From Student to Teacher

When you are in school, we tend to enter a world that is a tad bit unlike life outside.  Going to classes, going to labs, studying and taking tests are all done safely within the confines of the walls of the school.  I loved going to Palmer West and what I learned there has faithfully served me through my years in practice.  But as students, we tend to get into a mindset, especially midway through school, where we forget that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I felt school was quite grueling with the way the long days, the afternoons and evenings of studying, board reviews, etc.  It is only natural to get a little cabin fever at times because we are in the classroom so much. 

What I don’t want to happen is for any of you to get into a rut with school and lose sight of the big picture.  One day soon, you will  leave school and join us as a Chiropractor out in the field.  It is an exciting prospect, isn’t it?  Close your eyes for a second and visualize what you think  you will look like, feel like and act like as a licensed D.C. 

If you are not really sure what it will feel like to a graduate, let me give you a few things to think about:

1. Your required schooling will be done.  No more studying, tests or papers to write unless you pursue diplomate programs or other degrees.

2. You will be in the real world using the knowledge you have learned to make a living.

3. You get to make a difference in people’s lives every day.  For the most part, patients walk in to our offices in pain and walk out feeling better. It is a wonderful thing.

4. Practice will help you to become an awesome Chiropractor. Over time as a student, you refined your studying and test taking and became better at it.  So it also goes with practicing Chiropractic.  Time makes you more skilled.

5. It is very fulfilling making a difference in people’s lives. We go to work every day and help people and it makes all of the long days of studying and all of the tests worthwhile. 

No matter where you are in your schooling at this point, graduation will be here sooner than you think.  From time to time you may have to re-focus your learning in each class and poise yourself to excel once you leave school.  It is a fun world out there for being a Chiropractor.  Get excited, Get jazzed and enjoy school as much as you can.  I hope you love this profession as much as I do. 

Can you feel it!

From 1989 to 2003, I was a student at the University of California, Davis where I did my undergraduate work.  I spent a majority of my free time while studying very hard.  I recall logging long hours in my dorm room or at the library memorizing and learning what I thought I needed to know.  So where did it all get me?  It got me a high “B” average and a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology.

Was I satisfied? No.  I just spent 4 years of my life studying hard to basically end up with a “B” for college.  I was not happy with that so I vowed to change things when I got into Chiropractic college.  I evaluated a lot about my college experience before I started at PCCW.  I wanted to go in and really do well academically.  My reflections on my studying yielded one fundamental concept:  I was studying harder but not smarter.  Allow me to explain in the advice that I give you.

1. Know your learning style.  Each of us tends to be stronger with audio, visual or kinesthetic (feeling).  Audio learners may do well taping the letures and listening to them later.  Visual learners may get a lot out of their written notes or study guides.  Kinesthetic learners may want more of a hands on or tangible way of learning the material.  Of course we all have some affinity for all three methods of learning, but we usually stress one above the others.

2. Understand the teaching style of the instructor as it gives you an idea of how they will test.  We take classes to learn information, but we take tests to see if we are understanding the instructor’s teaching style.  The teachers will usually indicate which areas of the material they are stressing or believe are important.  Old tests or sample tests are of good help here as well.

3. Study for the type of test that is being given.  If you are studying for a multiple choice test by memorizing every piece of information you are being tested on, then you are working too hard.  In a multiple choice test, the visual or retrieval cues are right there on the page.  You may only have to be familiar with the material to be able to recall the information you need.

Conversely, if you are just skimming the material to prepare for a fill in or a written test, then you may be underprepared.  Find out what format the test will be given in and you will know how hard or which way you need to study for it.

4. Learn from the mistakes you make on the midterms and quizzes so you can redeem yourself on subsequent exams or on the final.  Don’t throw in the towel if you bomb one of the tests because you can learn from your mistakes. This allows you to not make the same errors on the final.

5. Talk to your instructors.  I cannot tell you how many of your instructors really have no idea who you are.  Go to office hours, introduce yourself and ask them questions. These people are very freindly and smart.  Many of these teachers are very willing to help you when you show the initiative. 

I ended up changing the way I studied for PCCW and it paid off for me.  Remember, grades and doing well in clinic were important to me.  That does not make it right or wrong, it’s just the way I saw it.  I studied smarter and I ended up doing much better at PCCW and I was very pleased when I graduated.  If you want more details, you will have to e-mail me and we can talk about it.

The title of this entry seems like a simple yet infinitely complicated sentence.  Do you have goals for where you want to be in your personal and professional life?   Do you have hopes and dreams for who you want to be once you have graduated? Have you ever thought about getting these goals organized to see how they all fit together?

