For this rotation, I met on zoom with my site evaluator Professor Mohamed as well as two of my classmates who were also on their emergency medicine rotation. Professor Mohamed gave each of us feedback that we could all learn from.

For my first site visit, I presented a patient who had second degree frostbite for two weeks. He had been outside working in freezing weather and had been to another hospital right after the injury. When I saw him, he was presenting with worsening pain and skin changes. The patient ended up needing to be admitted for surgical debridement of the wound. My assessment and plan included pain control and wound care since there was no sign of acute infection. Professor Mohamed explained to me that it would be worthwhile to get an x-ray to rule out osteomyelitis for medicolegal purposes even though it may not be clinically necessary. I will definitely keep this tip in mind.

At my second site visit, I presented a case of a patient who had a likely knee sprain. We discussed the Ottawa knee rules for when to obtain a knee x-ray.  I also presented an article about topical analgesics for orthopedic injuries. Professor Mohamed advised me that he often uses topical analgesics for his patients even ones that don’t contain NSAIDs since they improve patient’s pain relief and satisfaction.

In conclusion, my site visits with Professor Mohamed were good learning experiences. He gave feedback on my H and Ps and care plans that I will refer back to. I also appreciated hearing the different interesting cases that my classmates presented.