I did my family medicine rotation at SSS Family Medicine with Dr. Streete-Smalls. Dr. Streete-Smalls is an amazing doctor and she is very willing to teach. At the beginning of my rotation, Dr. Streete-Smalls and I would see patients together. She showed me how to do physical exams, and how to use the iClinic EMR system. After I got more comfortable with the EMR system, I started to obtain patient history and perform physical exams on my own, document my findings, and present patients to her. During the last 2 weeks of my rotation, Dr. Streete-Smalls emphasized more on formulating differential diagnoses and assessments and plans. By the end of this rotation, I became very comfortable with taking patient history and performing physical exams; I’m very familiar with health screening guidelines and recommendations. I also got to practice procedures including venipuncture, vaccine administration, and pap smear.

The clinical experience really helps solidify the knowledge I learned during the didactic year. I became more familiar with the common medications such as antihypertensives and diabetes medications. Dr. Streete-Smalls taught me how she would manage patients with hypertension and diabetes and explained why she chooses certain drugs over others. Obesity is another prevalent condition among the patients coming through this office. I learned a lot about the weight-loss medication, Wegovy, and was amazed by how effective it is at helping people lose weight.

In the office, I saw a wide range of medical conditions and patients of all ages. One time, an elderly patient came in complaining of asymptomatic high blood pressure. She stated that she checked her BP at home 3 times that day, each reading was higher than the previous one. She became very anxious and came in to see the doctor. Given that the patient was asymptomatic, and she was compliant with all her medications, Dr. Streete-Smalls reassured the patient that the high BP readings were associated with anxiety. The patient felt much more relieved after hearing that. A lot of times, reassurance from a trusted provider is all the patient needs. Though out this rotation, I gained a better understanding of how to provide comprehensive care to patients in a primary care setting and learned being patient and compassionate is as important as treating the medication conditions.