During my site evaluation, I had the opportunity to meet with my evaluator and these sessions were very helpful in strengthening my clinical reasoning and understanding of patient management. What stood out most was how he emphasized going deeper into the reasoning behind each treatment decision rather than just identifying the diagnosis and selecting a medication.

One of the cases I presented involved a pregnant patient with a draining skin abscess. While discussing management, he guided me through not only appropriate antibiotic selection but also the importance of considering alternative approaches, such as consulting OB/GYN prior to initiating treatment in early pregnancy, emphasizing the role of interprofessional collaboration in patient care. He also spent time reviewing the etiology of the conditions I presented and provided thoughtful insights into how different pathogens influence treatment choices. This was especially helpful in reinforcing why certain antibiotics are selected over others in cases like skin abscesses, where coverage for Staphylococcus aureus and possible MRSA is important.

For my journal article presentation, I discussed “A Placebo-Controlled Trial of Antibiotics for Smaller Skin Abscesses.” We reviewed how the study demonstrated improved cure rates with antibiotics such as Clindamycin compared to drainage alone. He helped connect these findings back to my patient case, reinforcing how evidence-based medicine directly informs clinical practice and supports treatment decisions made in real patient encounters. Overall, this site evaluation helped me improve how I approach clinical reasoning by focusing more on the why behind my decisions, considering alternative management strategies, and applying evidence-based medicine more confidently. Moving forward, I will continue working on clearly communicating my thought process and ensuring my assessments reflect both clinical reasoning and appropriate application of current evidence.