T8 Clinical Rotations
The Department of Clinical Education requires T8 students to participate in Clinical Rotations to provide students with a broader range of learning experiences. These rotations include both Chiropractic Rotation sites and Allopathic Rotation sites. At the selected sites students may take histories, examine patients, observe and network with specialists, and encounter situations outside the scope of their current internship. These visits earn clinic hours, not TAC time.

Click here to view the list of Allopathic and Chiropractic Rotations Sites

• Chiropractic Rotations
  
  What are Chiropractic Rotations?
  The Chiropractic Rotations Program was designed to provide students with the opportunity to see a variety of health care conditions in a number of diverse clinical environments. The more exposure students have in these clinical settings, the more prepared they will be to enter the field of health care as licensed providers.
  
  Students are introduced to each site by meeting the doctor, staff, and receiving a tour of the clinic. They learn about the logistics of patient care, and background information about the clinic and the doctor.
  
  Students shadow the doctor to observe a variety of patients. When appropriate the doctor and intern will discuss patient cases, including the clinical thought process for the patient work-up, diagnosis, and treatment plan. Students may be directly involved in conducting histories, performing physical examinations, and taking and/or viewing x-rays.
  
  As time permits, doctors are encouraged to answer questions, not only concerning patient cases, but also some of the specifics regarding running a practice, such as weekly patient visits, patient numbers, billed services, gross collections, and net revenue. This information will no doubt give the students a reality check about private practice.
  
  Intern Expectations
  Students receive and need to review written information about the Chiropractic site, the kind of experience they may expect, specific protocols to follow, and learning objectives for the site. Students, as ambassadors of Northwestern, are expected to follow the clinic dress code (clinic jackets are required at some sites) and hygiene guidelines. They are to be prompt, and to act in a professional manner at all times. Students need to complete an assignment sheet analyzing their experience after visiting each clinic.
  
  Intern Objectives: During the Chiropractic clinical rotations, students will:
  • Observe and describe the clinical setting and atmosphere.
  • Participate as fully as possible in the experience as directed by the doctor at each site. This may include taking histories, performing physical examinations, taking or reviewing radiographs, and discussing diagnostic possibilities and treatment plans.
  • Describe the mission statement or philosophy of the clinic.
    Describe conditions that the doctor treats and cases that the doctor discusses.
  • Analyze the experience to determine what can be applied to their future practice.
  • Compare the Chiropractic Rotation to their present clinic assignment.
    
    
• Allopathic Rotations
  
  Northwestern Health Sciences University’s Clinical Rotations Program is an experiential educational program for T8 and T9 interns. Administered by the Dept. of Clinical Education, the Allopathic Rotations are conducted in off-campus clinic and hospital settings that offer students opportunities beyond Northwestern’s clinical program. Chiropractic doctors need to be familiar with other disciplines to which they will be referring their patients for diagnosis and/or treatment.
  
  As participants in the Allopathic Rotations, students will better understand the rationale for different approaches to care, be exposed to a wider range of patient conditions, engage in meaningful exchanges with other professionals, and better understand the means for appropriate patient management through consultation, referral, and cooperative care. Primary elements include observation of patient care, discussion of the rationale for care, discussion of patient management plans, and observation of the doctor's role in the management of the professional practice.
  
  The Allopathic Rotations Experience
  Interns who have visited these sites have been overwhelmingly positive about their experience! Comments reflect that most participants have seen the chance to observe surgery, learn about MRIs and CTs, or follow an osteopath on rounds as a phenomenal chance to learn and add to their clinical understanding and skills. Most doctors in the field who hear about this program state that they wish they had had the chance to do these kinds of visits, and that those kinds of experiences would be highly beneficial to doctors in practice.
  
  Intern Expectations
  Students are required to observe at a minimum number of rotations. They receive and need to review written information about the Clinical Rotation site, the kind of experience they may expect, specific protocols to follow, and learning objectives for the session. Expectations of individual sites are reviewed prior to attending the IDP experience.
  
  Students, as ambassadors of Northwestern, are expected to follow clinic dress code (clinic jackets are required at some sites) and hygiene guidelines, to be prompt, and to act in a professional manner at all times. Even if students question or disagree with something, they need to consider this to be part of the learning experience in the Allopathic setting and be appropriate in their discourse with the host. After a visit, an intern is expected to complete an evaluation of the Allopathic site and send a thank-you note to the respective doctor. If visits are during a scheduled clinic shift, arrangements need to be made with the clinic director well in advance of the visit day. Students’ ultimate responsibility, as always, is to the clinic and the patients.
  
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