Closing a chapter on professional education

Tomorrow at 2pm, I will graduate. After 3.25 years of chiropractic school (following a 4-year undergraduate program), I will finally be a doctor of chiropractic. I'm DONE with school . . . at LAST!

Now, I just need to make it through my last month of pregnancy, and this is definitely a tough month! I'm so belly heavy that it's uncomfortable to sit, sleep, walk, stand, or do just about anything. I love it when the blood just rushes to my uterus and about all I can do is sit down on the floor. I can go from being relaxed to feeling so uncomfortable that I have to just plop down wherever I'm at in about 30 seconds. Right now, this little bambino is chalking up about 6 lbs, and I still have almost a month to go. Estimated baby weight at birth is 8.5 lbs.

Even though I can't don the cap, gown, and hood for the ceremony and celebrate in true 073 style, I'm going to celebrate tomorrow evening anyway. My mom and step-dad are meeting us in Clarks Summit for dinner at Pepato's Cafe. Yay!

Hopefully in the next 6 months, Steve & I will figure out where we want to move and settle down . . . where we'll open a practice, and then I can figure out all the other details involved with that huge life-changing event!

I'm taking a hiatus on this blog for awhile since I'm not going to be doing anything chiropractic-related for a few months (at least until well after the baby's born and I'm licensed). But, for updates on baby and travel, stay tuned to our Baby Blog.

Saying Adios to Palmer FL

Tomorrow, I'll wear my clinic jacket for the last time when I check out. Hopefully, that process will go smoothly, and I won't need to do any more last minute hours or requirements. We'll pack up our stuff and move to PA by next Wednesday. Yay!

We already took our graduation photos. I'm posting mine now since there's a very strong possibility that I won't make it to the graduation ceremony, which is due to the fact that I'm due with the baby 3 weeks after our ceremony. Graduation is sort of a big deal here, but not really. I mean, it's not like the 3-day event that it was at UT Austin complete with fireworks, live concert performances, and buildings on the mall awash with lights displaying the 6 flags of Texas. It's nothing like that. In fact, at Palmer FL, the whole ceremony is usually conducted in the middle of the afternoon at a local college's auditorium and it's over in less than 45 minutes. However, it is a small college, so instead of a glorious commencement, it's more of a small, "say goodbye to your Palmer family" type of deal. Considering we have such small graduating classes, I'd expect a more personalized ceremony for each of the 50 graduates, but again, they don't do that here. What will be different for our class, thanks to a rockin' class council, is that we're taking huge strides to change the location of the ceremony. Hey, the charter class of Palmer FL was going to graduate in a local high school's cafeteria, so considering we have something more than that is a huge step up. We've been trying to do the ceremony in a different and classier location for the past year, but there's something about going through administration and getting them to approve it (money), so, we don't know the final word on that just yet.

But, we did vote on graduation speakers, and as long as our top choice says "Yes", we have an incredibly captivating speaker and leader in the chiropractic profession lined up to provide the keynote address. If his schedule isn't open, we've also voted on 2 faculty members to speak at the graduation banquet and/or 1 of them to speak at the ceremony as a back-up. I'd hate to miss Dr. Dan Murphy, and the opportunity to celebrate and say goodbye to my classmates, but I'm not going to risk my health nor this pregnancy and fly 3 weeks from my due date. But hey, I could deliver early and that could change everything. So, my last chance to see everyone will be at class next Tuesday morning. I think most of us are just itching so bad to get out of here and start our preceptorship that we just really don't care about much of anything at all around here.

To Class 073:

We've come a long way since July 2004 when we were just a lecture hall full of strangers. We've since grown so much as doctors and professionals. We've participated in 3 Student Olympics, 3 Homecomings, 2 Chiro Games (with 2 gold-medal teams), at least 3 sets of national boards, countless seminars, 1.5 years worth of anatomy labs, almost 1 year at the clinic to date, way too many classroom hours (most of us sitting in the same seats since 1st quarter), picnics, parties, & fundraisers.

We made it through 9th quarter, and we all know that NOTHING in an academic setting can EVER compete with the stress and chaos of those 3 months of pain. We'll never forget J-Pags' robot voice, Victor's contagious laugh, Barney's off-topic comments, nor Stew's Student Council announcements. OK, maybe scratch the last one. Through the ingenuity of really smart and talented people in our class with great movie-making skills, and numchuck skills (Rob), our class paved the way for filming lab demos to create incredibly smart study tools. We started over 8 new clubs and organizations on and off campus and have left a legacy at Palmer Florida.

