D.C. student, Vice President for The Pediatric Experience (PX) club

“Level up”

 

Morgan Philpot grew up in the tranquil small town of Corbin, Kentucky, surrounded by a large extended family of uncles, aunts and cousins. She was an avid basketball and volleyball player, using her genetic height to her advantage.

Through competitive play, she sustained a few concussions, which appeared to contribute to migraines as the years went on. At age 16, medication was suggested to remedy the problem, but Philpot’s mom wisely sought out alternatives to avoid starting long-term medication for her daughter at such a young age, if it was possible. Luckily, Philpot’s mom had a friend who was a chiropractor and alumna of Life University (Life U). Philpot received treatment in that office and worked there for a bit before pursuing her undergraduate education. That early exposure to holistic health stayed with Philpot and led to her wanting to pursue a career in Chiropractic.

After attending the University of Kentucky and obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science in 2019, Philpot’s search began in earnest for the right chiropractic college to enroll in its D.C. program. Of course, Life University was top of the list given her connection to her hometown chiropractor, but she made a point to widen her search to be certain.

“But as soon as I was here, I knew this is where I wanted to be. The whole school, the philosophy we have – the science, art and philosophy of Chiropractic. In my opinion, it’s just the best place to get a chiropractic education,” Philpot said.

Fast forward, Philpot is now in her last quarter of clinics and about to start her PEAK program, designed to allow senior interns to complete their clinic requirements under the direction of an off-campus doctor.  The clinic experience at Life U has been critical for Philpot, giving her to have the chance to work with patients of all walks of life, but in particular, patients that relate to her desired specialty of pediatrics.

“I see a wide range of people in clinic, which I think is awesome. [… ] I feel blessed honestly to be in the unit that I am in and have such a good experience. I wouldn’t change anything about it; it’s just the best experience,” Philpot said.

Philpot prepares for her PEAK placement at a PX affiliated chiropractic office in Tennessee, but she plans to finish up her on-campus time at Life U strongly. While at Life U, Philpot has been intimately involved with The Pediatric Experience (PX) club and currently serves as the club’s Vice President.

Originally, Philpot entered Life U thinking that she wanted to focus on the sports chiropractor route, given her own inclination toward athletics. That is a common entry path into Chiropractic that many student-athletes identify with, and yet like Philpot, many of them discover new depths to the chiropractic profession that end up suiting them better. Early on in her program, Founder of PX Dr. Tony Ebel came to do a lecture during one of the LIFEForce weekends. Dr. Ebel explained about birth trauma, the mounting health concerns present in youth today and the rising demand from families for holistic approaches to health care.

The way that Dr. Ebel explained just how Chiropractic has and can make a difference in the lives of kids and families, it clicked with Philpot, and she thought, “That’s it. I’m sold.” She and two friends signed up to be on the Life U PX club’s executive board, and from then on, Philpot was “all in” for pediatric Chiropractic as her true path.

“The goal of [PX] is to spread neurologically focused pediatric Chiropractic to all the masses and at the forefront of health care,” Philpot elaborated.

For those that haven’t been exposed to Chiropractic in general, much less to Chiropractic in a pediatric context, it can be a bit of an uphill climb to debunk some fears and misconceptions about it.

“It’s best to just debunk those things first. I’m not going to crack your baby’s back. It’s all about communication and explaining it to them in a way they can understand. When you are adjusting an infant, you wouldn’t use any more pressure than you would use to check the ripeness of a tomato at the grocery store,” Philpot said.

Communication and marketing of the safety and benefits of pediatric Chiropractic is key for PX and beyond, as well as engaging the public to understand that chiropractic as a whole is “rooted in neurology and making sure the nervous system is free and adaptable.”

Her advice to the D.C. students coming behind her is to make a point to engage in outside clubs and activities that can help students further define their interests.

“The best thing about this school is there are so many things and so many extracurricular activities for us to level up.”

 

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