Experience with the Department of Defense/Veteran’s Affairs (DoD/VA) student rotation program
Faith Swartzendruber, D.C. (Main, ’21) was introduced to chiropractic and Palmer College at age nine. After her first chiropractic adjustment, her grandma was driving her home on the country roads, and simply stated “Palmer is the Cadillac of chiropractic.” To this day, Faith vividly remembers this memory and considers her grandma’s quote to be her personal epigram, which she compares to David D. Palmer’s statement of “Palmer is to chiropractic what sterling is to silver.”
After visiting several chiropractic colleges, Faith noticed that everything always came back to Palmer: the faculty, the curriculum, the history. Her grandma’s epigram stood out to her even more. After visiting Palmer in-person she noticed the community, which ultimately drew her in. “I could just tell that the environment was very family-like as soon as I stepped on campus. It still reminded me of an undergraduate campus with friendly students, housing options and the Richard R. Bittner Athletic & Recreation Center. I could feel the history as soon as I stepped on campus.”
Throughout her time as a student, Faith, inspired by her campus guide and peers around her, joined and participated in the Sigma Phi Chi sorority and Campus Guides, even serving as president.
During her seventh trimester Faith, along with her classmates, were introduced to the Department of Defense/Veteran’s Affairs (DoD/VA) student rotation program by Jennifer Steward, Director of Clinical Co-Curricular Programs with Palmer College. Palmer’s DoD/VA student rotation opportunities give students the chance to serve our nation’s military and veterans while gaining valuable clinical experience in a multi-disciplinary environment.
Faith never thought she would find herself working in an off-campus clinical environment and had no personal connections to the military, yet as the deadline to apply approached, she found herself with a strong feeling that she had to apply, even if she wouldn’t be selected. She applied to one location, the Veteran’s Affairs Hospital: Black Hills Healthcare System in Ft. Meade, South Dakota. She was familiar with the area after once vacationing there.
She was accepted and recalls the immediate and immense growth she had as a chiropractic student. Faith continued in the program for a total of two trimesters.
“Most patients that I saw have chronic pain. Many of them are between the ages of 40-60 and have served for multiple tours,” Faith said. “These hospitals give them one place to come in to do everything they can to lessen their pain. They bring their physical, emotional and mental health onto the table. We are truly looking at them as a whole human being, way beyond their spine.”
Beyond a traditional clinical environment, students working at the VA hospitals also learn how D.C.s work with medical professionals across many disciplines, for the benefit of the patient. Faith worked alongside neurology, rehabilitation, mental health services and pain management. Their knowledge and expertise on various manners left Faith doing additional research at home after work. She credits using everything she learned at Palmer College, from day one, in some way or another.
Although this path in her education came because of a gut instinct, Faith can’t speak highly enough of her experience. Since working with the veteran population, she has a new appreciation for the cycle of health care. “They think of their chiropractor as their primary doctor, so it keeps you up on your game and always wanting to work with other professionals on the team and balance all aspects of their health,” Faith said.
“The most valuable thing I am taking away from this program is the confidence I gained in my adjusting and clinician skills,” Faith said. “I significantly improved in history taking, neurological and orthopedic examinations and lab interpreting. Although I came in scared, I left with so much confidence and experience. I saw so many patients every day and having such a high volume of people helped me practice my skills.”
Faith credits her readiness post-graduation to her time at Black Hills Healthcare System. Under the guidance of another doctor of chiropractic, Faith and one other student were always working one-on-one with undivided attention, supervision and mentoring. “It was an encouraging environment with helpful feedback that helped me learn and prepare for working after graduation. They were very focused on making us good clinicians,” Faith said.
Faith recently graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic. She plans to work in a private practice until she can own her own and hopes to work with veterans in her community.
To Palmer students considering the DOD/VA student rotation and even those who never originally thought of themselves there, Faith says, “It is 100% worth it. The experience you get working with a volume of patients and the one-on-one feedback will make you learn so much in such quick time. Follow your gut if it’s telling you something.”
Palmer’s Department of Defense/Veteran’s Affair’s (DoD/VA) student rotation opportunities give students the chance to serve our nation’s military members and veterans while gaining valuable clinical experience in a multi-disciplinary environment.
These rotations are available to senior-level students on all Palmer campuses and include more than 50 affiliated DoD/VA hospitals and sites. Learn more at www.palmer.edu/dod.
