I shadowed Dr. McAlhaney, who owns her own family practice, during the Fridays I had available during my summer classes. This practice is located in my small, rural hometown that currently lacks a hospital, and as a result, has a very limited number of physicians. The nearest hospital is over 30 minutes away. Over my time shadowing here, I saw over 60 patients with a variety of health conditions. I would arrive early in the morning and leave near 6 p.m. at night. I was very blessed to be able to get this opportunity because it showed me what the lack of physicians does to a community. The doctor was having to treat patients with problems that hospitals would usually have to
