Personal Essay

Something felt fundamentally flawed with the United States healthcare system with life
expectancy continually declining and soaring chronic diseases rates driving up expenditure. Despite being
an advanced nation spending significantly more on healthcare per capita than other countries, the U.S.
does not even rank among the top 10 healthcare systems in the world. These statistics frustrated me and
encouraged me to find a way to think about health that was different from the traditional approach. To
obtain better patient outcomes and improve the healthcare system, we cannot continue using the same
approach, or as Albert Einstein once said “we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used
to create them.” Not only does Chiropractic play a quintessential role in the transformation of healthcare
as a primary care provider, it also fuels my passion to learn more about the body, pain, and most
importantly helps me understand myself better in my journey to overcome personal health challenges. For
these reasons, I am motivated to pursue a Doctorate of Chiropractic.
Pain has been one of my most valuable teachers, it has gifted me many life lessons that led me to
further study myriad aspects of healthcare. From childhood concussions, motor vehicle accidents, and
spinal injuries to emotional hardships, I developed a strong passion for holistic health, nutrition, exercise,
and manual therapy out of a desire to recover from these injuries. In my journey, I worked with a variety
of physicians, and while some were resourceful, some also felt unsupportive. Fortunately, I was able to
find a variety of Medical Doctors and Chiropractors who could lead me through my health challenges. I
became fascinated with the level of care and compassion these Chiropractors shared with me, their vast
knowledge of the body, and ability to explain and correct a variety of symptoms I experienced. They
helped me develop health goals and create a realistic path to recovery which motivated me to pursue
further education in the field of Chiropractic.
With six years of private practice in exercise rehabilitation, fascial techniques, and
nutrition/lifestyle coaching, I believe in multiple layers of healing, but each level is often limited by a
client’s motivation. Level 1 involves therapy modalities that are often a portal of entry for patients, such
as massage, acupuncture, or Chiropractic. This “level” often requires minimal motivation as the patient
takes a more passive role while the practitioner treats them, however this is not a negative, as it is an
opportunity to educate a patient about their health options. Far too often the patients are offered costly
options, such as medication or surgery, without being given the option to try other treatment modalities.
Level 2 encompasses exercise interventions which require more motivation from the client to do on their
own, and this is a step towards playing an active role in self-care. Level 3 includes nutrition and lifestyle
changes, which is more demanding and requires an individual to change their diet and habits. Level 4
incorporates mental and emotional coaching to reduce stress, improve their mindset, and overcome
psychological challenges.
Being a level 1 treatment option, Chiropractic can inspire patients to do more for themselves.
From my perspective, the role and responsibility of a primary care provider is to meet the patient at their
current stage of recovery and motivation, and develop knowledge to inspire individuals to progress
through multiple levels of care. My desire to study Chiropractic stems from the fact that Chiropractors
play a pivotal role in our healthcare system, being a first point of contact for patients and having the
ability to use advanced manual therapy techniques to support patients in their health journeys. As a
primary care physician, Chiropractors are also able to educate patients on improved stress management
techniques, nutritional habits and exercises that they are able to do on their own to complement the
Chiropractic treatment. Obtaining a thorough understanding of the Chiropractic approach and treatment
process will allow me to leverage this information to help others and inspire self-help using an integrative
health treatment approach that also incorporates movement, nutrition, and lifestyle changes.

Chronic care management is a leading factor associated with increased healthcare costs, and
Chiropractors have one of the greatest opportunities to address this issue. It is common for individuals to
have multiple comorbidities such as chronic low back pain, obesity, and diabetes. In my observation, if a
patient has little desire to change their diet or incorporate exercise, in some cases, successful Chiropractic
treatments can establish trust in the practitioner and consequently promote healthy lifestyle changes for
the patient. It is exciting that Chiropractors can be primary care physicians to help patients overcome
several conditions at the same time. For a patient to work with a Chiropractor capable of treating and
guiding them through their health challenges using a variety of approaches, this is critical in reducing
healthcare costs while delivering highly effective treatment options. A Chiropractor’s education in diverse
fields allows them to be a generalist, being able to screen and potentially treat multiple conditions, which
could reduce the need to see multiple specialists unnecessarily. As more individuals obtain access to high
quality care and knowledge of self-care techniques, this information can be shared with others to promote
community health. A Chiropractor’s impact can be expansive, and it is my vision that the impact they
have on the community will produce a domino effect onto other communities. This is an integral step
towards reducing healthcare costs and improving patient outcomes.
In the same way the Chiropractic approach has enhanced my quality of life, I am motivated to
obtain doctoral level education in anatomy, biomechanics, and physiology as well as the clinical tools
required to make a difference in other people’s lives. With my current knowledge of holistic health,
nutrition, and exercise, receiving a Chiropractic education would not only enable me to understand my
health conditions better, but will also allow me to help others in an innovative way distinct from the
traditional medical approach. In today’s society, an increasing number of individuals exhibit multiple
comorbidities that are preventable with proper access to quality healthcare. Thus extensive knowledge of
the human body and being able to treat multiple systems with Chiropractic provides increased value at a
reduced cost. In this manner, Chiropractic can lead the way to changing how the healthcare system
operates, and transform the lives of many along the way.