My site evaluator for this rotation was Professor Maida.

For my mid-rotation evaluation I presented an H&P on a 5 year old male presenting with cough and rhinorrhea x 4 days. The patient had no significant PMH, and was accompanied by his mother who described the cough as “bark-like” that is worse at night resulting in the patient being unable to sleep well. I discussed the relevant pertinent positives as well as pertinent negatives of the patient’s review of systems and his physical exam findings. Professor Maida agreed with my list of differential diagnoses and my ultimate plan for treating the patient for laryngotracehobronchitis (croup). 

For my final evaluation I presented another H&P, this time featuring a 22 month old male with no significant PMH who presented to the office with his father complaining of an acute rash on his face bilaterally. Using thorough history taking, it was discovered that the patient had a new type of cereal for breakfast that day, which was likely the culprit of the patient’s urticaria. Physical examination was remarkable for slightly raised, smooth red wheals noted on the patient’s cheeks bilaterally. Professor Maida noted that instead of using medical terminology for review of systems it would be better to use layman terminology as if the patient was describing something in their own words. Professor Maida agreed with my differential diagnoses, assessment and ultimate plan for addressing the patient’s urticaria due to food allergy/hypersensitivity.