Continuity

I love 'continuity of care'. I guess that should be a given because I'm a Family Pracitce doc. As they say "My Family Doctor is a specialist in ME!"

As an intern, I only have minimal continuity in my "Continuity FP Clinic" because I only have about one half day of clinic per week! I've gotten a fair amount of continuity of care during my intern year mearly from doing all my roations in the same hospital! For example...

I saw a lady in the ER and I made her an appointment to see a specialist at the OB/GYN clinic - a month later I'm doing my OB/GYN rotation and she's at the clinic seing me.

Another lady I saw on my Surgery month got a referal to OB/GYN, here appointment took three months to set up- but there I was again, back on my 2nd month of OB/GYN and seing her again!

There have been patients I've admitted while on the medicine service and then I see them as a surgical consult.

I saw a pregnant lady in the OB clinic and then took care of her baby on my Pediatrics rotation.

I even have had continuity from when I was a medical student rotating at the same hospital! I've taken care of a particular patient with bipolar disorder twice, once in my 3rd year of medical school on the psychiatry service and then again as an intern.

I've seen a psychiatry consult at a later date in the Operating Room.

There are a small handfull of 'ER continuity patients' at my hospital: mostly homeless people who come in regularly trying to get food, shelter, or pain med: which they rarely get away with because the whole ER staf know them. (However the trick is to say you have Chest Pain or want to kill yourself, they we have to let them stay for at least a little while...)

Some hospital patients (the ones who are worth seeing again!) I've invited to my clinic and they've actually come :)

and my favorite one: I saw an extra patient in clinic that was not a patient of mine (a walk-in visit). The lady had her todler who was sick. The mom looked really familiar, but I could not place her. I asked how many children she had. "well, I just had twins a couple weeks ago" and after that we both had a light bulb go off- I took care of her on the post partum floor after she delivered!

It's a small county hospital after all.

And the Family Practice Intern is an Obstetrician, Surgeon, Internist, Psychiatrist, and Pediatrician all it one!!