My First Interview and a Trip to Washington D.C.

Last weekend I was flown up to North Virginia for an interview for a chiropractic associateship. I have been applying to jobs with the hope that I will find my perfect fit before graduation. I have had a lot of interest from the doctors I have contacted, and one made arrangements for me to fly up and interview.

I gladly accepted the invitation and flew out on Friday morning. I met the staff, the doctors, the office manager, and the owner of the practice. It was a successful practice with multiple treatment modalities for patients. They utilize nutrition, supplementation, physical therapy modalities, acupuncture, massage, applied kinesiology, and functional neurology in addition to multiple chiropractic techniques. I was asked plenty of questions I was prepared for, and others I was not prepared for. They wanted to know my practice philosophy and made me read lab work, answer case-based questions, and demonstrate my technique. I felt well prepared for my interview in this extremely well-known clinic and was thankful I knew how to read labs and answer clinically based questions! I am not sure if I could have done so without the comprehensive curriculum I endured at NUHS. Though reading labs is not my forté, I did well enough to impress the doctors with my knowledge.

It was a fantastic experience and the entire staff was impressed with my abilities. I left the office with a “maybe” from the owner, as they are still interviewing other candidates, and are looking for someone who can fill the position immediately — however, I was asked to stay in touch.

I decided to stay the weekend in Arlington, Virginia with my best friend from home. It was a fun weekend as we went to a beer garden in Washington, D.C. We also went to the National Mall and saw the Washington Monument. On Sunday, we visited the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. The museum was incredible! I have always had an interest in space, and as someone with a science background I understood most of the material in the exhibits. They also had Luke’s costume from “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” which was not educational, but very cool!

After returning home I discussed my interview with my professors and colleagues. I left knowing I have a lot of work to do to be a great, well rounded physician. I want to be able to read labs and know exactly what is wrong, what to do, how long until we could see results, what the physical exam would look like based on the labs — or what the labs would look like based on the history and physical exam.

School does a great job at laying the foundation to become a great physician, but it is up to the individual to take that foundation and run with it. I left Virginia knowing that I need to work on the techniques I am not good at, instead of just doing what I am comfortable with. I need to read more labs and brush up on a lot of the material from classes, because in the real world, anybody with any condition could walk through the door. I left seeing what the future could hold if I do what is necessary to grow a successful practice. I left motivated and excited for the next opportunity!

Thank you for reading my blog; if you have any questions please email me at [email protected].