Santa Rosa

I just finished my rotation in Santa Rosa and realized I never wrote about the city itself, a slower-paced town. I actually enjoyed the 70 minute drive up, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge every weekend. I didn't really find time to explore the city too much, but I loved its open space and relaxed attitude. The weather was completely different than San Francisco, hot and dry.

The community clinic where I worked managed well with few resources. As students, we got to run the pregnancy tests, rapid strep throats, urinalysis. The medical assistants helped us so much. The preceptors were awesome, really taking time out of their jobs and lives to teach us and fix our mistakes. The administration at the program made life so much easier, working out organizational and scheduling problems that came up. Sutter Hospital actually has beautiful architecture and I got to know it pretty well. The hospital also payed for the students to stay at an extended stay hotel. While it wasn't home, I thought it was really generous for the hospital to do that.

I'm going to miss that daily commute from the hotel to the clinics, the grocery trips we made in our lunch hour, the joking around with the MAs. I actually wouldn't mind coming back to Santa Rosa, but the heat and the allergies make me wary.