For my Internal Medicine rotation I had a mid-site evaluation and a final evaluation in which I had to submit three total History & Physicals and ten drug cards. For my mid-site evaluation I was tasked with preparing one H&P and writing down 5 drug cards. During presentation of my H&P, I learned that my differential diagnosis must be placed after my physical exam and any lab results/diagnostic imaging that follows should help tailor my assessment and plan. By doing this, it is easier to develop a narrower list of differentials that are more applicable to the patient case. I also learned to be more cognizant of my documentation. For example, the patient in my first H&P had undergone a procedure which should have left him with a scar. On my physical exam I forgot to document the presence of this scar which contradicted the surgical history. Even though I come across these findings on physical exam, there are moments where I forget to make note of what I see. I believe the emphasis placed on documentation during this first site evaluation will remain relevant in my mind moving forward.

During my second evaluation, I was more confident presenting my findings as I was much more careful with my documentation. My classmate and I were also assigned with presenting a journal article related to our H&P. We enjoyed listening to each other’s cases and bouncing ideas off of each other in front of our site evaluator who also joined in and helped us establish connections between our article findings and our patients. We were also quizzed on a mix of each other’s drug cards from the mid-site evaluation and final evaluation (which was personally my favorite part). By the end of it I felt confident in the drugs I had seen being used during my internal medicine rotation and I could tell my classmate felt the same way. Overall, my time in Internal Medicine was valuable in that I learned how to better care for patients and gained confidence in my ability to present cases.