A lot of people don't like Dr Dill because different reasons, but I like him. I feel that he talks from a view that isn't brained washed with the bay area and chiropractic. What I mean by that is that when you go to grad school everyone starts to talk the same and believe in the same things. If you were going to become a dentist, then they would say that they were in the best profession in the world. Well, so do all the other schools.
This week he talked about a few things that really struck me. We have been talking about innate intelligence/brain/body vs educated brain and body. Basically as I see it (and I may be wrong),
innate intelligence is the light of Christ;
innate brain is your spirit;
innate body would be your autonomic system aka heart rate, digestion, etc;
educated brain is your higher consciousness (voluntary actions and thoughts);
educated body is your physical body listening to both innate body and educated brain for instruction.
As it's explained, innate intelligence is a portion of universal intelligence (power of God) and is in constant communication to your innate brain (spirit). Your innate brain uses your nervous system to talk to your innate body (autonomic system and educated brain (conscious thought). Your body both innate and educated are also in constant contact with your innate brain.
We'll explain this using three examples.
Example one: heart beat.
Innate Intelligence tells your innate brain that it needs to beat the heart at a certain speed. Innate brain then will send a message to innate body to beat the heart. All we can see is that there is an electrical impulse from the brain to the heart, but can never tell what the information is that is stored within that impulse.
Example two: flexing of the bicep.
Innate Intelligence tells your innate brain that it wants to flex the bicep. Innate brain then tells educated brain that it wants to flex the bicep. Educated brain then sends the message through the nervous system to tell educated body to flex the bicep which it does flawlessly.
Example three: touching sensation.
When you touch something with your hand, educated body is sending impulses to educated mind that it's being activated. Educated brain then is able to interpret the impulse as hot or cold, hard or soft, etc. Your hand didn't "feel" the difference. It just applied pressure somewhere. Your brain actually made the connection what it was that you were feeling.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Week Four: Cell Physiology Test
Well, the whole group has been studying every day for this test and I believe that we aced it. We'll see when we see our results on the "wailing wall" aka "wall of shame".
Monday, January 25, 2010
Week Three: Class Notes
Grad school is a little different when it comes to text books. The teachers will print out the required texts, but then the first day will tell you that you should just check it out in the library and to buy the class notes that the teacher created. I loved this as it would fundamentally be cheaper and I would only have to learn what I would need to pass the class.
This week two seniors came in and gave us a sale's pitch that at first I didn't even bother to listen to... till I saw their product. One of their classmates had rewritten and created her own notes of every single class starting from day one till the end. They were typed with pictures and diagrams. This was the real deal. I couldn't believe how much effort went into this thing. This would equate to about $500 worth of notes we would have to buy anyway from the bookstore. They were willing to give it to us for $10 on a DVD. It has about 1gb of info on it.
The thing that sold me was not the price or even the massive amount of valuable information that was to be found within it, but what the bookstore said about it. The school likes it so much that they are going to sell it for a lot more in the bookstore instead of having the class notes from the teachers themselves. Yeah, that was a no brainer.
This week two seniors came in and gave us a sale's pitch that at first I didn't even bother to listen to... till I saw their product. One of their classmates had rewritten and created her own notes of every single class starting from day one till the end. They were typed with pictures and diagrams. This was the real deal. I couldn't believe how much effort went into this thing. This would equate to about $500 worth of notes we would have to buy anyway from the bookstore. They were willing to give it to us for $10 on a DVD. It has about 1gb of info on it.
The thing that sold me was not the price or even the massive amount of valuable information that was to be found within it, but what the bookstore said about it. The school likes it so much that they are going to sell it for a lot more in the bookstore instead of having the class notes from the teachers themselves. Yeah, that was a no brainer.
Week Three: Anne Marie's Birthday
Anne Marie is from Congo and is a peer. She barely speaks English as it's her second language. Also Anne Marie is from the convent. While she is shy, she knows her stuff. When we have study groups, she knows the answers.
