First 2 Weeks of Shadowing

            The week of March 03, 2016 completed my first 2 weeks of shadowing the Physician and Family Nurse Practitioner at Finch Family Medical Care in Bristol, TN. On February 24, 2017, I shadowed the nurse practitioner for 3 hours, and I did the same today, March 3, 2017 for 2 hours. I already feel as though I have learned so much and hold even more excitement for when I will be providing medical care in the future. Due to HIPAA restrictions, I am unable to share exact details from the office visits. However, I am able to describe a few of the tests and procedure that I have been lucky enough to witness.

Both Fridays that I have shadowed, I was able to see the providers complete insurance physicals for several patients. It basically entails a full examination so that they can explain to medical insurance companies exactly what is going on with the patient and how it is being handled by the office. It is also a way for the insurance companies to check with the office to make sure that they are paying for the proper procedures and medications for the patient. These visits usually coincide directly with scheduled check-ups which gives the provider time to review all of the patients’ symptoms with them and decide for whether or not to continue with their current plan of action, or change it up in hopes of better results.

I have also seen the nurses in the office connect the patient to an electrocardiogram (EKG) for testing. The EKG machine connects to several locations on the patient’s body including arms, legs, and abdomen. The machine then records the patient’s heart rate and print it off on a specially designed EKG paper. The nurse then brought it to the Nurse Practitioner to review. I was absolutely fascinated as she talked to me about normal sinus rhythms, Bradycardia, Tachycardia, simple arrhythmias, etc. and how those could be determined by simply looking at the spikes represented on the graph paper. She would then inform the nurse that they could unhook the patient from the EKG monitor, and she proceed into the room to discuss the results with the patient.

My favorite part of shadowing happened last week when a newborn was brought into the office for their first check-up. Since pediatrics is the field that I want to go in to, I was taking notes and writing down every detail. The Nurse Practitioner walked me through the differences in how you perform a “check-up” on an adult compared to performing a “check-up” on a baby. I was able to listen to baby’s heartbeat and breath sounds and watch as she tested his reflexes. Watching her interact with the baby reminded me how much I could not wait to do the same someday as a provider. I have loved every aspect of shadowing so far, but I have found that the most interesting patient’s, for me anyway, are the children.

Overall, I have absolutely loved shadowing and being able to see the inner workings of a family medical practice. I am very excited to continue with this project in the upcoming weeks and continue to expand my knowledge and understand more about what it means to be a truly great medical provider in all aspects.