“One of the interesting and surprising things to me about Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) is that for a private university the students here come from diverse educational backgrounds and more than 31 states. Although we all have different paths, we ended up together at CUKC. Some (like me) were nervous their undergraduate degree could put them at a disadvantage when entering the Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree program. That proved not to be. People with a variety of undergraduate degrees complete the D.C. program at CUKC every year.” – Dr. Lindsey Spreiter
Students who earned undergraduate degrees in fields unrelated to science, or who started careers in other fields, often feel becoming a doctor of chiropractic may be out of reach. Although I had a degree in a science field, I wasn’t sure if my degree prepared me for the chiropractic program at CUKC.
Thankfully, I had an advisor’s help. I found that no matter what your background is if you put in the work, you’ll be fine. But honestly, because of my own educational and professional background, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned when coming into the doctor of chiropractic program.
Dr. Lindsey Spreiter
I always knew that I wanted to go into the medical profession, so when I went to Oklahoma State University, I got my B.S. in Biology and fulfilled all the pre-med requirements. While I wasn’t considering chiropractic college at the time, this degree prepared me for the doctor of chiropractic program with its basic anatomy and biochemistry classes. I hadn’t decided on chiropractic as a career yet because I honestly didn’t even know what chiropractors did. Growing up, I had never been to a chiropractor.
In fact, it wasn’t until the summer after I graduated college that I hurt my back that I went to my first chiropractic appointment. That was the first in a long series of events that led me to this profession.
After Oklahoma State, I moved back home to the Tulsa, Okla. area. I accepted a job as a transporter in a hospital. I took patients to and from their tests and procedures, and I checked them in and out of their rooms. While at this job, I got a lot of experience in patient care, and I got to see a lot of behind the scenes activity in the hospital. I saw many patients in pain and just wished I could have done more to help them.
Seeing What Chiropractic is All About
My work gave me a different viewpoint of the hospital and the healthcare system in general. I worked at the hospital for three years and started realizing that I didn’t think that form of medicine was for me. So, after three years of seeing the medical field up close and being treated by a chiropractor during that time, I decided to go back to school to become a chiropractor. And, of course, I chose CUKC!
I was worried that my time off from school would put me behind my classmates. Even though I had only been out of college for a few years, I was afraid that I had forgotten a lot of information and lost my discipline to study. But, once I started classes at CUKC, I quickly began feeling like my time off was more of a benefit than a hindrance. I feel that the time I spent in the workforce helped me to mature more than I realized. My work experience allowed me to set better goals and to really go for them. I am motivated to work harder in my classes now than when I was in undergrad. I was motivated to become the change in healthcare I envisioned for myself.
If you feel like you are at a disadvantage because you took time off, or you don’t have a strong science background or insert-other-reason-here, try not to stress about it. The very thing that you think will be your weakness can set you apart and become your strength.
Discover the College of Chiropractic at Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC)
Find out if Cleveland University-Kansas City is right for you. CUKC is a private, nonprofit, healthcare-focused university founded in. 1922. Connect with an advisor today! Or better yet, get the details about becoming a doctor of chiropractic and its career advantages by downloading this free ebook: Your Complete Guide to the Chiropractic Profession.