 We have all learned at some point in our lives that having goals is a wonderful thing.  Actually writing goals down on paper, however, can be an powerful instrument through which you can visualize the successes of your life and actually experience them.  Writing down your goals can seem like a daunting task, that is why so many people never bother doing so.  Here are a few ideas on how you can map out your future:

1. Divide your goals into professional and personal.  Sometimes these areas will crossover with one another, but by and large, keeping them separate will keep things from getting too confusing.

2. Give time limitations to all of your goals.  For example, you may choose to have goals for the next month; quarterly; 6 months; 1 year; 5 year; 10 year; 15 year or whatever you choose to do.  This helps to quantify a finite amount of time that you actually want to accomplish your goal.  Simply stating, ” I want to open my own practice” is too vague and open ended.

3.  Write everything down that comes to your mind, no matter how crazy or far fetched you think it sounds.  You may have multiple drafts of your goals so when you get ideas in your head, write them down.  You can always modify them later. Some of your aspirations or desires may be forgotten if you don’t put them on paper.

4. Have a reward system once you have reached a goal.  If your goal was to simply “study for Microbiology midterm” and you accomplished that goal, then reward yourself.  I am not saying go out and buy yourself something expensive, but make it a reward you look forward to.  It may be getting ice cream, watching television, playing your video games, or whatever.  Just make it fun once you get to your goal.  The bigger the goal you are striving for, the bigger the reward might be.  It’s your choice.

5. Re-evaluate your goals on a regular basis.  I tend to review my goals every six months.  Sometimes I may not get to it for one year.  When you are looking them over, you might be surprised to see how many goals you have achieved faster than you thought you would.  Then you can set new goals and adjust your time frames accordingly.

 The most important thing to remember about goal setting is to try and make it enjoyable.  You are challenging yourself to shoot for the stars and be the best you can be.  Think of your goals as a road map to where you want to be some time in the future.  Put them down on paper, visualize and achieve your dreams.  Have fun out there!

Are there ever mornings you wake up and feel like not showing up for your first class?  Are there ever things like labs, review sessions or extra technique hours that you just blow off because you think it’s no big deal?  Obviously for the classes you take, attendance is counted by almost all of the teachers.  In some way, this attendance tends to be tied to your overall grade in the class.  So missing will usually end up hurting you in some way in the end.

Another way to think about showing up faithfully to class and your other committments for school involves developing your mindset for your professional life.  Now, I realize that many of you have developed your study habits and attitudes toward school in the days of middle school, high school and college.  Some of those habits are good ones; some of them may be not so good.  It is never too late to change or modify a habit to make it better.

When you are out in practice, rarely will you be able to wake up one morning and decide that you either don’t want to go in or you want to go in late. Generally, pateints do no appreciate if you arrive late at your office while they have been waiting for awhile for you to arrive.  

I am trying to motivate you to stay motivated about school and your classes.  I know full well how difficult and tedious classes and labs get after awhile.  Sometimes, it is hard to stay excited when you are bogged down in studying.  It will get better, but having a great attitude about school and going the extra mile in what you do will help prepare you for practice.

Do you know someone who is chronically late where ever they go? We all know someone like this; it might be you.  There is nothing wrong with this in the grand scheme of things, but you need to figure out how you will eventually solve this problem.  Will you wake up earlier? Schedule patients later to give you ample time to make it in in the morning or back from lunch? When patients see that you are consistently late, they feel that you don’t value their time.  A patient’s time is just as valuable as yours. Work on making sure you are showing up on time for school related events.  Remember, it’s a mindset.

 One last thing, being present and on time also makes impressions not only on the patients who you will have, but the surrounding community and those who would be referral sources for you.  Being on time when you go to networking, referral group meetings or events in your community then give people the opportunity to talk to you.  When you show up, you allow people to get to know you on a personal level and people love to refer patients to the people they know.

 So the next time you wake up and wonder how important it is to get to class on time or if you should really go to that review or study session, do it!  Show up and be successful!

Are you a little confused by the title of this blog post?  Let me explain.  It is my undying quest to get you students to think like doctors even before you have graduated from school.  This subject pertains to the elective technique classes that are offered at your school. 

You know what I am referring to.  Classes like Thompson Drop, Activator, Diversified, S.O.T., and all of the other possible techniques that your school may offer.  As a doctor in the field for over 11 years now and someone who came out of PCCW knowing basically Diversified technique only, practice was a rude awakening of how much I really did not know. I learned very quickly that one technique was not going to help me be a success.

Out there in the field of Chiropractic, it is wise to know one technique very well so that can be the foundation of your practice.  However, to not arm yourself with more information and skills in other techniques will be potentially harmful to the types of patients you can serve.  You need to have as much exposure to the other techniques as you can so you can find other tools and methods to treat the multitude of patients that will come to you.

You should take as many of the technique classes offered in your school as you possibly can.  You can learn so much about how to be a wonderful practitioner because each technique has something to offer your treatment style.   The doctors teaching these technique courses may be on the current faculty but in somc cases, a field doctor will actually come onto your campus and teach the class.  In either case, what an opportunity for you to learn first hand practical information that you will use the rest of your days in Chiropractic.

