An Interview with Dr. Jon Parham
When I was a chiropractic student, I interviewed one hundred chiropractors for the DC2Be Revolution YouTube channel and podcast. This article is about the insights I gained from Dr. Jonathan Parham who works with Northwest Sports Rehab in Nevada.
- SACA can help with job opportunities.
Dr. Parham: Graduating is scary. As you go through school all you can think about is graduating and when you arrive all you can think about is how to be a doctor. I was very fortunate because my involvement in the student American Chiropractic Association opened a lot of doors for me. I was part of a great network. When it was time for me to look for a job I had a lot of great offers. Most of my friends that were heavily involved in ACA as students came out of school with great jobs as well. I love chiropractic. I love what we do. I love that we provide such great care for patients. Like many people I was a patient and that’s how I got involved.
- SACA can help you connect with different schools.
Being involved in the ACA was unique for me. I was exposed to a lot of things. I got to go to Greeley, Colorado and hang out at the National boards for a weekend. I got to spend a lot of time with doctors that are dedicating themselves and their time to make the profession better. They are great examples of servant leadership. The ACA provides camaraderie for students. That was huge for me. I got married last December and I had friends from different chiropractic schools that I had met through the student ACA at my wedding. Those friendships are unique, especially in chiropractic because most of us live in a bubble of our school. It opened my eyes to what else is out there. It exposed me to a lot of things I would have never experienced and allowed me to form my opinions about things.
- SACA can help with earning the public’s trust.
Dr. Parham: We are behind the 8-ball in the public’s eye. Everyone in chiropractic school feels pride that they are in a doctoral program. No one got into chiropractic thinking that it is the front-runner in the health care community. We’re behind the eight ball in terms of our reputation in the in the healthcare community and in the public eye. The sooner that we’re honest with ourselves about that then the sooner we can move forward. Getting involved and giving back will help us fight this uphill battle. Volunteering and giving of yourself can make a huge difference.
- SACA can help you be a doctor instead of a technician.
Dr. Parham: A lot of people get out of school and want to be chiropractic technicians. It can be easy for anybody to set up shop and just start cracking people’s backs and they probably won’t hurt too many people. It is about that one-person that you don’t take the time to listen to, that you don’t you take the time to diagnose. That’s something that I learned from my mentor clinician. Be the best diagnostician you can, the rest of it will come. I live by that. It’s about serving the public. Put the public trust over everything.
- SACA can help you find a mentor.
Dr. Parham: In school I spent all my time in my mentor clinician’s office. I told him that I’m here to learn and I want to know everything you know. He would grill me on things. He would pick a body part and tell me to learn everything about it and how to fix it and then grill me. There’s always more to learn. You’re never going to be perfect; you’re never going to know it all. That’s why you need mentors who push you to be better. Mentors who push you to keep getting better.
To watch the entire interview, you can go here. https://youtu.be/ichvd3tgcg0
Noah Volz, DC is the author the The Master Student: Book 1: Mindset: The Ultimate Guide to Success, Enjoyment and Productivity as a Chiropractic College Student.