Many people dont quite know when to go to a walk-in clinic or when to go to the ER. I currently work in a walk-in clinic and I would just like to clarify the confusion.

Logical and reasonable things to come into my walk-in clinic would be cold or fli symptoms, minor injuries or minor concerns like yeast infections, pink eye, or rashes. We will even do STD checks. If the walk in clinic provider tells you to follow up with your primary doctor, please do so. As much as we would like to help you, walk-in clinics are not built to be a doctor's office.

You would go to the ER for major injuries such as cutting yourself to the point that the bleeding wont stop, bullet or stab wounds, and heart attack or stroke symptoms. If you don't know what these symptoms are here is a quick list.

Heart attack symptoms include severe chest pain or tightness that can go down your left arm, and cause shortness if breath and sweating.

If you're having a stroke, you may experience changes in speech,vision, or even behavior, high blood pressure, and the inability to move one side of your body. The ER is better equip to handle these problems than a walk in clinic does. They have more detailed equipment and bigger laboratories for testing.

Also, if you have an on-going problem and take medication for it, please see your primary doctor if you need a refill. A walk in clinic is not the appropriate place to go to on a Friday night after your prescription has run out. We don't know your case and we don't know what the doctor has in mind for your medications.

I hope this crash course is helpful!