Once you are far enough in school to be eligible to take the elective technique classes, get the list and see what is offered.  Plan it out so you can take them all.  If it is not feasible due to the amount of classes or the times offered, then do as many as you can.  I know weekends can be a real pain, but when you out in the field practicing and you have a spouse and children, it’s even more of a pain.  Take the time now while you can and reap the benefits later on.

I welcome questions and comments from you on any of the blogs I have written or if you want to hear about something I have not written about yet.   I am here to listen.

Gut instincts are very important to us human beings.  In some serious cases, they keep us out of danger. In other cases they can help us choose the right answer to a test question that we are not quite sure of.  In any event, there are certain segments of the population that are good at listening to their gut feelings.  They trust what they feel and they go for it. 

Deciding on where to practice is one of those ”gut feeling” questions you need to ask yourself.  Finding the answer can involve a long thought process.  As you go through school, you are constantly being exposed to new ideas and concepts by your instructors, your text books and the seminars/electives you choose to attend.  These help you shape your viewpoint on how you may eventually want to practice. 

I have told you before that one of my jobs in writing to you is to make you think about things that I never did. You need to take a few moments after each quarter or semester and think about were you want your practice to be located when you graduate.  To start you off, you need to ask yourself this question: What does your heart tell you?

One of my favorite instructors at PCCW, Dr. Gary DeWet, taught our Practice Development quarter (13th Q) while we were interning in the field.  I remember him saying “practice where you are going to love to live”.  He was and is so right.

If you love the community you are practicing in, you will become connected to the community and its’ events.  You become part of things and it goes a long way to building a positive reputation for years to come.  People see you around town, you become part of the Chamber of Commerce, enroll your children in the local schools. It is a wonderful feeling.  I myself am practicing in my hometown of Orinda, CA near San Francisco.

So I ask you, what geographical area would you love to live and practice in?  Is it your home town? Is it where your spouse or significant other is from?  Is it right near your school?  Is it another country? Wherever it may be, I hope you follow your instincts!

How well do you really know the instructors teaching the classes you are taking this semester?  Look beyond the title of the class and even the information you may be learning in the lectures.  I want you to think for a second about the instructors that are teaching your current classes.  Have you ever thought about the amount of knowledge they have within them that they could be sharing with you?

 I mean it, teachers are human beings too.  I have been involved with Chiropractic education for going on 12 years now.  When I taught at Palmer West part time for my first 3 years in practice, I loved talking to students.  I still do! In fact, I love talking to students so much that it is the reason for this blog.

 Many of the instructors of your school are Chiropractors who have lived or are living another life outside of the classroom.  The Chiropractors you are lucky enough to have on your faculty have treated hundreds of patients; ran successful practices; dealt with insurance companies; managed employees; started practices from scratch and a wealth of other experiences for you to tap into. Most of them will love to talk to you if you bother to try.

 I can tell you that when I was a student, there were some teachers who were a lot of fun to learn from and the information they shared was amazing.  As a student, pull your head out of the books and remember that real life awaits you when you graduate.  You will have to go out into practice some day and every little bit of information you acquire will be needed. 

At school, a wealth of incredible talent surrounds you in the form of your Chiropractic instructors.  They love to talk about what they do and what they have done in their past.  We all end up teaching at Chiropractic college for a reason. For some it is the twilight to a great career. For others, it is only a stop along a continuing pathway.

 Talk to your instructors and Clinicians and get them to tell you why they love our profession so much.  You will never have so much concentrated knowledge around you for such a long period of time as you do in school. Take advantage of it! 

 I know some of you have been wondering about ideas on how to be successful in practice.  My last article started giving you food for thought in that arena.  Now I am going to go over these points individually and really help you do the headwork.

  I had friends in Chiropractic school that  sure they were going to take over a doctor’s practice when they graduated.  I can tell you honestly that by the time we graduated, many of them did NOT end up going to work in these practices they thought would be in.  What changed? Perhaps the opportunities  waiting for them ended up disappearing.  Or maybe it was the students themselves that changed.  Maybe the job they had waiting for them was not what they were looking for?

Open your own practice or go to work for another doctor?  Hmmm! What to do? You could do either or.  How about considering working for another doctor for a specific amount of time (say one or two years), then going out to start your own practice?

There are those who enjoy working as associate doctors for a senior doctor that usually owns and runs the practice.  There is no fuss with paying the staff, dealing with scheduling, payroll, managing the books and expenses and all the other logistical and administrative headaches that come with running your own business.  Some associate doctors often brag about getting paid vacations, sick time and being able to leave the business at the office and not take it home.

