My family practice rotation at Park Ave. Family Practice had both positive and challenging aspects. The great thing about the practice is that the students are given a lot of autonomy. From the beginning, the students see patients largely on their own, draw blood, run urine analyses, and do ECGs, allowing us to gain experience and confidence with these procedures. I did my first venipuncture during my first shift there, by the end of the rotation, I would estimate that I did at least 50. Because SOAP notes are required for each patient, I also got a lot of experience documenting patient visits. During my first shift at the office I was very nervous and overwhelmed, by the end I had gained confidence, which translated to more trust from the PAs working there and positive experiences with the patients. This rotation also came with many challenges, due to the autonomy that students are provided, you need to know for yourself when to seek out help. I had to learn quickly what I feel comfortable doing and what I don’t. I needed to learn how to ask for help when I felt I was out of my scope. The population served at the practice included a very large percentage of individuals with diabetes and heart disease. The median age of the patients was 50+ with multiple comorbidities. This allowed to gain a lot of experience with treating and managing these common chronic diseases. Overall, I can say that I gained a lot of hands on experience. I also learned my own boundaries, which is also very important for both a PA student, and a PA as I near graduation.

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