Recent D.C Alumna (June 2022)

As a small-town girl from Rice Lake, Wisconsin, Courtney Bliese grew up with two brothers, and she described her childhood as happy and “pretty normal.” She attended the University of Minnesota Duluth for her undergraduate, graduating with a degree in Mathematics and a minor in Chemistry.

Her chiropractic journey and interest began when she started to experience migraines that led her to seek chiropractic care. After experiencing how chiropractic care alleviated her own symptoms and having some poignant conversations with her chiropractor, she looked at one other university before eventually finding that Life University (Life U) was the place she wanted to attend.

“We have access to so much information at Life U. I think what separates Life U from so many other schools is that we have access to so many different techniques and clubs. Atlanta is also obviously a hub for seminars. So, the location and what Life U has to offer has been super helpful […],” said Bliese.

Bliese just finished her PEAK internship, which completed her clinical requirements. She has had the opportunity to learn from and be supervised by doctors at two different practices, which has helped her to see the myriad ways in which to structure and implement chiropractic care. The first placement was a smaller practice in which Bliese became exposed to pediatric and prenatal chiropractic care that involved “a lot of one-on-one time and patient education.” And then her current office is a faster-paced environment.

“It’s a total 180 but also just a great experience. I feel like I am learning a lot with patient care, and obviously my adjusting is getting a lot better now that we are able to adjust so many more patients a day,” said Bliese.

During her time at Life U, Bliese also participated in a chiropractic research track. She enjoyed being able to make her own projects, overseeing data collection as well as completing a manuscript. Her project focused on stress and its relation to chiropractic care.

“We looked at brain function and how your brain degenerates after stress, and if a single session of chiropractic care could improve that neurology and make your brain function at a more efficient level,” said Bliese.

For the near future, Bliese searches for her first placement as a licensed chiropractor to begin practice, hopefully a little closer to home. For the students coming up behind her, Bliese offers a word of encouragement to be patient with the process.

“I think [Chiropractic] is just a lot more than people think it is. I think it’s important to stay calm and recognize that you’ll have time to find what kind of technique you want and learn what you need to learn in the program, and you don’t need to do it all first and second quarter,” said Bliese. “Take your time, really enjoy those first quarters of the basic sciences and get those under your belt before you start stressing about what path you need to take with Chiropractic.”

 

 

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