Well it was her birthday this week and it was the first one of the group. Gabriella brought some cake and we all went into the admissions office where I work and surprised her. Her face was priceless. She didn't know what to say. She didn't even know that it was tradition to blow out the candles :) It was very tender to see tears in her eyes knowing that she didn't have family to celebrate with. I just love the dynamics of this group and hope that we don't lose anyone else.
Well it was her birthday this week and it was the first one of the group. Gabriella brought some cake and we all went into the admissions office where I work and surprised her. Her face was priceless. She didn't know what to say. She didn't even know that it was tradition to blow out the candles :) It was very tender to see tears in her eyes knowing that she didn't have family to celebrate with. I just love the dynamics of this group and hope that we don't lose anyone else.
Week Three: Patient Exams (Physicals)
We finally got a physical to start getting adjusted here at school. It took about two to three hours to answer all the questions and to go through all the tests. Some might see that and think that is a long time for an exam, but I didn't. The reason being is because I truly felt that my intern really took the time necessary to make sure that my body is working.
It made me start to ask the question of, why do you get a physical? I feel that you get one to make sure that overall you are ok. It's not specific to any one thing, but detailed throughout your body. Maybe I didn't know that there was something wrong with me. I would hope that the doctor would be able to find that out for me. Having the stark contrast of having a quick physical versus a longer one helped me realize that while it takes more time, I felt assured that my intern now knew just about everything that could have been wrong with me at that moment in time.
Monica even got her exam done and she has had tons of physicals done for her running that she did for UVU. She noticed right away that this was more in depth and was shocked that in order to get that treatment she had to go to a beginning student. I hope that I'll make sure that I take the time needed to ensure that my patients feel that I cared for them.
It made me start to ask the question of, why do you get a physical? I feel that you get one to make sure that overall you are ok. It's not specific to any one thing, but detailed throughout your body. Maybe I didn't know that there was something wrong with me. I would hope that the doctor would be able to find that out for me. Having the stark contrast of having a quick physical versus a longer one helped me realize that while it takes more time, I felt assured that my intern now knew just about everything that could have been wrong with me at that moment in time.
Monica even got her exam done and she has had tons of physicals done for her running that she did for UVU. She noticed right away that this was more in depth and was shocked that in order to get that treatment she had to go to a beginning student. I hope that I'll make sure that I take the time needed to ensure that my patients feel that I cared for them.
Week Three: My First Test Ever: Cell Physiology
Cell Physiology doesn't sound like it would be hard, but you would be surprised. I remember learning about a cell back in Biology 1010 at UVSC. I passed without even studying. Now I am starting to regret it. I am having to relearn what others just remember. It's not tough material, just a lot to take in. Not only that, it's not just memorizing because it's how it functions. That's one reason that I love anatomy so much is because you just have to memorize a name, not what it does in relation with other material in the body.
In any case, the whole class is studying like crazy because about a forth of the class that's ahead of us flunked cell physiology. That worried us because that was the only class like that. We'll see what happens when we take the test on Thursday.
In any case, the whole class is studying like crazy because about a forth of the class that's ahead of us flunked cell physiology. That worried us because that was the only class like that. We'll see what happens when we take the test on Thursday.
Week Three: My First Chiropractic Seminar (Pediatrics)
Because of the politics that were involved with the school, there was a lot of confusion with this seminar. I wasn't even thinking about pediatrics until I saw an ad for the club. It all of a sudden hit home since my first little girl is on her way. They moved the seminar to an office of one of my teachers named Dr. Patti Gonzalez. She is a very sweet and tender person who is also a doula (a coach for pregnant couples).
The office was just two rooms, an office and a room in the back with a table for adjusting. It was cozy and had a very nice feel to it. There were only about 7 people there and Monica was the only one that was pregnant. That was great for us because she has been having lower back issues and now they would be able to help her feel better.
