National University held a virtual panel presentation last month, catching up with three alumni and their experiences during the early years of practice.

Michael Abenoja, ATC, DC, (NUHS ’18) discusses his early years in practices during a virtual panel presentation.

Organized by NUHS Florida faculty every trimester, panel presentations typically feature experts such as faculty members along with alumni, local physicians and community business leaders. During the event, students are also able to join in on the discussion and ask questions.

Last week’s panelists, Michael Abenoja, ATC, DC, (NUHS ’18), Jennifer Scherbauer, DC, ND, LAc, MS, (NUHS ’17) and Jake LaVere, DC, (NUHS ’14) shared what they did immediately after graduation and the type of practices they now run.

Three weeks after graduating from the NUHS Florida-site, Dr. Abenoja jumped right into his own solo-practice, Anchor Sports Chiropractic. On a busy day, he sees about 12-15 people.

“My practice revolves around manual therapy where I’m really hands on. I spend a good bit of time with my patients,” he said.

Since graduating, Dr. Scherbauer has worked at various practice types as an associate, independent contractor, and now as a partner and clinic director for an integrative practice, JLS Integrative Health Center.

“I really like the balance of my work schedule at this point where I can do most of it myself. I have control over my finances, my communication with my patients and all the marketing,” she said.

When Dr. LaVere opened his practice, LaVere Chiropractic & Performance Labs, he started with low overall business expenses so he wouldn’t have to worry about tough times and change how he practices.

“That way, I don’t spend as much time with the back-half and more time with my patients, ” he said.

Alumni also offered valuable advice to students.

While in school, Dr. Scherbauer said students should hone in on what they’re interested in, how they want to practice in the future and do extracurricular activities tailored to that.

Dr. LaVere recommended getting out into the community and volunteering like he did at various sporting events to help increase patient load.

“The big thing was getting out in my community without spending a lot of money,” he said. “I would volunteer at 5K’s…three minutes with someone stretching, you can learn a lot about them and the next thing you know they’re patients.”