Dex's Blog

Good morning, and I hope everyone's weekend went well. I spent the weekend in bed as it rained and I fought off the flu; at least I was able catch up on some movies I had wanted to see. I was also sad to see the Rays leave the post season, losing to the Texas Rangers. It was a disappointing end to an exciting season. The Tampa Bay Bucs and Florida State Seminoles also blew it this weekend, all adding to my already dismal weekend.

New Day

Today is a new a day, and it's Monday, which means more simulated patients and having to leave my weekend at the door, and put on my happy pants. When we walk in with a patient, we have to portray hope and confidence. The more a doctor can ensure confidence that their patient will get better, the better the patient feels, and the better their prognosis.

Visiting Speaker

This past week the NUHS-Florida chapter of the Student American Chiropractic Association (SACA) heard Dr. Mark Wieland, Florida Chiropractic Association (FCA) president, speak on the topic of business and business planning. Dr. Wieland is a 1985 National graduate, and is one of the newest editions to the Florida clinical sciences staff. I have the opportunity to learn from Dr. Wieland on a weekly basis, as he is teaching the seventh trimester Business Planning class.

Dr. Mark Wieland speaking to SACA members at NUHS-Florida.

His presentation given to SACA members revolved around time management and the success of business. Being able to manage time in the clinic and eventually in your own practice is a skill in and of itself. I am already starting to find this out with my sessions with simulated patients. Efficiency in all aspects of patient interaction is key to providing quality care in an allotted time. Dr. Wieland brings this point up quite a bit. Patients are accustomed to waiting when they visit their MD, but do not expect (and shouldn't have to) to wait when they visit their chiropractor.

So what's the magic bullet for patient efficiency? Practice! Everything from watching the patient rise from the reception room chair, to observing how they walk back to the exam room can provide you with an abundant amount of information on which to focus the rest of their visit. Once in the exam room, be prepared. It's important to have a game plan before even greeting the patient.  If it is a first patient encounter, have a constant routine in taking a history; this will not only conserve time, but also give you a sense of confidence over repetition. The same follows for a physical exam. These skills will be unique to each doctor, and will only be honed over repetition and trial and error.

Hopefully, this week's post gets some people thinking about the bigger picture a bit. It's so easy to get sucked into the class and grades aspect of our education that we sometimes forget that we are here learning how to treat patients, not fill out scantron sheets. Study hard, be prepared for each day, and remember that we are learning how to help people. Have a great week.

Dex 

Last week I was talking about the business end of our profession, and I was revisiting that topic this past weekend as I was putting together a business/marketing plan for my future clinic. As I sat down at my computer, staring at a blank word document (much as I was doing about 2 minutes ago), I had to come up with somewhere to start. I was making a plan to become a doctor, but what is a doctor? What kind of doctor do I want to become? In all my experiences with physicians in my life (there's been a few, I was a sickly fella when I was young), one stood out to me, my allergist Dr. Adler.

I've known Dr. Adler for as long as I can remember, and for that long he's been more of my teacher than my doctor. I am allergic to just about everything in nature, so it was crucial for him to explain to me how to avoid certain triggers. For Dr. Adler, it wasn't about pushing drugs down my throat, or allergy shots in my arm, he found it critical for me to understand my problem and find practical ways to keep it under control.

To be a doctor should also mean to be a teacher. A successful physician forges relationships with his patients and ultimately wants them well--what better way than to help teach your patients how to achieve that goal. It's a "better to teach a man to fish then to plop a filet down in front of him" kind of a thought. I hope this is a tip that some of you will take to heart.

One my favorite teachers here in Florida, David "Coach" Seaman, DC, teaching Tri 5 GI/GU E&M class.

Our Tri 6 crew and I have taken over teaching/mentoring the Florida chapter of Motion Palpation Club, in hopes to sharpen our skills as teachers. Start learning how to teach, and practice your skill where you can.

Time to step down from the soapbox.

I hope everyone has a great week and has a little time to recharge their batteries before finals roll around. I've recently tried to pick up a new hobby to get my head out of the books for a while--helping a buddy make some home-brewed beer. For those of you who know me, you probably wouldn't be surprised that my new hobby has something to do with beer. In my opinion, one needs some kind of hobby to keep their sanity during these nearly 4 years of chiro-madness, and why not have that hobby include making your own alcohol? Ha ha ha.

Cheers,
Dex 

Hello all, hope everyone's weekend was a relaxing one. Last week finally concluded nearly three weeks of midterms for us. It was a stressful three weeks, filled with just about everything but sleep and free time, but we got through it and now look ahead to finals. 

(L-R) Guy Reshamwala, Brandon Fields (Trimester 5 student), and myself at the SACA meeting. 

I've spoken before how National's focus on the sciences and clinical application of our skills tends to set it apart from most other chiropractic schools, but these aren't the only tools National teaches us to succeed. As far as I know, National is one of the only institutions that focuses on the business end of our profession throughout the curriculum as well. It is very easy to get lost in the incredible amount of clinical knowledge and skills we are amassing from trimester to trimester, and forget about an extremely important part of our lives after school--making money. Everyone that gets into the medical field has that underlying urge to help people, unfortunately, a good heart and good intentions don't often pay the bills.

This trimester's gambit of classes includes a business marketing class, which is preparing us, and forcing us to think about what kind of practice we want to open. Are you going to have a cash practice? How about sports medicine driven clinic? Is pediatric chiropractic something you are interested in? What is going to set your clinic apart from all the others in your area? We will be physicians when we graduate NUHS, but we will also have to be business people and small business owners as well.

The best advice I can offer here is to do your research! It's never too early to scout the area you plan to practice in. Begin to notice the major demographics of the area, and then start to focus on a field of care for them. Seek out some chiropractors in the area that have successful practices, and try to spend some time in their offices.

I personally I have three docs in my area that I cycle through and work with for a few days here and there during our breaks. This is not a profession for the shy. The saying, "It's not what you know, but who you know," does pertain to an extent. Try it out; you'd be surprised how much you can learn from other people's experiences.

Have a great week. The MLB all-star game is Tuesday; be sure to cheer on the reps from the Tampa Bay Rays!

Take care,
Dex