My family medicine rotation was a unique experience in that it was my first outpatient clinic site. This operated very differently from my hospital rotation sites as patients were appoint-based. The preceptors also gave students full autonomy in interviewing patients, gathering the history, performing the physical, and writing notes. The repetition of this process made me much more confident in my abilities interacting with patients as a provider without a preceptor or supervisor in the room. I was also given plenty of opportunities to administer vaccines and perform stitches on patients. Due to the smaller staff number in a clinic compared to a hospital, the role of the physician assistant truly becomes a “jack of all trades” in a smaller facility. I felt incredibly proud of my chosen career path as the role enables me to deliver a wide spectrum of patient services. 

Another aspect to this clinic was that the majority of patient volume was worker’s compensation. As a result, notes had to be very detailed for insurance claims and billing purposes. This gave insight to the business aspect of running a clinic and how important documentation is. Several of these patients were involved in lawsuits due to injuries sustained on the job. The medical notes became imperative so that patients could receive the compensation necessary for adverse health outcomes received on the job. Documentation also became important so that the clinic could bill for services and be paid by insurance services to run a financially viable establishment.

Ultimately, my family rotation site provided great insight to how clinics run, the importance of documentation, in skills needed performing a comprehensive history and physical on a patient.