1. Family Medicine Clerkship Fremont, NE
Cody Bonk, M3
March-April 2016

2. Overview- Fremont, NE 35 miles NW of Omaha County seat of Dodge County
Population: 26,397
Economy- Agribusiness, manufacturing, industrial services
Racial makeup:
Caucasian- 86%
Hispanic/Latino- 11%
Other- 3%

3. Fremont Health Medical Center
202 beds. 851 employees
24-hour Emergency Department with over 14,000 ER visits annually
MRI/CT availability with 24-hr on-call radiologist
Cancer Care Center
Cardiovascular Catheterization Lab
Extensive Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy Services
Comprehensive Wound Care Center
Inpatient services including: Behavioral medicine with inpatient capabilities, DEM, Hem/Onc, Infectious Disease, Nutrition, Nephrology, Palliative Care, General and Orthopedic Surgery, and Urology

4. Prairie Fields Family Medicine
Located at 350 West 23rd Street. Three blocks west of the hospital.
Personnel: Two physicians, Dr. Thomas McKnight(left) and Dr. Thomas Wolf (right). Three Physician Assistants(from left to right): Jenny Belitz, Jessica Francis, and Lynnda Schiermann
Same building as 23rd Family Medicine who have four MDs, three PAs, and one APRN. (Location of two other medical student rotations.)

5. Preceptor Dr. Thomas McKnight Medical school: UNMC
Residency: Cedar Rapids Medical Education Program at Mercy Hospital and St. Luke’s Hospital, Cedar Rapids, IA
Fellowship at Immanuel Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Practicing Family Medicine in Fremont since 1981.
Recipient of 2016 Koefoot Award
Great physician, teacher, husband, father, grandfather. Overall outstanding guy.

6. Medical staff
2-3 dedicated CNAs (Robin (left), Amy (right) that assist in checking-in patients, obtaining vitals, updating medical records, medication refills, medication and vaccine administration, patient coordination and general administration tasks
One supervising RN, Jan (center), who oversees patient coordination, EMR, and countless other “behind the scenes” duties
Dozens of other support staff members responsible for the daily tasks/responsibilities keeping the practice running smoothly

7. Facility
Five dedicated patient rooms with upwards of four additional “overflow” rooms.
Two procedure rooms used for sutures, IVF administration, minor surgical procedures, wart/mole removal, etc.
In-house XR capabilities with dedicated technician
In-house Laboratory

8. Typical Daily Schedule
6:15-6:50am- Commute from Omaha to Fremont
7:00am-UTC (usually 7:50-8:10). Round on anywhere from 1-6 patients on observation/inpatient status at FHMC.
8:00am-UTC (usually 5:30pm- 6:50pm). Outpatient appointments- on average patients seen daily. Plus, answering EMR queries, insurance/DOT/nursing home/countless other forms and paperwork, and pages from inpatient hospital staff.
TBD- plus 40 minutes- Commute from Fremont to Omaha

9. Overall Advice
Dr. McKnight is a great physician and teacher. He is exceedingly friendly and will treat you like a peer. He will ask for your opinion on diagnosis, medications, treatment plans, lab tests, so make sure you pay attention throughout the patient interview and exam! He is also immensely busy and sees A LOT OF patients, so wear comfortable shoes and learn the EMR as fast as you can.
The nursing staff is extremely friendly and will be a great help learning the daily routine and the EMR. Be sure to be nice to them and ask for help when needed!
Be on time. Work hard. Be nice to staff. Enjoy.