Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Tattoos and Piercings: What the Urgent Care Provider Needs to Know

Urgent message: Tattoos and piercings are becoming commonplace, but patients who experience complications with these forms of body art may present to urgent care centers, as access to dermatology and plastics specialists frequently requires a referral or extended wait periods. The urgent care provider should possess a working knowledge about how tattoos and piercings are performed, how to recognize the complications, and how to treat them appropriately. Tracey Quail Davidoff, MD TATTOOS Introduction The term …

Hiring Right Requires the Right Approach

Employing an organizational psychologist or paying for expensive employee screening services is simply not in the cards for most urgent care centers. Yet, hiring “right” is perhaps the most important thing we do and the implications on our practices are considerable. Here are just a few of the areas most impacted by our talent acquisition success (or failure): Risk, quality, and liability Patient satisfaction Operations and work flow Culture Now let’s look a little more …

A 42-Year-Old Man with Skin Petechia and Palpable Purpura on His Legs

The patient is a 43-year-old man who presents to urgent care with widespread skin petechia and palpable purpura on his legs. He reports these symptoms occurred around 2 weeks after he recovered from an upper respiratory tract infection. In addition, he’s experienced fever, diarrhea, and vomiting. He mentions pain in his scrotum, as well. View the photo (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described …

A 60-Year-Old Man with a 2-Year History of Dizziness

The patient is a 60-year-old man with a 2-year history of dizziness. He denies chest pain, shortness of breath, diaphoresis, vomiting/diarrhea, or fever. Upon exam, you find: General: Alert and oriented Lungs: CTAB Cardiovascular: RRR without murmur, rub, or gallop, occasional irregular beats Abdomen: Soft and NT without r/r/g View the ECG taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page. …

A 35-Year-Old Man with Chest Pain

The patient is a 35-year-old male who presents with chest pain, which he reports started after he was hit in the chest with an errant pass during his son’s basketball practice. View the image taken (Figure 1) and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the next page. Figure 1.

Urgent Care Transfers: Why, When, and How

Urgent message: Urgent care is well established as an appropriate destination for many patients whose symptoms are not being limb- or life-threatening. When a truly emergent case presents, however, we need to provide immediate care and assess whether the patient can receive optimal care on site or needs transfer to higher-acuity setting. Deb Rogers, DO and Douglas A. Rund, MD, FACEP, FAEMS Cowboys of medicine? We are able to diagnose and manage almost all complaints …

A 38-Year-Old Man with Chest Pain

Urgent message: When a relatively young patient presents to urgent care with chest pain, there may or may not be a “typical” cause. Prompt evaluation and accurate assessment of risk factors are essential to efficient care and, often, the patient’s survival. Max Palatnik, MD Case Presentation A 35-year-old male presented at 21:59 with a chief complaint of chest pain; at 22:03, we noted the following: Temp: 98.9 Pulse: 103 Resp: 16 Syst: 122 Diast: 69 …

Injuries to the Upper Extremity Due to Falls on Outstretched Hands (FOOSH)

Urgent message: It is common for patients with injuries to the upper extremity due to falls on outstretched hands to present to urgent care. As such, evaluation, appropriate imaging, and initial treatment should all be within a clinic’s capabilities. Michael Bartuseck, MSN, ARNP, FNP-C, EP-C Introduction Urgent cares centers play an integral role in providing care for patients who have sustained injuries due to falls on outstretched hands (FOOSH). While complex anatomy of the wrist, …

A 45-Year-Old Male with Sudden Eye Pain

A 45-year-old man presents with bilateral ocular pain, excessive tearing, and bloodshot eyes. He reports that his symptoms began 2 days ago with the sensation of a foreign body lodged in his eye, and that his eyes have been unusually sensitive to light. He has not worn his contacts since the onset of symptoms. View the photo and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be. Resolution of the case is described on the …

Expectations Disease

There are a few things from residency training that resonated so profoundly for me that they permeate everything I have done since. I will never forget my first delivery, not because I thought I would ever deliver babies in my practice, but because of the emotional and enduring collision of medicine and nature it represented for me. And who can forget the 36-hour shifts (now extinct) that I am quick to recount for young clinicians …