Gearing Up for Clinical Rotations

Yesterday was a great day... the blog hit over 1,000 views! AND we received our rotations for the year. Nothing is written in stone (changes are possible due to preceptor maternity leaves, life changes, etc) but we now have a pretty good idea what life will be like for our last year in PA school. I couldn't be more excited... or nervous! I start out with more generalize medicine, then move into specialties, and finish up with emergency medicine and surgery. Each rotation is 5 weeks so we will finish up around mid-July 2012.

My first rotation starts in Sept and is in pediatrics at a great local practice. I used to work in pediatrics when I was in Orthotics and Prosthetics so its nice to start in a familiar setting. Kids are great, parents are difficult, and pediatric dosages are nearly impossible to remember...  stay tuned - I'll share my experiences.

This is one of my favorite pediatric practice tools! Love this kid.

As of now here are my rotations:
1. Peds
2. Internal Medicine
3. Family Medicine
4. OB/GYN
5. Psychiatric
6. Ambulatory
7. Elective
8. Emergency Med
9. Surgery

In the spirit of each rotation I'll throw out a case study or two for each and then give the answer in a follow up entry. Feel free to post your guesses!

Pediatric Case 1:
An infant who sits with only minimal support, attempts to attain a toy beyond reach, and rolls over from the supine to the prone position, but does not have a pincer grasp, is at a development level of:

A. 2 months
B. 4 months
C. 6 months
D. 9 months
E. 1 year

Pediatric Case 2:
A 6 wk old child develops increased RR and a non-productive cough. Physical exam is significant for rales and rhonchi. The PMH for the child is positive for an eye discharge at 3 weeks of age, which was treated with a topical antibx. The most likely organism causing this child's condition is:

A. Neisseria gonorrhoeae
B. Staph. aureus
C. Group B streptococcus
D. Chlamydia trachomatis
E. Herpes virus

Good luck! Any words of wisdom to share?