Around the middle of February, the fourth-year students finish their clinical rotations and celebrate completing three years at the school clinic. At the same time, the third-year students become the most experienced students at the clinic. It is also time for the first-year students to start their clinical rotations, which begin with massage.
During the first year, students can offer treatments such as massage, trigger point therapy, and stretching as they learn and pass exams in these areas. Towards the very end of the first year, students also complete their training in exercise science, allowing them to begin prescribing exercise routines as they progress.
During the second year, students begin practicing and testing mobilization techniques to expand their toolkit. Mobilization is the precursor to the manipulation that many associate with the "cracking" sound often heard during a naprapath or chiropractor visit. Every step of the education is essential to understand and master in order to build upon it with various treatment methods.
There is so much more for students to learn to ensure they can provide safe and effective treatment. Throughout the program, there is a strong focus on examination methodology to rule out various diseases and conditions that would prevent us from treating a patient or require us to refer them elsewhere for further investigation and care. At this point, students often reflect on how much they have grown over the past year. I feel like I am constantly working hard to absorb everything I am taught, yet I sometimes feel like I know nothing. When I look back at what I knew a year ago, I realize how much I have developed, and I know I will continue to do so throughout my time at school and later in my professional career.
Naprapath student, 2nd year
