I learned a lot on my pediatric rotation. For my pediatric rotation I worked in an outpatient private practice. Up to this point, my experience working in healthcare had been entirely within a hospital setting. Even though I was exposed to an outpatient setting at the OBGYN clinic at Woodhull, that was still within a hospital. Additionally, most of the patients at this office were on a Medicaid managed healthcare plan and I gained a lot of experience navigating this health insurance type.

I also became very comfortable with venipunctures and injections, as I did almost all blood draws and vaccine administration. This experience continued to boost the confidence I gained during my first rotation in OBGYN about my ability to perform procedures, as prior to the clinical year I was anxious that I would not be good at performing the procedural aspect of PA.

During this rotation, I also gained confident in trusting my intuition and advocating for my patients. There were instances where I realized something the doctor had not and speaking up was necessary. Two examples come to mind. First, there was a teenage girl who presented with dizziness and I asked the mother to leave the room so I could ask about sexual history. Through this we realized that she should be screened for pregnancy. Second, a patient presented with signs of anaphylaxis and I immediately spoke up, saying that the patient needs epinephrine and the emergency department immediately. These experiences showed me that even though I am a student, I need to trust my intuition and advocate for my patients.