Success in school and after graduation is the ultimate goal of every chiropractic student. Those of us who take the challenges presented by working in our field seriously stand to have truly rewarding careers! Working toward your goals with these six tips will make a huge difference in whether you perceive your career as hugely challenging, or very rewarding.
1. They know and use on-campus resources
Most colleges offer a wealth of support tools to enhance your learning experience. Individual counseling, tutoring services, and organizations to guide and educate you on specific areas of interest abound. Successful students utilize these resources to gain the maximum value from their educational experience. Remember, that should you wish to learn the ins and outs of a particular technique post graduation, you will be paying out of pocket for the information and guidance, so its best to get it for free while you still can.
Also bear in mind that rather than your enemy, the faculty members with whom you work on a daily basis should be viewed as valuable sources of information. They, often, can provide insight into potential career options, and can share subtle knowledge based on years of experience that you should listen carefully for and heed.
Tip 2: Create a system to establish priorities
You are sometimes taking the equivalent of over 20 hours of regular college credit every few weeks, in addition to your participation in clubs and organizations, your clinical requirements, and of course your regular daily life! To be certain, a chiropractic student ALWAYS has a full plate, from the beginning of your program right up to graduation. Successful students do not approach this haphazardly, rather they learn to prioritize and manage time effectively. Though no one can tell you a precise way to best accomplish this for yourself, since the demands on you and your time are unique, spending a couple of hours actually committing a logical plan to paper can really serve you well. When volumes of material must be assimilated, you cannot afford to procrastinate if you really want to both learn the information for successful academic performance, and to maximize the knowledge you will take with you into practice.
Tip 3: Don’t just show up to class–get involved
There is a giant difference between memorizing material, and really engaging with it. While some of you are human sponges, and can take it all in, at least long enough to regurgitate it for your next exam, this approach is not highly recommended. Learning is a life long process for the health care professional, and every bit of knowledge retained can have a real impact on the lives of your future patients. Truly successful students know this and actively engage professors and their peers in the process of learning. By working through material in a way that forces you to think about it and internalize it, you are cementing it in your consciousness for recall later during board examination and in practice.
Tip 4: Foster relationships
Chiropractic is highly social profession, so if your feeling not-so-social you need to envision yourself opening up to more interactions and relationships. Foster relationships with the professors who’s practices and habits are most like you, and make them mentors. It is much easier to blaze a trail when you have the advice of someone who did it first to back you up. Good relationships with your classmates and peers, apart from providing the promise of lifelong friendships, can also be a valuable resource for your future as you move through your career. Finally, opportunities to develop relationships with people outside of your normal school circles are abundant while you are a student if you look for them. Get involved with or attend the continuing education functions that occur on your campus while in school, or ask about getting involved in alumni efforts by the school now. Attend outside seminars while you can do so at student pricing, and strike up conversations with the docs around you. Many a chiropractic student has made connections that helped to propel their career in this way.
Tip 5: Build your resume
Whatever your interest for future practice, build your resume now, while you can do so with minimal cost. Future employers are going to want to know what techniques you focus on, and what additional knowledge and skills you bring to the table. Having a certification under your belt prior to graduation can only help. Demonstrating a social conscience through activities for the greater good are also good, and involvement in a social activity, preferably one that involves public speaking will show a hiring doc that you are willing and able to get up before a crowd, which is often a requirement of many associate positions.
Tip 6: Envision your future
Right now you are setting the stage that will become your future career, and at the same time, you have all the resources you need to do so at your disposal. This will not be the case after you graduate! How do you want your life to look a year out of school? Five years out? Ten? If you want to eventually teach, include that in your plan. If you want to have a stable job working for another doc, write it down. If you want to be a small business owner, list it. Arrange things on your own time table, and then ask yourself the question: What do I need to accomplish in order to achieve this goal in this amount of time? Research your questions and adjust the timeline as needed. If you wish to teach, additional education may really make a difference and open up doors for you. If you want to open a practice, finding a mentor who has already done so can be a godsend. Identify actions you can take that will help move you closer to your goals and then get to work checking those items off your list. You have all chosen a path that can be both very challenging and hugely rewarding, but proper planning can make a huge difference in how you will perceive your progress.