I never thought about it until recently. If you are good at what you do, not too may people make comments or give you feedback. Its when you are bad at your job, that's when people have no problems letting you know about it. I had a former student of mine message me and tell me that I was inspirational to him when he was a student. I was a bit caught off guard as it has been a few years since I have taught, but it is extremely flattering and humbling to receive such praise.
It made me stop and think about some of the people I look up to (the "who do I want to be when I grow up" moment!)
One of the biggest influences for me in my chiropractic career has to be Dr. Jason Pajaczkowski. I had the great fortune to do my clinical internship under his watch for 6 months (which is nowhere near enough time to learn all he knows). I'd list all his accomplishments, but it would take too long (his business card is on legal size paper he has so many letters after his name!) Dr. Paj (as he is fondly know by his students) has a passion for teaching and mentoring students. One of the things I remember from Clinical Grand Rounds during exam time (which meant it wasn't that well attended) was standing room only when Dr. Paj was the clinician.
While I was doing my internship, Dr. Paj offered me the opportunity to see him work his magic at his clinic. It was an amazing experience to watch and learn from him. He showed me some of the subtle signs that are missed at times by other therapists, but aid in proper diagnosis (which in turn, leads to the correct treatment.)
I still have a pile of Dr. Paj's notes that he provided us during my internship and find myself looking back over them from time to time. I still find that every time I look at those notes, I learn something new from them.
I look up to Dr. Paj. I think it is important (even though it has been an number of years since he has taught me) that he knows how much of an influence he has had on what I do, and who I have become! I have reached out to let him know how much I appreciated all of his mentorship.
If you have took the time to read this post, you could probably take another few minutes to reach out to someone who you look up to and let them know about it! I can guarantee you they will appreciate it!
