First 5 Minutes of Managing Hydrofluoric Acid Burns in Urgent Care

Hydrofluoric acid (HF) is a silent threat – seemingly harmless at first glance but with the potential to cause severe, life-threatening harm. It’s one of those rare exposures that many medical professionals may never encounter, but when it does happen, prompt and precise action is crucial. In this post, we’ll break down the crucial first five minutes after identifying an HF burn and the vital steps that urgent care professionals should...

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Introducing Practical Pharmacology: An Outpatient Audio Course

Nowhere is the gap between book learning and clinical practice quite so apparent as in the world of pharmacology. The best medication for Diagnosis X is Drug Y on the boards, but what about when your real-life patient is allergic to that medication? What if they can’t afford it? What if there’s a drug shortage?

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Practical Pearls for Head Lice Management

As I walk into the classroom to pick up my young child from school, I am greeted with a battlefield of zombie-like bodies strewn across the colorful carpet. I quickly scoop my son up off the floor, but my heart begins to race, thinking about that communal carpet, and I can’t help worrying about the possibility of head lice… 

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Soothing the Burn: Essential Tips for Managing Sunburn

Ah, summer—the season of sun-kissed days and outdoor adventures. But all that sunshine comes with an enemy: sunburn. As urgent care providers, you're no strangers to the aftermath of a day spent under the rays. So, how can you best help your patients recover from sunburn and prevent further discomfort? 

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The DDx for Acute Low Back Pain: SOS

It’s summer, and that is officially the season of the weekend warrior. You know who I’m talking about because you see them every week in your clinic. They decided to take on a new gardening project, a strenuous workout or tried water-skiing for the first time in decades, and now, a few days later they come to you with pain in their lower back. 

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Identifying and Managing Perichondritis in Urgent Care

In the urgent care setting, we often encounter patients with ear pain, a common yet sometimes deceptively simple complaint. However, amidst the myriad of otitis media and cellulitis cases lies a less common and easily overlooked but significantly more serious condition: perichondritis. 

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Legal Lessons: Testicular Torsion - A Case with a Twist

Gastroenteritis is a common urgent care diagnosis, but clinicians tend to default to it because they lack a better explanation for a patient's GI symptoms. Don’t fall into the same trap as a fellow urgent care provider from New York who missed a case of testicular torsion masquerading as a benign GI complaint. 

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Clinicians Are Only Human

Recently, one of my primary care patients sent me a routine question through the electronic medical record, asking when they should get a specific blood test to guide their medication dosing. When an hour went by and I hadn’t responded, my patient called the front desk of our clinic to ask the question over the phone and inquire why I hadn’t written back. They also wrote me another message, voicing their disappointment that I hadn’t...

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Keeping Up: New Updates for Urgent Care Bootcamp

In the ever-evolving field of urgent care, staying abreast of the latest knowledge and practices is crucial. We're excited to announce that we launched five new videos along with detailed written summaries focusing on common acute care injuries and procedures. These enhancements equip you with the advanced skills and knowledge necessary to walk confidently into your next UC shift. 

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"I Messed Up"

In the high-stakes world of medicine, where every decision holds weight, the inevitability of human error can loom large over clinicians. It's a reality we all face, yet admitting our mistakes and grappling with their aftermath can be one of the most challenging aspects of our profession. How do we reconcile our desire for perfection with the reality of fallibility? How do we move forward gracefully and resiliently after making a clinical...

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Off the Hook: Mastering the Art of Fish Hook Removal in Urgent Care

Warm weather is here, and with it comes BBQs, longer days, and plenty of fun in the sun. Unfortunately, it also means more fishing hooks flying into unexpected places—including, occasionally, someone’s skin. This often presents a unique challenge for urgent care clinicians as we debate how to safely remove that stubborn hook and get our patients back to enjoying their day.

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The Great Debate: Is Inhaled Epinephrine a Friend or Foe for Asthma?

Just because it’s over the counter doesn’t make it safe. 

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