Congrats to everyone for making it thus far . . . only 4 more months! I wish you all the best in 13th quarter and beyond graduation as you serve your patients and blaze new trails in our profession. Our most challenging classroom is yet to come, working in a real-world practice and making ends meet.

I hope you'll keep in touch (e-mail, myspace, even good ol' WebCT). Perhaps we'll see each other in the future at seminars, Homecoming, weddings, or reunions. By the way, I think having a class reunion in Puerto Rico would be fabuloso. Serve well, and God bless you all.

Recruiting

The Palmer recruiters recently posted a new video to entice prospective students to join the ranks of other Palmer grads. I'm briefly featured in the video.

Now, if only they filmed Palmer FL students wearing flip flops and shorts to class in December, they'd have huge matriculation numbers from northern applicants!

Last Adjustment

Today, I delivered my last adjustment on my last patient for the last time at Palmer FL. I'm sad to say goodbye to the many amazing people who helped me grow as an intern and as a doctor. However, I'm super thrilled to soon leave this place chock-full of red tape mazes and subsequent headaches of frustration.

I leave on Sunday for Dallas for a week of Part IV board review and exams. At least there will be some relaxation time when Steve flies out to join me at my father and step-mom's house. It'll be good to spend the week in a familiar place and to be among family during a stressful exam, so I can more easily de-stress and not over-study (my tendency).

I've been posting lately about lasts, which also reminds me about a lot of chiropractic school firsts. I had a first chiropractic adjustment (probably low back, maybe thoracics). I remember when I accomplished my first Gonstead atlas adjustment on cervical chair. For none of these firsts do I remember whom I adjusted, I just know it happened, and it was awesome. I also remember when my philosophical paradigm of chiropractic, wellness care, and health completely shifted. It started the day I went to hear a guest speaker on Pettibon Technique . . . and I haven't looked back since.

The first time I heard Dr. Woggon speak about scoliosis correction--it completely stirred me to make a change, if ever so small, on my campus. It's cool how something so powerful and impacting can affect so many people in such a short amount of time, and it's been incredible to be a part of a new change in the chiropractic profession that benefits the patients immensely.

My first chiropractic college club was the Upper Cervical Club. Hey, it sounded cool. They were concerned with correcting the entire spine and that it all rested with the atlas, occiput, and axis. I still believe that, and I take from my experiences in upper cervical and apply them to what I now know about scoliosis, and it's awesome.

My first job in chiropractic school was working as an assistant in the Palmer FL library. OK, that wasn't altogether a milestone or anything, but it did help pay the bills, and I met some fantastic people.

While in chiropractic college, I also competed in my first swim meet for Chiro Games 2005 (more info here, here, here, and here). Thanks to my friend & classmate Andrew, I was able to surf for the first and possibly the LAST time (too many sharks in Ponce Inlet for my comfort level!).

I also had a first pregnancy, and this time, I hope I have our first baby in October. But, you can read more about that on our Baby Blog.

Throughout life, we hit these major milestones, high school graduation, college graduation, marriage, first baby, first house, etc. They're supposed to be these etched-forever-in-your-memory events or life-changing events. I think it's all part of the life journey. I'm not the same person I was in high school, definitely not the same person I was in undergrad. I become a completely different person in the military (more to survive the harsh structure and expectation). And now, I'm not the same chiropractor that I thought I would be when I first started chiropractic college. Based on this track record, I suspect, and hope, I'm not the same person 5, 10, 50 years from now. I want to continue to learn, grow, and develop into the woman God has designed for me to be: follower of Christ, wife, mom, friend, daughter, sister, neighbor, doctor . . . I want to look back and say that I'm not the same person I was when I graduated from Chiropractic college, but that my experiences and the grace of God has changed me and shaped me more into who I am meant to become.

Night at the Ballpark

We just got home from a fun Daytona Cubs baseball game. It was Palmer night, so our school had free tickets available. Home team's defense was mostly good except for a few slippery passes. But, both times they scored, they scored big! The first time was in the 6th inning when the bases were loaded, and the hitter smashed a home run. That was sweet! The second time, the St. Lucie Mets tied with 4 (stronger offensive team) in the 8th and 9th innings. But, the Daytona Cubs came back with yet another triple loaded bases to hit a home run. What a finish. They didn't score any other times during the game, but when it counted, they came through.

