Hello everyone–I hope that all the readers are healthy and well out there! Hopefully you are still able to go about daily life without too much interruption from this ongoing pandemic.

The past couple weeks have been pretty crazy here in Florida. This trimester is my second to last (9th of 10) of my time here in chiropractic school! While this is a super exciting time, it is also greatly affected by the COVID-19 virus. As of last week, I was supposed to be seeing patients full time, every day of the week, but due to regulations in place, our clinic has been forced to remain closed during this time. The first 10 weeks of this trimester (until July 13^th) we will be limited to online clinic experiences which mostly consist of discussions, quizzes, and research assignments. We are hoping that we will be able to integrate telemedicine opportunities for us and our patients sometime before that week 10 date, but if not, then we will begin to see patients in mid-July.

As a student entering some of the most formative time of my education, having my clinic experience affected so much during these uncertain times has really put stress on me. I have struggled in weighing options and determining whether or not to put my clinic internship on pause for the summer in order to possibly get more clinical encounters and have an experience that was less effected by COVID-19. This is a decision that has been made by countless students across the nation and by a couple of friends of mine in several different programs. In the end, taking the time off would’ve greatly interfered with the activities I am involved in, like being an ACASC Executive Board Member, NCMIC Student Ambassador, and potentially even this blog.

It also would’ve affected my being able to take my board exams, most of which have been canceled, rescheduled, and postponed several times over the last few months. Ultimately, it became clear that the most important thing for me to do as a student during this time of pandemic, is to keep going at it and find value in the opportunities that are currently available. While everything seems to be in flux, and every decision seems to carry unseen variables and potential changes, it is important to realize that we are all in this together and will get through it together!

During my deliberations on how to process and proceed through virtual clinical schooling and working toward my upcoming graduation, I was helped so much by family members and friends who all gave me their opinions and stories of how they are all navigating their own situations through these trying times. If I learned one thing through it all, it’s that now, more than ever, we must lean on each other and value the connections we have. While we all may be apart, we can all become closer, and come out of this stronger than ever!

During this time of distanced learning, I will do everything I can to make this blog interesting and valuable for all of you readers out there! If there is something you would like to know more about (including what school is like when things are operating normally), please do not hesitate to reach out in a comment on these posts or by emailing me at [email protected]. Stay safe everyone!