I can tell you that I was an associate doctor for 4 years.  It was hard for me to financially get ahead.  Part of everything I made from treating each and every patient was going into the other doctor’s pocket in some form or another.  Whether it is rent or a percentage of your earnings, working for someone else can have its’ drawbacks. 

 When my wife and I finally opened up our own practice, it was scary but rewarding for my wife and I.  This is our 8th year with our own practice. Even with all of the responsibilities self employment demands, we are always glad we did it.  The financial freedom it has now afforded us has made it all worthwhile.

So do you really want to be your own boss?  Hopefully I have given you some good food for thought.

A student who just entered clinic this trimester was asking me what he should do when he graduates from school.  Talk about a loaded question.  “How much time do you have?”, I replied.  Seriously, this is a question that you students should all be asking yourselves no matter whether you just started your schooling or you are in clinic.

When you begin school, it is all about class, studying, tests and other academia.  Don’t forget that when you leave school someday, you need to have some sort of plan.  Otherwise you will feel lost and unfocused. Some of you out there may already be the type to write down daily, monthly or yearly goals.  These goals can change as you move through the quarters or trimesters, but you should get in the habit of writing them down nonetheless.

 You need to ask some important questions of yourself to help figure out what you plan to do after you graduate.  These questions are not rocket science, but they are the ones I remember thinking about or ones I wish I had given more thought to while I was in school.  Here they are:

1. Do you enjoy working for someone else and being an employee?

2. Do you want to be your own boss and run your own practice? 

3. Do you see yourself practicing solo or would you like other doctors to be around you?

4. Would you like to be in a multidisciplinary setting? (M.D., P.T., Acupunture, Massage therapy?)

3. When you think of your dream practice, what city or area of the country/world is it located in?

4.  Are their any type of specialties in Chiropractic you may be interested in? (like Neurology, Radiology, Pediatrics, Geriatrics, Extremities, etc.)

5. Are there any segments of the population you want to concentrate on treating? (like atheletes, children, elderly people, etc.)

6. If you could think of your ideal work schedule, what would it be? What days of the week? What time would you start/end? Have you factored in vacations?

 These questions are among the more important ones you should be asking yourself.  In future blogs, I will go into more detail about these questions but for now, I don’t want to influence how you think about them.

It is never too early to start formulating your ideal practice, keeping in mind that your wants could change as you mature in school.  It is amazing how visualizing in your mind your ideal practice setting can cause it to manifest itself after you graduate.

In case you were wondering, I left school in December of 1996 and I was not ready to open my own practice.  I spent four years working as an associate doctor for someone else.  I learned a lot working closely with the two doctors who ran the practice, but it was a trade off.  In retrospect, four years was probably too long for me to work for someone else. 

 I hope this gives you some food for thought.  Any questions? e-mail me, I am here to listen to you and help you as much as I can.

 Kevin M. Wong, D.C.

As I start to get to know all of you as a new blog contributor to studentdc.com, I will remind you that I am here to help you students make a smooth transition to practice. 

My wife, who is also a Chiropractor, and I were having a discussion this morning and we were talking about student loans.  Now, I have been out of school for 11 years now and I know that when I got out, the expected amount of debt for the average Chiropractic student was over $100,00.  I have been told that the current number is now around $125-135,000.  That’s a chunk of change! 

If you are one of the many students using financial aid in order to go to school, I want you to step back for a second and clear your mind.  I know you have been exposed to people who tell you to not borrow too much and be careful.  It’s like telling a smoker not to smoke because it is bad for their health.  Obviously they know this, but they may not want to do anything about it.  When we are going to school, it is hard to be able to think about the consequences of the financial choices we make and how they have ramifications for the rest of our lives. Most of the time our heads are buried in the books or in class.

These days, many people have a “live large” lifestyle where they are using loans or credit cards to pay for “things” they feel they need.  Remember, what you borrow now, you will pay back later at a cost of sometimes 1.5 to 2 times more than what you paid for it.

Do you know exactly how much debt you have racked up so far?  Ask yourself if you actually have a budget.  Are you spending as wisely as you possibly can.? Did you know that when you sit down to study at the coffee shop and order a latte (the average person does this 4-5 days per week), you are adding over $4,000 to your student loans that you will some day have to pay back? 

 I just want you to close your eyes and think about reading your credit card bill or your student loan statement in 5 years.  How will it make you feel to see a large sum of money that you owe.  Do you have the control now to help yourself for the future from starting your practice in too much debt?  I am not saying to never borrow money.  I know how hard it is for most of us to  go to school without some form of financial aid. 

I just want you to make smart choices, and realize that wherever you are in your Chiropractic education, it’s never too early to keep a lid on your expenses.  This type of thinking is also preparing you for the day when you are running your own practice.  and eventually a household with your spouse and children. Work on gaining the knowledge and confidence about the financial choices you make now so that you do not have too many regrets in the future.

All the best,

Dr. Kevin Wong