My Professional Destiny: My Career as a Chiropractor

destiny /ˈdɛstɪni/

noun 1. the events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or things in the future.

Your life is a journey that has been pre-destined for you (to some they are not). Your will towards your desire may have a role in your path. However, destiny plays its own course, and makes sure it leads you to your meant journey. No matter how much we would like to assert our own will, in the end we are powerless against our fate. At several points in our lives, we tend to ask – if not question, what is our destiny in life and the truth about why we are living. Destiny are the events that are supposed to take place, in a man’s (human) life in the present or the future. It all began from a very personal experience for Vicknesh Kandasamy A/L Gunasekaran.

What to do after SPM?
Vicknesh had completed his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), it is similar to IGCSE O’ Levels and just like most teenagers he was torn and had no idea on his next step, unsure of which degree or foundation he would like to venture into. The typical path for a boy from an Indian family would be either to become a doctor, lawyer, dentist, engineer, or accountant. At least Vicknesh was very clear that is not the path he would like to go for despite having Mathematics and Physics as his favorite subjects in school. Unsure of what needs to be done, his father suggested for him to take A- levels as it is a ticket to many places. His uncle did mention to him about the career pathway of a Chiropractor. Unsure of the depth of it as most of us do not quote Chiropractor on our usual career conversations. So, what personal experience did Vicknesh endure in order to identify his destined path? It was through his brother, he had a fall and was diagnosed with a slipped disc. What would be the next best option other than surgery, yes you are absolutely right – A Chiropractor. Little did Vicknesh knew that his life is about to change just by accompanying his brother to his Chiro visits. Through these visits, Vicknesh understood the beauty of a Chiropractic Journey. Fast forward, Vicknesh decided to take part in an IMU Open Day and he got the opportunity to meet a Chiro lecturer, Dr David Hannah. Dr David captivated Vicknesh by doing a thorough analysis and made some adjustments for him. He was captivated by the way Dr David passionately spoke about Chiropractic and what are the benefits. Mentioned how it is one of the best alternatives from surgery and how it helps to provide some relief to his clients. That kind of sealed the deal for Vicknesh and you know what his next step was – IMU Chiropractic Degree.

What to do after SPM?

Vicknesh had completed his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), it is similar to IGCSE O’ Levels and just like most teenagers he was torn and had no idea on his next step, unsure of which degree or foundation he would like to venture into. The typical path for a boy from an Indian family would be either to become a doctor, lawyer, dentist, engineer, or accountant. At least Vicknesh was very clear that is not the path he would like to go for despite having Mathematics and Physics as his favorite subjects in school. Unsure of what needs to be done, his father suggested for him to take A- levels as it is a ticket to many places. His uncle did mention to him about the career pathway of a Chiropractor. Unsure of the depth of it as most of us do not quote Chiropractor on our usual career conversations. So, what personal experience did Vicknesh endure in order to identify his destined path? It was through his brother, he had a fall and was diagnosed with a slipped disc. What would be the next best option other than surgery, yes you are absolutely right – A Chiropractor. Little did Vicknesh knew that his life is about to change just by accompanying his brother to his Chiro visits. Through these visits, Vicknesh understood the beauty of a Chiropractic Journey. Fast forward, Vicknesh decided to take part in an IMU Open Day and he got the opportunity to meet a Chiro lecturer, Dr David Hannah. Dr David captivated Vicknesh by doing a thorough analysis and made some adjustments for him. He was captivated by the way Dr David passionately spoke about Chiropractic and what are the benefits. Mentioned how it is one of the best alternatives from surgery and how it helps to provide some relief to his clients. That kind of sealed the deal for Vicknesh and you know what his next step was – IMU Chiropractic Degree.

He was fortunate that his whole journey was amazing except for the exams and other stress. Never doubted his choice of degree and enjoyed every semester. What he likes about IMU, the social and student life is amazing. Something he misses dearly today. He got involved in a lot of activities and misses IMU experiences. Met a lot of friends and networks for his personal and professional development that is helping him grow his career. He graduated with a First Class Honours in Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Chiropractic (IMU) and was in the dean’s list of graduands with high academic achievement. Every day it was something new, he learned the different depths and aspects of Chiropractic and understood the process better. He also had the opportunity to meet Dr Hayden Pooke, the CEO of TAGS Spine & Joint. Dr Hayden spoke to him before his final exam for his final semester and offer a proposition to work in TAGS. Vicknesh was delighted and hopeful however before joining TAGS he decided to take some weeks off and travel. After his travels, he started training with Dr Hayden and it was then he told Vicknesh about an opening of a position in Miri and he would like Vicknesh to move there to take charge of the clinic.

