Danielle Zappile's Blog (graduated 09)

Weekly Happenings

It is hard to believe it is almost August! With boards quickly approaching I have been reviewing materials and awaiting the board reviews in the next couple of weeks. It seems like I always have some type of review material within quick reach. Although I so don't want to study, I know how important this is to being licensed!

There hasn't been too much happening because my arm is still broken! As a result, I am definitely behind with my numbers in the clinic. I am going to have to start working extremely hard once I am cleared to go back to adjusting! My goal is to graduate on time, so I know what I have to do once I am completely healed.

On another note, I am enjoying the activator class I am taking as an elective. I am also looking forward to going to class today to see if I have solidified all of the information in my brain so that I can do well on the practical next week.

Guest Blogger

I’m officially welcoming MYSELF, Nicole Zappile, as guest blogger for my sister, Danielle Zappile. She kindly requested that I guest blog for her recently. I quickly decided that I would! So here I am!

Danielle, welcomed me to my first official visit to the Carolinas on July 5, 2008. I arrived in Charlotte early Saturday morning, and we spent a great girls Saturday together. We “brunched” at Bistro Monte in the South Park section of town. That was super delicious though it would have been even tastier had we devoured a few French patisseries, but we were being extra good! We then made a few weekend purchases at the South Park Mall! Now THAT is what I consider the most PERFECT MALL! It had great anchor stores, wonderful high end retailers, and was aesthetically pleasing. What MORE could a girl ask for? Ok, more cash would have helped!

Danielle than drove us (in her cutie pie of a car... a VW Beetle) into South Carolina. I was finally able to visit her new home town. During the weekend, she showed me all of her new local haunts in Spartanburg, Boiling Springs, and Greenville. And, of course, I saw Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic in Spartanburg, SC.

The capstone of the trip was or trip to Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore House. As a teacher of US History II, I found this most interesting for this home was built during the period of history that I instruct. Not only was the structure architecturally breathtaking, but the grounds and gardens were as well. With the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background, this is a destination that you need to visit! Of course, spending time wine tasting at the Biltmore Winery and driving Range Rovers at their Off Road Experience definitely enhances a busy yet pleasant day.

I want to visit my sister again before her time at Sherman is over. Atlanta, GA is on our list of must visit destinations for my next long weekend back to the south.

See y’all soon!

Start of Yet Another Quarter

Classes started up again last Tuesday. As I am getting further along in the program, the number of classes I have to attend have become quite sparse. This quarter I have clinic lab, a research class, and the activator elective. It is hard to believe that just a year or so ago I had something like 8 classes each quarter. It is definitely better with a lighter course load, but we still have clinic requirements that are a challenge to meet. This is yet another boards quarter so I really have to start focusing on studying. The time away from class work will be quite useful if I use my time wisely! I'm off to the health center to see a patient and finish paperwork. Good luck in the new quarter.

Final Week of Break

It looks like this is going to be a quiet week as there are not too many people around and my visiting family has returned home. We have one more week before the start of the next quarter and I plan on savoring every moment of this peace and quiet. I have been using this time off from school to catch up on the little things that I have been meaning to accomplish.

On another note, I want to thank all my readers for their kind get well wishes. I hope to be back up and running sometime in August. It looks like I chose to break the slowest healing bone in the body! Thanks again and Happy Fourth of July!

Update

It looks like I have some good news and bad news regarding my broken arm. The good news is that I do not need surgery. The bad news is that I have 6 more weeks of immobilization. Having a broken arm while in chiropractic school really puts a damper on taking care of patients. It would be great if we were able to use activator in the clinic. It would make it much easier to take care of my patients.

On another note, I have family visiting. Today we are going to a pool party. I am looking forward to relaxing by the pool and socializing with good friends. Happy Summer Everyone!

Finals Week

It is hard to believe that yet another quarter is coming to an end! Finals week is quickly approaching and this will be the easiest one to date. I only have three finals. Therefore, I will have one on Tuesday, one on Wednesday, and one on Thursday. This is such a nice change from when we started at Sherman and had several final exams. My tests this quarter include clinic lab, automated office procedures, and the business class I am taking. I am definitely looking forward Thursday when my vacation will begin and I have a few weeks off. I plan on spending my days at the pool and just relaxing. Good luck on finals!

MY Broken Arm

I recently broke my arm which is the reason why you haven't seen too many posts from me. In fact, this will probably be a pretty short blog. I didn't realize how awful breaking your arm while in chiropractic school would be. Not only am I behind on my outpatient visits, but I haven't been able to adjust anyone for about one month. All of my friends have been a real help with filling out paperwork and helping me get through with my clinic requirements. Since this quarter is almost over, I am hoping I will be back in commission for my 12th quarter. Next week is finals week and then we have about three weeks off for summer break. I will try to blog again soon but I can't promise anything as typing with one arm stinks!

SCORE Seminar

This past week, many of us attended a SCORE seminar. This is a group of retired entrepreneur who helps mentor those interested in starting a small business. Since Sherman, and many other chiropractic schools do not really offer any business classes, our professor encouraged us to attend. For a nominal fee, we were able to seek advice from a lawyer, banker, marketer, and accountant.

I enjoyed the lawyer's talk as he gave us some good ideas about whether or not to form an LLC or an "S" corporation. Both of these seem to be a good choice but he gave me something to think about and I will have to do some research as to which of these two will be best suited for me. I think that the lawyer's speech alone was worth the cost of the seminar.

As for the banker, I think he lacked in our areas of interest. I don't think he realized the type of seminar at which he was speaking. He spoke to us about building a good relationship with a banker. I agree this is very important but he was not really able to get to the heart of what we as the attendees wanted to hear. We were looking to hear about how to get loans for start up. Yes, this is based on an individual basis, but he wasn't even able to give us any tips on what to do to make the lenders want to even consider us.

All in all this was well worth the money and it gave me some food for thought.

Lost Time??

With most of our classroom education under our belts, we are spending much more time in the clinic. Each night I wonder where the day went! I know that we have to clock in 240 hours in the clinic, so most of our day is spent there, but it seems like the days are passing me by and I haven't accomplished what I've wanted to get done. I would prefer to spend my days, when I am not seeing patients, out and about trying to bring in new patients, but that is very difficult when I have to be at the health center to get hours! I would much rather be busy with patients all day than sitting in the center just clocking hours. I hope that at some point I will have enough patients to fill my entire day that I am never just sitting idle! I guess that I really can't complain now that I have a few patients that are committed to their care and come in to the clinic several days each week. The best feeling is when you give your patient an adjustment and they tell you how much better they are feeling!

Sherman

Classes began once again yesterday. The classes I am taking this quarter include: clinic lab, automated office procedures, communications, and practice management. As our classes seemed to have dwindled, our need for more patients have taken priority. I am finished with my classes each day by 1 o'clock. This however does not mean I can go home and spend the rest of the day out in the beautiful South Carolina weather! I have 264 hours that I need to put in at the Sherman clinic.

For anyone who is interested in coming to the Sherman clinic, you need to know that this is a teaching institution. Therefore, you can not just come and expect an adjustment. As a patient you will receive a thorough spinal exam, physical exam, and x-rays if necessary. It isn't until the third visit where it is possible for you to receive an adjustment. I think is it very important for everyone to have their spines adjusted, so please visit your local chiropractor or visit me at the Sherman Health Center!