CAM Day was a huge success!! CAM stands for Complementary and
Alternative Medicine, which represents all the degree programs
offered at National. I am an executive board member with the
Student American Chiropractic Association (SACA), and in past
years, we've had SACA Day with vendors, raffles and speakers to
honor chiropractic and give students a chance to take a break from
classes. Well, since our school is more well-rounded in terms of
offering so many different degrees that actually help with viewing
health more holistically, we changed the name so that we can honor
alternative medicine in general.
The team that I worked with also consisted of members from the
AAAOM Club and the SUN, the naturopathic club. We worked on getting
vendors such as biofreeze, chirotouch, Douglas Laboratories,
Metagenics, etc. The administration also supported our efforts and
gave excused absences to all the attendees after noon. We had
Cynthia Vaughn come in to speak about National Health Reform and
our profession in general. Cynthia Vaughn is a chiropractor from
Texas, which was one of the moving components involved in getting
chiropractic care in the VA hospitals!
It was an all day event that all the students responded
extremely well to. We expected maybe 100 to 150 students, but we
had over 300 students come to learn about multiple products, eat
lunch with us, and listen to the speaker! We also had raffles that
took place for the people that visited all the vendors. I was so
proud of the team I worked with, and although the process was hard
to juggle alongside school and life, it was well worth
it!
Getting Involved
This week, I want to discuss the topic of getting involved with
school beyond playing the student role. There are many clubs to
join that help with studying, adjusting techniques, community
service, and help you join in a bigger cause for the profession
like SUN, SACA, and the AAAOM club. SACA (Student American
Chiropractic Association) helps with relaying the information that
comes from the government into the school.
Viewing your place in your profession simply as just getting
through school is very ignorant. Unfortunately, it's not that
easy...even though getting through school is extremely difficult.
You have to prepare yourself for the REAL world. All the simulated
patients, practicing, having clinicians help you with diagnosing
and treatments in clinic, etc. are only the beginning. But
alternative medicine is something beyond the techniques that we use
to treat our future patients. All the professions at our university
suffer from scrutiny from the public and unfortunately from the
government. Getting involved in clubs like SUN, SACA, and the AAAOM
club brings those issues to light and you can take part in pushing
your profession further. That is why I have been involved with SACA
for more than two years now.
The difference between getting involved in graduate school
versus undergrad or even high school is that QUALITY trumps
QUANTITY. Always be sure that the club you are joining is for a
GREATER purpose! Do not join a specific club just to add it to your
resume if you truly are not interested in it. It will waste your
time and other people's time, and trust me, time is something you
NEED. You know yourself more than anyone else so DO NOT compare
your involvement with fellow students. What you can handle may be
too much for someone or not that much for another person. The first
mistake people make here at school is that they become overly
ambitious and forget that they are a student! Your education should
always take precedence over the clubs you choose to be a part of,
so that's why you should only join the clubs that mean the most to
you and in the end, will benefit you as a future doctor.
I hope this helps you decide how to manage and balance your life
here at NUHS. It's really important to not spread yourself thin!
It's even more important to know when to say NO. Have a great week
and unpack those sweaters...the warm weather is gone! :(