They talked about a lot of things that went over my head because I am just starting out, however I did learn a lot. They went over how to assess an infant or child for subluxations, how to adjust an infant and a child, acupressure points for mothers and craniosacral therapy. A few of the other things that we learned was how to stop hiccups and menstrual cramps.
Overall I was impressed with the presentation and was very grateful for the information. I still don't know how I'll practice, but I know that I would like to have the cozy feeling that was present there. I also know that I loved working with children as they are the ones who respond fastest to adjustments. Ear aches and chronic crying could simply be because of a subluxation. When I get my notes I'll write down some of the points and step by step procedures.
The office was just two rooms, an office and a room in the back with a table for adjusting. It was cozy and had a very nice feel to it. There were only about 7 people there and Monica was the only one that was pregnant. That was great for us because she has been having lower back issues and now they would be able to help her feel better.
They talked about a lot of things that went over my head because I am just starting out, however I did learn a lot. They went over how to assess an infant or child for subluxations, how to adjust an infant and a child, acupressure points for mothers and craniosacral therapy. A few of the other things that we learned was how to stop hiccups and menstrual cramps.
Overall I was impressed with the presentation and was very grateful for the information. I still don't know how I'll practice, but I know that I would like to have the cozy feeling that was present there. I also know that I loved working with children as they are the ones who respond fastest to adjustments. Ear aches and chronic crying could simply be because of a subluxation. When I get my notes I'll write down some of the points and step by step procedures.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Week Three: Loss of a Classmate
Courtney is a classmate of ours that sadly is no longer with us. No she didn't die, but she did have to postpone her education as a chiropractor in training. Unfortunately she never took anatomy and she was able to finish her undergrad with quick classes. In class she was lost and even the reviews were new information to her. I am glad and sad that she has had decided to go back to undergrad, but worry that she won't come back.
We all wish her luck. Grad school isn't easy. It does remind me of a quote my dad always told me, "the things we persist in doing become easier to do, not because the nature of the thing has changed, but our ability has increased." There is a reason you have to take those seemingly unrelated classes in school. It all comes together beautifully when you are at grad school.
We all wish her luck. Grad school isn't easy. It does remind me of a quote my dad always told me, "the things we persist in doing become easier to do, not because the nature of the thing has changed, but our ability has increased." There is a reason you have to take those seemingly unrelated classes in school. It all comes together beautifully when you are at grad school.
Week Three: Voted President of the Class
I forgot to mention this last week, but there was a vote that was cast last week to see who would represent us as President of the Class. Three people actually nominated me which really surprised me. I had never have been in student council, but I have always been impressed with a memory back in 2nd grade. There were two people trying to become president and giving their speeches to the body. I only remember this because the one that I voted for said, "If you vote for me... I will make sure that chocolate milk will come out of the water fountains!" I am sure glad that America wouldn't vote for someone would make promises that he couldn't keep...
Week Three: Taste of Politics
On Jan 23rd there was supposed to be a pediatric seminar setup as a fund raiser for an abroad program to Ghana. Everything was going smoothly till Dr. Patti Gonzalez realized that she needed to reserve a room at the school. She did that two days before the seminar was to happen and it was then that I saw the wicked face of politics. Because it was meant for a fund raiser for a study abroad, there could be no advertisements, meetings or seminars on the campus. I don't know why they have this rule, but I am sure that there was a reason to implement it. You could tell though that she was upset with the decision.
Another thing that has been bothering me was with the health clinic. They had mentioned to us that we would be able to be adjusted from day one, yet I still haven't been adjusted. Monica had to go through a huge ordeal to get adjusted. Something just doesn't feel right with that. When I was in my meeting with student council there were a lot of issues that students had with the health clinic. I wonder what's the issue.
