, it was here...

St. John's Urgent Care is located in the little town of Palatka, FL, 60 minutes east of Gainesville.  And this place had all the flavor of small-town-USA.  Most of my patients were missing at least 1 tooth.  At least 3 people in the office smoke, including the PA.  I think 3 of the girls at work had illegitimate children.  Felt like I was back in Montana :)

It's owned by two ER docs, so the place is treated a lot like an ER fast track.  The docs are rarely there, so the show is run by a staff of 4 PAs.  Kinda cool if you ask me.  Mostly did a lot of drug screenings, work/school physicals, worker's comp follow-ups, minor illnesses, and minor trauma (lacerations, sprains, breaks, etc). They have a lab (for blood work and UAs), X-ray, and EKG on site.  So, it was really nice to be able see a patient, run some tests, and be able to diagnose most of them right there.

I got to drain a ton of abscesses.  Helped close 2 lacerated fingers and flew solo on repairing a cut thumb.  I also got to read a ton of x-rays and EKGs.  My preceptor was really big on autonomy so he just let me go see all the patients I wanted to.  All-in-all, I got to experience quite a bit here.  I'll miss the staff.  They were quirky, but they were fun and so willing to help.

For the last week, I've been on the Psych Consult service here at the hospital on campus.  I don't like it.  I don't like psychiatry.  But, I'll fill y'all in on that at a later time.