As a New Jersey native, there are a few things that are foreign to me. Wine made from fruit and sunsets on the beach in February are two of those things. In Florida, those are mundane. I took my girlfriend to Florida Orange Groves Winery in South Pasadena, Florida. The winery was simply a 20 minute drive from our apartment and a five minute drive from the beach. It was the perfect surprise for my girlfriend’s birthday. It was a lot of fun, as we took a tour of the winery which ended with wine tasting. This establishment is well known in Florida, and many of their wines are featured at Disney World less than two hours away.

We tried wines that were made from blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, mangoes, and more. The wines were not only delicious but healthy, as the antioxidant content from the fruit is mostly preserved. It was another unique experience as there are wineries all over the U.S., but I have never been to a winery like this. After our wine tasting we went to the beach and watched the sunset before heading downtown for dinner. I can’t believe I could be on the beach after tasting strawberry wine in February. It was amazing especially for a northerner like myself.

In clinic I have been doing re-evaluations on most of my current patients. When a patient comes in for a new complaint, a history and physical exam are performed, a diagnosis is established, and a treatment plan is written. The treatment plans have expiration dates and once the treatment plans expire, we as interns must re-evaluate the patient and see if the old problem has resolved. Patients will often have new complaints by the time the re-evaluation is done and often the process begins again and new treatment plan is written. Sometimes patients are completely pain and problem free but still want chiropractic treatment and then we can treat them as wellness patients. This is the process we need to use in practice, because it keeps us compliant with Medicare and other health insurances. It is vital we follow this process to demonstrate medical necessity of the treatment we provide.

I have loved living in St. Petersburg, because of all the unique and fun things to do in the area. I am glad I went to National University, because I know how to document and treat patients the correct way, an ethical way.

Thank you for reading my blog. If you have any questions about NUHS in Florida please email me at [email protected]