Another thing that has been bothering me was with the health clinic. They had mentioned to us that we would be able to be adjusted from day one, yet I still haven't been adjusted. Monica had to go through a huge ordeal to get adjusted. Something just doesn't feel right with that. When I was in my meeting with student council there were a lot of issues that students had with the health clinic. I wonder what's the issue.
Week Three: Overview
Three whole weeks have gone by in school now. There are some great highlights that happened this week. Got a taste of politics, voted president of the class, loss of a classmate, my first chiropractic seminar (Pediatrics), my first test ever: cell physiology, patient exams (physicals), Anne Marie's birthday, and getting class notes for all the classes from freshman to senior.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
The Second Week
Today was the second week of chiropractic school. To be honest there was one class that I was really looking forward to. There are three aspects to Chiropractic, art, science and philosophy. Today was my first class of philosophy. It was done by a man named Dr. Shawn Dill who has an interesting story that I am sure you could see his blog about, but he talked about what patients really need and want. When they come into a chiropractor's office, they are already expecting something. Do they want to be cured of pain? Do they want to be more healthy? Do they want to be well again?
If they want to be cured, chiropractics is the wrong answer altogether. We don't cure anything. All we do is take out the interferences in the spine and allow the body to heal it's self. What about taking away the pain? Dr. Dill answered it best, "... if you want the pain to go away, I know of a bar around the corner that we could go to and I'll buy you a drink and I'll guarantee you that your pain will go away. Or if you don't want to drink, I know of over the counter medication that will drug you up and take away the pain. Yet I am sure that is not the reason you came here."
Once you get to the real reason and which is that their pain is causing emotional issues. They can work through the pain, but there are emotional problems that are very real for these people. They can't hold their children, sing in the choir, or play sports anymore. This means that once you identify why they are here, you ask them how would it make them feel if they didn't have that pain anymore and what would that mean for them. They'll cry. That is what you base your success each session with them. It's not, what's your pain level? but instead, were you able to hold your grandchild? Not only do you make a deeper connection with them, but they won't just keep telling you that their pain is a level 6 when they don't know what a level 6 pain is.
I loved this idea since I really want to help people feel better. I would love to take away their pain, but I know that there is so much more than that. People all around me are having miracles because of chiropractic care. I actually told Dr. Dill that even though my family believes in chiropractic, they can't afford it so they can't go as often as they want. He kindly pointed out that if they had a choice between going to the movies or getting adjusted by the chiropractor, which would they choose? It's pretty obvious if they choose the movies that they don't understand the value of chiropractic care. It made me sad to understand that. I know that there are people who should get care at a discounted price if they don't have money, but I also know that can be relative. Even though my family loves chiropractors, they don't truly understand the value of it. I now need to find out how to reeducate myself to take that doctrine out of my mind and find out how to do the same for them.
Before I go on to the other classes, I did want to write down three websites that Dr. Dill wrote down: thatsomething.net, kaizenwell.com, and worksitewellness.net. These are three of his businesses dealing with wellness and chiropractic.
The other classes weren't as exciting. It was PNS Neuroanatomy and System Histology. While we learned about connective tissues, it was mainly a review and took awhile to get through. I did learn some interesting things though that might actually get me to go more organic. I won't rehash old information that anyone can just do a quick research on nutrition on processed food and learn about, but I will write down a few ideas.
One main one was an idea about diets. "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants," (In Defense of Food, Michael Pollen). That is plain and simple which I like. Food however is subjective, so what is food? Anything that your grandmother would see and easily tell that it's food. Anything processed, has more than 5 ingredients in it, and has anything that has a funny looking name in it, is not food. As my dad always said, "Eat live food." Course he also said, "Eat every bean and pea (pee) on your plate.”
My problem has always been money and quantity. I love food and I am poor. That typically means that I can't control myself when I get free food. It also means that I am a cheap skate and will get the cheapest food I can get. Today I realized that if I bought the right foods, then I would not only eat less because I would get fuller quicker, but I would also enjoy the food more! Real food just tastes amazing! Not only that, but since I would be eating less, I would be able to buy less (even though more expensive) whole food. The idea would be that it would cost the same.
