As a recent grad, (within the last 5 years) I remember the stressful world of exams, practicals, and boards – let alone figuring out what you were going to do the REST of your life once you graduated. The daunting task of creating a plan should be your most important action step, but unfortunately, the time demanded of you to simply complete school could consume the majority of your thought space and in turn, your actions.

I’m going to discuss the process I recommend following to help decrease that overwhelmed feeling and help you to champion your transition from student life to doctor life, as smoothly and effortlessly as possible. Ideally, you’ve found this blog early in your grad student career; however, if this is closer to the end of your years in Chiropractic school, you’ll still be able to find some gems of advice.

Here is my process.

The first step to creating a clear plan for what you want to do outside of practice is deciding WHO you want to help. I know most people think it would be ‘How I want to practice,’ but I would argue that we joined this profession to serve our communities – so who within your community do you have the heart to help? Once you’ve decided the who, then you can learn the how. If you want to help people who are really sick, you will need a technique that can address their issues, and you’ll want to learn more than just your Diversified I and II classes.

During the beginning of your student career, you should be open to exploring different techniques to learn which one resonates with you most. One factor I highly recommend you clarify before determining how effective that technique is for helping the patients you serve is understanding how to analyze IF the patient needs an adjustment. This is most likely another strange concept for the student as while in school we’re fixated on ‘how’ to adjust and we don’t spend much if any time on the ‘when,’ or ‘why.’  

If we become experts on WHEN to adjust, the effectiveness behind the adjustment becomes that much stronger. Another important benefit that comes from being objective with the measurement allows us as practitioners to be able to measure if the adjustment creates a change within the body. These components allow us to begin the steps to becoming masters and in turn, better practitioners for our communities.

These considerations are what led me to The Specific. The company offered a logical opportunity for a student looking for the next steps after graduation – not only do they deliver excellent instructions on the patient care aspect of our profession, they provide an opportunity to learn how to open and run a successful business.

The process begins with attending level I and level II TATS seminars to learn how to objectively measure the neurological system, how to apply a specific upper cervical adjustment, as well as how to take and analyze upper cervical x-rays. After becoming proficient in these skills, the next step is to perfect them during an outreach program to Mexico, El Salvador, or the Philippines. Once you experience this life-changing event, you most likely will be on fire for this care. You’ll want to apply to be a part of this company (which you can do here: https://thespecific.com/work-with-us/).

I recommend becoming an associate before becoming a clinic doctor as you’ll be able to learn the systems used to open a successful clinic from another doctor, on their dime. Being a member of this company allows you access to all the doctors – not to mention the weekly calls, accountability partners, team meetings, and constant connection on facebook workplace we all maintain. This option allows you to avoid the pitfalls so many of our classmates make when joining practice management companies that provide a quarter of this support for an astronomical price.

My recommendation to you is to complete a TATS. It’s a lowkey commitment to learn if this is a method of care you could see yourself mastering and utilizing to change your community for the better. You can learn more by connecting with me (kaci@thespecific.com), or by hopping onto our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheArtoftheSpecific/. It’s never too late to learn a technique that has the power to transform your life and in turn, your community’s.