My first semester was challenging for a variety of reasons. One large factor was that I didn’t start on-site at the clinic until the 7th week, so my lessons learned were crammed into an accelerated schedule.
I did hit all of my hours though and enjoyed the opportunity to learn from a vastly experienced practitioner. He was very patient and never out of his depth, so he was a great role model to what I aspire to be.
Specifically, I got a lot of experience with taking and reviewing medical histories. Also, I did ENT examinations on patients, as well as performed audiograms and hearing tests. I can tell that there’s an art and science to it, in particular with interpreting the results afterwards. That’s where experience and expertise is most valuable.
If I had to list three new goals for this current semester, they would be:
- To do at least 3 Well child/women/male exams.
- To be able to synthesize data from the patient history and physical to begin making differential diagnoses and treatment plans.
- To be able to formulate/review plan for acute diseases with minimal help from my preceptor.
I am looking forward to being placed in a family practice clinic this semester and starting my hours there, which unfortunately has not happened yet. When I do, I’ll share lessons learned going forward.
My NP Experience 