If they want to be cured, chiropractics is the wrong answer altogether. We don't cure anything. All we do is take out the interferences in the spine and allow the body to heal it's self. What about taking away the pain? Dr. Dill answered it best, "... if you want the pain to go away, I know of a bar around the corner that we could go to and I'll buy you a drink and I'll guarantee you that your pain will go away. Or if you don't want to drink, I know of over the counter medication that will drug you up and take away the pain. Yet I am sure that is not the reason you came here."
Once you get to the real reason and which is that their pain is causing emotional issues. They can work through the pain, but there are emotional problems that are very real for these people. They can't hold their children, sing in the choir, or play sports anymore. This means that once you identify why they are here, you ask them how would it make them feel if they didn't have that pain anymore and what would that mean for them. They'll cry. That is what you base your success each session with them. It's not, what's your pain level? but instead, were you able to hold your grandchild? Not only do you make a deeper connection with them, but they won't just keep telling you that their pain is a level 6 when they don't know what a level 6 pain is.
I loved this idea since I really want to help people feel better. I would love to take away their pain, but I know that there is so much more than that. People all around me are having miracles because of chiropractic care. I actually told Dr. Dill that even though my family believes in chiropractic, they can't afford it so they can't go as often as they want. He kindly pointed out that if they had a choice between going to the movies or getting adjusted by the chiropractor, which would they choose? It's pretty obvious if they choose the movies that they don't understand the value of chiropractic care. It made me sad to understand that. I know that there are people who should get care at a discounted price if they don't have money, but I also know that can be relative. Even though my family loves chiropractors, they don't truly understand the value of it. I now need to find out how to reeducate myself to take that doctrine out of my mind and find out how to do the same for them.
Before I go on to the other classes, I did want to write down three websites that Dr. Dill wrote down: thatsomething.net, kaizenwell.com, and worksitewellness.net. These are three of his businesses dealing with wellness and chiropractic.
The other classes weren't as exciting. It was PNS Neuroanatomy and System Histology. While we learned about connective tissues, it was mainly a review and took awhile to get through. I did learn some interesting things though that might actually get me to go more organic. I won't rehash old information that anyone can just do a quick research on nutrition on processed food and learn about, but I will write down a few ideas.
One main one was an idea about diets. "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants," (In Defense of Food, Michael Pollen). That is plain and simple which I like. Food however is subjective, so what is food? Anything that your grandmother would see and easily tell that it's food. Anything processed, has more than 5 ingredients in it, and has anything that has a funny looking name in it, is not food. As my dad always said, "Eat live food." Course he also said, "Eat every bean and pea (pee) on your plate.”
My problem has always been money and quantity. I love food and I am poor. That typically means that I can't control myself when I get free food. It also means that I am a cheap skate and will get the cheapest food I can get. Today I realized that if I bought the right foods, then I would not only eat less because I would get fuller quicker, but I would also enjoy the food more! Real food just tastes amazing! Not only that, but since I would be eating less, I would be able to buy less (even though more expensive) whole food. The idea would be that it would cost the same.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
First Week
Well the past couple of days have been crazy. Yesterday they had an orientation for all us freshmen and while it was pretty boring as far as the speakers it was informative. It was sad though because there was only one other married person there, yet she wasn’t living with him while going to school. Another guy named Ric is at least engaged, yet he is about 40! Kind of crazy.
I have to admit that when Monica and I got home, it started to dawn on me how hard this was going to get. It was at that point that I realized what a sacrifice this was going to be on Monica. I had never really thought of it before like that. I had always thought that it was just expected and nothing really challenging for her to do. But now I realize that she’ll sacrifice just as much if not more than I will be doing for the next three years. I also realized that at that point, how much I really loved her and that she was irreplaceable.
