I completed my ambulatory care rotation at Nao-medical in October. This rotation was a great experience overall. The site was well-equipped, and the patient volume was perfect. During my time at Nao medical, I was the only PA student present at a time, and I was scheduled for an average of 3-4 days a week with 12-hour shifts. During this rotation, I noticed many similarities between working in the emergency department and working in an urgent care facility. There were patients that presented with severe acute cases that had to be referred to the emergency room as urgent care facilities are not as equipped as emergency departments.

At the urgent care, I had a variety of patients which included patients presenting with simpler complaints like URIs and Covid-19 infections in comparison to patients that presented with symptoms such as ACS and needed to be transported to the ER. Most of the patients I saw were adults with few pediatric cases. During this time, I saw patients with different complaints such as sexual health issues, viral and bacterial infections, pneumonia, Covid infections, ENT complaints, musculoskeletal and neurologic complaints, etc. At this rotation, I was also able to work independently, interview patients, and perform physical exams and procedures such as sutures, suture removals, wound care, injections, etc. I realize the rotations I have enjoyed the most were rotations where I was given more independence to see patients and create my assessment and plan independently which was the case with this rotation.

At this rotation, I got to see about 6-10 patients independently during each shift and although the shifts were long being fully active and directly involved in the patient care made the shifts seem much shorter. I enjoyed my time at this rotation, and I enjoyed working together with the medical providers as a part of the team. One of the things I learned from this rotation is to trust my intuition and be confident in the knowledge I possess.