This past week I saw the most patients I have seen since starting clinic. It was a busy week and I am happy to be gaining regular patients, seeing new ones and also old patients that former interns have seen. I am seeing a wide variety of age, pathologies, and complexity of cases.

My internship is currently fantastic and I was just informed of the opportunity to do rotations at the Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Hospital here in St. Petersburg. National University has a good relationship with the VA hospital and our students have routinely done rotations in their hospital for years now. I will be updating my CV and getting as many recommendations as possible to apply for the rotation in the upcoming weeks.

Despite being busy treating patients and planning for future opportunities, I also have tasks that require my immediate attention. This upcoming weekend I will be taking Part III and Physical Therapy of the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners Licensure Exam. I am extremely proud to say I recently found out I passed all sections of Part II meaning I am halfway done with the licensure exams. Part III consists of two 55-question sections with an allotted time of two hours per section. The questions pertain to clinical management of patients and according to NBCE include history, physical exam, neuromusculoskeletal exam, diagnostic imaging, laboratory studies, supportive interventions, and case management. Part III is apparently similar to Part II but is testing more the clinical application rather than clinical theory.

Physical Therapy is a 90-question multiple choice exam that tests one’s understanding of physical therapy modalities such as ice, heat, stim, and laser. It also tests one’s understanding of different exercise theory such as muscle vs. cardiovascular rehab as well as interventions like manual therapy. Both PT and Part III are taken on the same day, and the two of them together totals about the same amount of time as Parts I or II. I have been reviewing my notes from classes such as PT modalities, and Physical Rehabilitation I and II. My friends and colleagues who already took it said they simply reviewed their notes from class and had no problems passing them.

One of the reasons I chose National was because I wanted to be prepared for the boards. So far I am two for two, and I am hoping this Sunday I can make it four for four before I take Part IV next month! I will keep you all posted on how I do on my upcoming exams.

If you have any questions regarding student life at NUHS Florida please email me at [email protected].