Today though was another crazy day. The teachers talked and talked about being on time and how to study. We were all bored. We did have a couple of fun things happen though. We were in a commercial for Life West. It was pretty cheesy, but just neat to be in a commercial. Sadly the teacher didn’t know that we were leaving from class to do this and she got mad and wanted everyone else to know about it. All the commercial was us listening to an advisor talk. There was no audio though so it really didn’t matter what she was saying, so I asked a question, “Why is that highlighted in Green?” I thought that it was funny, but everyone else asked real questions about financial aid… oh well .
The other thing that was nice was that we had a little thing about how much we’ll have to pay back in financial aid… it wasn’t pretty. However they did give us pizza and since I knew the people presenting, they gave me a whole pizza to take home!
The last class was Palpation. It looks like it’ll be a great class, even though I’ll have to be taking off my shirt! We are going to be learning how to palpate others and learn the landmarks of the back. I am excited that we’ll be able to learn right away about something kinetic. We had to practice being doctors while another student was a patient. At first we couldn’t stop laughing, but then we were able to calm down and be professional.
After all the classes and such I went to get some books and then went to admissions to relax and get internet so I could email everyone a list of our names, phone numbers, and email addresses. I couldn’t connect to the internet for some reason, so I talked with Nika for a bit. She gave me the down low on what the students do as a network. They have a website were once you are invited, you are able to see all the class notes, past tests and other useful information. I was so excited to get it since it’ll lower the cost of books and time in studying.
I then was able to come home to a wonderful wife who loves me and I love her. She is so dear to me. I only have a seminar tomorrow so I’ll be able to study a bit and then be with my wife! (Monica did so much today! Holy cow! Cut the lawn, paid the rent, talked with neighbors, cooked dinner, and so much more!)
I have to admit that when Monica and I got home, it started to dawn on me how hard this was going to get. It was at that point that I realized what a sacrifice this was going to be on Monica. I had never really thought of it before like that. I had always thought that it was just expected and nothing really challenging for her to do. But now I realize that she’ll sacrifice just as much if not more than I will be doing for the next three years. I also realized that at that point, how much I really loved her and that she was irreplaceable.
Today though was another crazy day. The teachers talked and talked about being on time and how to study. We were all bored. We did have a couple of fun things happen though. We were in a commercial for Life West. It was pretty cheesy, but just neat to be in a commercial. Sadly the teacher didn’t know that we were leaving from class to do this and she got mad and wanted everyone else to know about it. All the commercial was us listening to an advisor talk. There was no audio though so it really didn’t matter what she was saying, so I asked a question, “Why is that highlighted in Green?” I thought that it was funny, but everyone else asked real questions about financial aid… oh well .
The other thing that was nice was that we had a little thing about how much we’ll have to pay back in financial aid… it wasn’t pretty. However they did give us pizza and since I knew the people presenting, they gave me a whole pizza to take home!
The last class was Palpation. It looks like it’ll be a great class, even though I’ll have to be taking off my shirt! We are going to be learning how to palpate others and learn the landmarks of the back. I am excited that we’ll be able to learn right away about something kinetic. We had to practice being doctors while another student was a patient. At first we couldn’t stop laughing, but then we were able to calm down and be professional.
After all the classes and such I went to get some books and then went to admissions to relax and get internet so I could email everyone a list of our names, phone numbers, and email addresses. I couldn’t connect to the internet for some reason, so I talked with Nika for a bit. She gave me the down low on what the students do as a network. They have a website were once you are invited, you are able to see all the class notes, past tests and other useful information. I was so excited to get it since it’ll lower the cost of books and time in studying.
I then was able to come home to a wonderful wife who loves me and I love her. She is so dear to me. I only have a seminar tomorrow so I’ll be able to study a bit and then be with my wife! (Monica did so much today! Holy cow! Cut the lawn, paid the rent, talked with neighbors, cooked dinner, and so much more!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)