Chiropractors are primary healthcare professionals concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on general health. In order to be a qualified chiropractor, you will need to pursue a degree in chiropractic. One of the most exciting times while pursuing a chiropractic degree will be during your internship. During this internship, chiropractic students have the opportunity to gain valuable experience and confidence by working with a variety of people in a range of settings. Here, one of IMU’s chiropractic student, Timothy Ngeow Yit Ming, shares his experience during the internship.
My internship as a chiropractic intern in both IMU Chiropractic clinics at Setiawalk and Bukit Jalil, has been one of the most eye-opening and rewarding experiences I have ever had as a chiropractic student. The sole reason behind an internship programme is to help us interns prepare for what to expect when we step out into the real working world, and in my opinion it has done just that.
One of the hardest pill for me to swallow when I first started my internship, was the fact that I was going to be treating real-life patients for the very first time. To be honest, the first few weeks were incredibly frustrating. To be honest, since I was going into a clinical setting with zero experience in mind, it was quite nerve-wrecking. What really kept me going was my groupmates, as we were all pretty much in the same boat. It really was a group effort, that helped me pull through the first few weeks of internship. Adapting to a new setting, adjusting to it and overcoming it really does take time, patience as well as lots of effort. Well, at the end of the day I would say it all turned out just great.
Throughout my internship experience, I was introduced to many different supervising clinicians that has helped shape me into the person I am today. However, dealing with the differences in technique and philosophy of different clinicians, does have its fair share of difficulties. Being in this kind of environment made me truly understand the phrase ‘Adapt, Adjust and Overcome’. For some people this could be somewhat overwhelming, but for me it was an opportunity of a lifetime. Not only to learn from them but being able to get different opinions or feedback from all the different clinicians really gave me an opportunity to help reflect and to make myself a better chiropractor.
Fast-forward to today, being in Semester 8 and in my last few weeks of internship, after seeing quite a number of patients I am pleasantly surprised about the impact chiropractic could really have on-people’s lives. As I was still a student all I ever focused on was perfecting my adjustment skills and all I ever thought about was being the best adjuster I could ever be. However, being in clinic was a humbling experience, as throughout this journey it taught me that chiropractic is bigger than just being a good adjuster. Chiropractors are first-contact practitioners, and it means that it is our job to diagnose and know when and where to refer your patients when it is not within our job-scope. Therefore, In the future I hope that one day I would be a great chiropractor and not just a good adjuster.
To conclude, I would say that being an intern for the past year really provided great insight as to what working in a real clinic feels like. After seeing the impact I could bring upon my patients’ lives, seeing them in agonizing pain the first time they came in and leaving with a smile on their faces after a few visits. Being able to witness that really motivates me to keep doing what I do. Honestly speaking, I have never been more ready to step out to the real-world and start serving the community.
