Ashley Blachford, Author at Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Using Simulations and Skills Stations to Enhance Emergency Preparedness in Pediatric Urgent Care

Urgent message: Realistic—and recurring—simulation of emergency scenarios is essential to helping urgent care providers and support staff function as a team when real-life pediatric emergencies take place in the urgent care center. Ilanalee Cabrera, MSN, RN, CPNP, Wilma Santiago, BSN, RN, CPN, Tiffany Christensen, Rachel Lucas, DO Citation: Cabrera I, Santiago W, Christensen T, Lucas R. Using simulations and skills stations to enhance emergency preparedness in pediatric urgent care. J Urgent Care Med. 2021;15(10):31-33. Introduction …

An Ominous Trend For Urgent Care

To My Colleagues: I am writing to alert you to an ominous and pernicious trend in our industry that we must collectively address or we will face marginalization or even extinction in the years ahead. This may sound alarmist, but please hear me out. I opened my first clinic in 1987 when “urgent care” was barely a recognized term. I was there when the Urgent Care Association (at that time known as the Urgent Care …

Epistaxis: A Clinical Review

Urgent message: Epistaxis is a common chief complaint representing a wide spectrum of severity. Key features such as the vital signs, location of the bleeding, and patient history, as well as practice and facility with certain procedures, can assist significantly with patient outcomes and dispositions. Lindsay Ballard, MD; Stephanie Fernandez, MD; and Joshua Kornegay, MD Citation: Ballard L, Fernandez S, Kornegay J. Epistaxis: a clinical review. J Urgent Care Med. 2021;15(10):13-18. Introduction Epistaxis is a …

Abstracts in Urgent Care – July/August 2021

Faster Diagnosis of STIs Reduce ED Referrals for SVT Kids’ Dental Pain and Quality of Life Ultrasound-Guided Blocks and Renal Pain EI as a Leadership Attribute in Physicians Avijit Barai, MBBS, FACEM, FRNZCUC, MRCS, MSc (Critical Care), PgCertCPU Rapid Testing for Sexually Transmitted Infections Take-home point: A point-of-care (POC) test for chlamydia and gonorrhoea proved useful for rapid diagnosis of STI in both men and women. Citation: Van Der Pol B, Taylor SN, Mena L, et …

Active COVID-19 Infection Is Indicated by WBC ≤7.0 and PLT ≤200 at Presentation

Yijung Russell, MD; Casey Collier, MD; Steve Christos, DO; and Shu B. Chan MD, MS Citation: Russell Y, Collier C, Christos S, Chan SB. Active COVID-19 infection is indicated by WBC 7.0 and PLT 200 at presentation. J Urgent Care Med. 2021;15(10):35-38. Introduction The impact coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has had on individuals, businesses, and governments is unprecedented in many ways. Though widespread and frequent screening is recommended for better containment,1 limited availability of …

Actinomyces neuii as a Cause of Vulvar Abscess

Urgent message: While abscesses are seen commonly in the urgent care setting, location and presenting complaints can offer essential clues as to the causative organism—and inform timely diagnosis and treatment decisions. Tracey Q. Davidoff, MD, FCUCM Introduction Abscesses are common in urgent care and emergency medicine and are easily treated with drainage, and in some cases antibiotics. The majority of cases are caused by Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcal sp. Rarely, gram-negative bacilli can be found …

Heavy Menstrual Bleeding: Important Considerations for Adolescent Patients in the Urgent Care Setting

Urgent message: Anovulatory cycles are the most common cause of heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) in adolescent patients. Just as with adult patients in the urgent care setting, it is most important to identify unstable patients and those with life-threatening causes for HMB. Shikha Nigam, MD, MPH and Amy Pattishall, MD Case Presentation A 14-year-old female presents with 6 weeks of menstrual bleeding. Her cycles are irregular but she generally has 4 to 6 weeks of …

The Nuances of Age Discrimination

Urgent message: As the United States learns to support an aging workforce, understanding the nuances of age discrimination can help urgent care practices to be fair and diverse workplaces that avoid potential legal pitfalls. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc is Senior Editor, Practice Management of The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine and is President of Experity Networks “Lori’s been here since dinosaurs roamed the earth—she’ll know where it’s at.”1 That type of comment may land …

A 70-Year-Old Female with Nonradiating Chest Pain

A 70-year-old female with history of coronary artery disease presents to urgent care with nonradiating chest pain of 2 days’ duration. She has a known history of left bundle branch block. Baseline ECG: View the ECG taken and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page. (Case presented by Benjamin Cooper, MD, McGovern Medical School, Department of Emergency Medicine, The University of Texas …

An 8-Year-Old Boy with Scaly Papules on the Knees and Elbows

During a regular check-up, a mother remarks that her 8-year-old son had developed clusters of follicular, scaly papules bilaterally on his knees and elbows “over the past few weeks.” They didn’t seem to bother him, but because her son is prone to allergies the mother wondered if changes in household substances like soap or laundry detergent could be responsible. View the photo and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the …