Last TEST!!

Today, I just took my last exam EVER at Palmer. YES! Clinic Exit exam is done. I'm pretty sure it's just pass/fail, so I'm pretty sure I won't have to do it again. I felt really relaxed, and I tried to take it the same way I'd take Part IV. The history taking station was a little odd...they seemed to want me to just list history points instead of asking questions like we'd actually do for Part IV...I still got all the info that I needed. I went so fast through the adjustment set-ups that I had to look at the question list again to see all the things I needed to name on my set up...and I really don't know if I forgot anything, but I know the end result looked the way it was supposed to!

So, the rest of today, I'm chillin'. Taking a nap...swimming at the Y...and maybe studying a little for Part IV which is only 3 weeks away!

Congratulations to 071!

Tomorrow at 2pm, Class 071 will graduate. They've been our big buddy class since we arrived at Palmer 3 years ago, and now they are doctors! Strangely, that leaves us (Class 073) as the most senior class on campus.

I look forward to attending the ceremony and Dejeanne's celebration dinner at the Stock Exchange. Congrats to the graduates and best wishes to you as you impart on your future in chiropractic!

Happy Chinese New Year!

The Year of the Boar 2007 begins at midnight on Feb 18th. We celebrated last night at Dr. He & Dr. Cheng's house. The endless and delicious homecooked food was so awesome. Dr. Cheng's eggrolls were just like my mom makes. . . the good salty thin-skinned eggrolls that have really good meat and mushroom filling, and not just blah cabbage. I can't find any eggrolls as good as homemade at any local chinese restaurants. We were also served stir fried noodles, BBQ chicken, veggies, and sweet sticky rice. Dr. He invited all the Asian students from Palmer, and his house was full! Karson and I were amazed that there were so many. Just over a year ago, he and I were the ONLY students who attended an Asian American Student Chiropractic Association moon festival celebration. Now, the asians are attending Palmer en force.

Homecoming Review

The shortened week due to the MLK, Jr. holiday and Homecoming kept throwing me off schedule. I still managed to see several patients and get some clinic file work and x-ray line analysis accomplished. Meanwhile, I got in a few workouts (rowing, swimming, and running), and attended the Homecoming seminar on campus.

Dr. Dan Murphy was fabulous, as always. He lectured on "Immune System Maturity" and emphasized various nutritional components and their effects on development in utero, early childhood, and how to prevent against post-partum depression in the mom. He also talked about chiropractic, of course, and how and why chiropractic thrived as a profession during the great flu epidemic around WWI. Chiropractic's effect has changed so much in the past 50 years because of the changes in people's immune systems. Chiropractic alone can't touch a lot of the inflammation and toxicity issues that almost all Americans struggle with . . . therefore, having an understanding of nutrition and how it affects the nervous system and immune system is the key to being the most effective health practitioner. I'm glad I'm getting such a strong education in nutrition at Palmer. I see the effects of healthy nutrition first-hand in my own life as well as in my patients who are compliant with nutritional as well as chiropractic protocols.
I also listened to Dr. Thomas Souza discuss headaches and other similar case studies as part of our clinical active learning session on Homecoming Thursday. He authored Differential Diagnosis and Management for the Chiropractor which is a foundational text in our profession and our academic curriculum.

Dr. Woggon presented a complete scoliosis case study from start to finish. I learned more about things I should be doing with my scoliosis patients, and I want to incorporate those rehab and adjusting protocols this week! Steve and I also enjoyed going to lunch with him and his lovely wife, Brenda.
Last night, we skipped out on the Finale Celebration and opted instead for sushi at Amura with Burk Parsons and his family. The sushi was spectacular, and afterward, we had tea and dessert at the corner coffee shop. We always enjoy visiting with the Parsons, and this time I got to hold their beautiful newborn Elizabeth.

Class 073 Clinic Entrance Party

The Class 073 Council did a fantastic job of planning our Clinic Entrance party at Our Deck Down Under. About 2/3 of our class showed up, which is a pretty good turnout. We invited all the clinic faculty and staff , as well as professors we had on the academic side of campus to celebrate this huge milestone with us. We had chicken picatta, a grilled mild fish, pasta salad, veggies & dip, grilled shrimp, hush puppies, and cheesecake. I was pretty impressed with the food and left feeling full. Afterward, Steve joined me for a 1.5 mile run on one of the windiest days we've had this year. Then, we watched numerous episodes of House, M.D.--Season 2 . It was a perfect evening!

