It simply is the best time of the year! Between the costumes,
decorations, pumpkins, crisp fall air, trick-or-treaters, candy,
and the occasional scare--what is there not to love about
Halloween? Nothing, that's what I say. On Thursday, I went to the
17th Annual North Halsted Street Halloween Parade. I saw a lot of
repeat costumes of Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke from the VMAs, Duck
Dynasty, and Walter White from Breaking Bad. But my favorite
costumes were Pepper from American Horror Story, the twins from The
Shining, and Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas. All
very well done.
At this point in the trimester, pretty much all the tenth
trimester interns are finished up with their patient care numbers
for graduation. Therefore, all the patient care has been turned
over to us ninth trimester interns, including any new patients that
come in. I was lucky enough to get a new patient this week that was
a National University of Health Sciences alumnus. As an alumnus of
the university, you are given free patient care at any of our
clinics, which I think is a pretty nice perk.
This week in my acupuncture elective we covered the spleen
meridian. This meridian runs from the armpit to the foot on both
sides of the body with 21 points a practitioner can use. Some
common aliments that can be treated using this meridian include:
enteritis, musculoskeletal pain, and disorders that increase
dampness. Another function of the spleen meridian is to cleanse and
'modify' the blood, and it also houses the body's Yi (wisdom
mind).
Any additional free time has been dedicated to studying for Part
IV Board Exams, which are the following weekend. I will be taking
Part IV in Davenport, Iowa, at Palmer College of Chiropractic. The
exam covers X-ray interpretation and diagnosis, chiropractic
technique, and case management. The diagnostic imaging section
covers cases that are commonly seen in practice and cases that
should raise red flags. The chiropractic technique section covers
cervical, thoracic, lumbar, pelvic, and extremity manipulations.
The case management portion covers orthopedic tests, neurologic
exam, case history taking, and physical examination. Currently,
every state requires Part IV boards to practice except
Illinois.