9
favorite herbal tea). That unconventional perspective led me ultimately to explore emergency medicine and envision how we, as chiropractic physicians, are a natural fit in disaster response.
What do you like best about your professional calling?
I am a hands on person. Although I incorporate some instruments and modalities into my practice, I enjoy the patient encounter and the personal contact. Besides the information I acquire by visual and tactile examination, I learn more about people and often what the real contributing factors are to their problems by what they say during that time. I had an elderly man burst into tears during an exam saying that he had not been touched by anyone in 20 years. Much of modern healthcare has removed the personal aspect, and thus the sensory experience, from both patient and physician. That physical contact is still a large component of chiropractic care.
What inspires you?
It inspires me to see the incorporation of our profession into collaborative healthcare for the good of the patient. That collaboration may be through multidisciplinary practices, increased inter-professional referral, exchange of research and information between providers, or even respectful discussions with patients about their treatment options and the need for their own involvement in that care-- it is what healthcare is and should be.
What is your best advice for current students?
• In the words of Dr. Janse,“ Support the organizations that support you. Join your state association and the ACA.”
• Take advantage of every learning opportunity available to you, even gaining certification in other disciplines if possible; it will open doors.
• Experience different types of diagnostic assessment and treatments under varied conditions, because it will make you adaptable.
• Learn to evaluate research; it will develop critical thinking and reinforce your decisions.
• Find your niche and become an expert; it will give you clarity and focus.
• Listen to others, especially your patients; it teaches the value of other people’ s perspectives and the real reason for their problems.
• And her favorite: Be willing to empty the wastebaskets; it demonstrates team spirit, allows the quiet acquisition of knowledge, and imparts the power of practical and necessary action.
9