My grainy camera resolution didn't take very good shots, thank goodness there were other classmates doing the papparazzi rounds for the evening. Most of the photos below are courtesy of Katie. Our next big class shin-dig will be our graduation banquet in 10 months.

Me & Steve

Stew, Lindsey, & Jorge (Class 073 Presidente)Dr. J & his wife, Dr. Bill & his friendDr. Raja, us, the Shreeves, & Dr. Bobo

Victor, Ben & Mandy

Dr. & Mrs. Shreeve

Jason & KatieNick & his girlfriend

Will, his partner, & Theresa (Class 073 Secretary)Meredith & Steve (Class 073 Vice-Prez)

J-Pag, Andrew & his girlfriendEd & his fiancee Carly

Drs. Morehouse, Grand, Bobo, & Dr. Canty's daughter

Craig, me, & Dr. He

Alex (Class 073 Treasurer), Rob, & KerenDamron & Alison

The Cayer Clan

Change in pay, whether or NOT they choose to inform me

Today, only because I asked about a time sheet that I never received, I was informed that the way they award pay for newspaper writers has changed. Apparently, I was previously informed through a letter sent by the financial director of the college. Yes, apparently, but I never RECEIVED a letter that explained I wasn't getting paid per month, but that I was getting paid per article length with an additional unsaid amount per quarter. Whatever happened to advance notice of pay changes? Actually, whatever happened to any notice at ALL? Was I supposed to just notice that my direct deposit never got deposited and just hope the financial department's black hole would just FIX IT? Man, sorry I'm not that naiive!

Here I go with my military comparisons again. In the military, you know months in advance that you're getting a pay raise. You don't get pay CHANGES (which usually means less money for more work). If the military DOES screw up your pay, as in they happen to give you too much, they don't take it out little by little over 12 months, they take it out ALL AT ONCE. But, if you're on top of DFAS and income increases, you know that they screwed up, and you don't spend the money you're not supposed to have received, so it's not as much of a loss when they finally collect on their mistake.

Much harder to budget when you don't know exactly what the mystery amount is per quarter. And, I'm gonna have to write a heckuva lot more to get close to what I was getting before. Maybe I can just submit a lot more photos or I can just fill the articles with filler space and blather on about something insignificant. It's not like students even read the articles unless it has photos of them, or it's about their particular club or technique ANYWAY.

I took the job as a writer for the Triune because I like to write, and I wanted to contribute something positive to a paper that otherwise seemed to take cheap shots at administration or student council. I wanted to be the voice that could point out the cool and groundbreaking things that were occuring in the profession or on campus. Whether or not anyone read it, it was a chance to write about something that I cared about. Not that I've changed what subject matter I want to cover, but the motivation has changed slightly since I'm still trying to make ends meet until next May. Now, I'm going to go less for succinct and efficient, and more for descriptive details and extra tangents. Let's see how my writing holds up.

Class 073

Future doctors of chiropractic projected to graduate in September 2007. We are half-way there!!

Palmer Florida Homecoming

Steve & Me
Dr. Shreeve gettin' down tonight
Steve & Josh
Dr. Pettibon & Me
Theresa & Me
Steve & Jodi
Dr. Burns cutting up the dance floor
Dr. Pettibon & Theresa

Me & Yael
Kristin, Me, & Michelle
Jason & Theresa
Drs. DishWOman & Dishman
Pappagallo family
Ben & Mandy
Amanda & Jorge
Matt & Mindy
Josh (TTWAC Club Pres), Dr. Ben (TTWAC Co-Founder), Me (TTWAC Club Secretary), & Brian (TTWAC Club VP)

Jay Pag & Joe prep for the giant basketball toss while Eric looks on.

Toggle-Off and Pie Throwing Contest Spring 2005

We had another successful Toggle-Off competition at Palmer Florida. Turn-out was great, and I had even more fun than last time. This time we recruited 3 faculty members as pie-throwing contest targets. Dr. Pappagallo threatens to unleash his revenge on us in our final grades, but I think he's bluffing.

My toggle form was good enough to keep me in the running for the final round, but my egg broke at 35 lbs.

Jorge successfully toggles at 30 lbs.

Craig cites the rules for the toggle competition

Toggling runs in the Cayer family, Roland's son give a demo of his skills

Anne & Roxanna toggle head-to-head. Anne ended up winning the women's division.

Victor's in the zone for toggling