In my last blog I discussed the many opportunities students have this trimester to expand their chiropractic knowledge outside of their usual coursework. This time I would like to take the time to discuss two amazing opportunities that I had the joy of partaking in within the last couple of months. Over my trimester break in December, I travelled to Haiti and the Dominican Republic for 10 days with other student doctors and doctors. We provided chiropractic care to hundreds of people who otherwise would have no other access to healthcare. While initially my goal was to adjust as many people as possible to improve my own adjusting skills, it quickly changed to I want to get my hands on as many people as possible to improve their health and ultimately their lives. In the end, I did improve my adjusting skills, but I took away so much more including life lessons and a whole new appreciation for life itself.
My most recent adventure took me to Washington, D.C. for the National Chiropractic Leadership Conference, otherwise known as NCLC. Every year student doctors and doctors from all over the country meet on Capitol Hill to lobby for different bills concerning the chiropractic profession. I will be the first to say that I am not a fan of politics, but I loved, loved, loved getting to go and talk to our different representatives about this amazing profession we are in and why they should support us. After lobbying, I was also able to explore everything Washington, D.C. had to offer with some of my closest friends. These two trips of course required more planning than signing up for a weekend seminar, but the work was so worth the life experiences gained.