A Stint in Miri, Sarawak
Without any second doubt, Vicknesh uprooted to Sarawak with wide hopes and dreams of finally becoming an official Chiropractor. His thoughts were that he is still young with no commitments, this was his chance of learning more than he could possibly ask for. The part that he was aware of was the other tasks on hand that he had to shoulder all by himself as he is the only Chiro in that clinic. He was also responsible for the operations, clinic performance, treatments, communication, well basically the entire clinic was in his care. In the first six months, he only focused on himself and treating his patients. However, after six months he realised he would also need to manage the clinic’s progress hence other tasks were shouldered along the way. He figured out an effective system and flow for new and existing patients. He started taking part in talks to promote health. Sarawak – He finds it a beautiful place and he adores the people there. He cannot stress enough on West Malaysians’ limited knowledge about East Malaysians. As mentioned by Vicknesh “In the beginning, I too was skeptical of their hospitality. They would invite me for food as I will be sitting alone. They would approach you and have conversations without ulterior motives. But then I realized it is their culture and its normal in Sarawak. This cultivated openness and sincerity within me. They are sincere and very kind people. Most importantly, racism is invisible Miri.” “Exotic meals are a common meal for them. There was this one time where I was invited for a BBQ. Assuming it was the standard chicken, lamb kind of BBQ. Not knowing it was more of snake curry, alligator meat kind of BBQ. It was fun and tasty in a way” shared Vicknesh. For Vicknesh practicing as a Chiropractor for 4 years in a small town started to plateau but that did not stop him from being passionate about his professional journey. It was not an easy decision, as he is leaving a life, he made in Sarawak. Too many good friends to cut ties with. Very close-knit community. “One day my friends and I drove to Brunei for a badminton session. It takes about less than 40 minutes from Miri. Imagine, being in a different country that is just miles away and meeting your patients there. We ended up playing badminton together and headed off to dinner after” Not forgetting a language, he took months to master with the help of his nurses who was only determined to speak to him in Bahasa Sarawak from the time he arrived. Vicknesh could understand it as it has a lot of Indonesian influence to it and some of the words were similar to Bahasa Melayu. Sarawak changed him to become an independent young man. Life is so peaceful in Miri!

A Stint in Miri, Sarawak

Without any second doubt, Vicknesh uprooted to Sarawak with wide hopes and dreams of finally becoming an official Chiropractor. His thoughts were that he is still young with no commitments, this was his chance of learning more than he could possibly ask for. The part that he was aware of was the other tasks on hand that he had to shoulder all by himself as he is the only Chiro in that clinic. He was also responsible for the operations, clinic performance, treatments, communication, well basically the entire clinic was in his care. In the first six months, he only focused on himself and treating his patients. However, after six months he realised he would also need to manage the clinic’s progress hence other tasks were shouldered along the way. He figured out an effective system and flow for new and existing patients. He started taking part in talks to promote health.

Sarawak – He finds it a beautiful place and he adores the people there. He cannot stress enough on West Malaysians’ limited knowledge about East Malaysians. As mentioned by Vicknesh “In the beginning, I too was skeptical of their hospitality. They would invite me for food as I will be sitting alone. They would approach you and have conversations without ulterior motives. But then I realized it is their culture and its normal in Sarawak. This cultivated openness and sincerity within me. They are sincere and very kind people. Most importantly, racism is invisible Miri.” “Exotic meals are a common meal for them. There was this one time where I was invited for a BBQ. Assuming it was the standard chicken, lamb kind of BBQ. Not knowing it was more of snake curry, alligator meat kind of BBQ. It was fun and tasty in a way” shared Vicknesh. For Vicknesh practicing as a Chiropractor for 4 years in a small town started to plateau but that did not stop him from being passionate about his professional journey. It was not an easy decision, as he is leaving a life, he made in Sarawak. Too many good friends to cut ties with. Very close-knit community. “One day my friends and I drove to Brunei for a badminton session. It takes about less than 40 minutes from Miri. Imagine, being in a different country that is just miles away and meeting your patients there. We ended up playing badminton together and headed off to dinner after” Not forgetting a language, he took months to master with the help of his nurses who was only determined to speak to him in Bahasa Sarawak from the time he arrived. Vicknesh could understand it as it has a lot of Indonesian influence to it and some of the words were similar to Bahasa Melayu. Sarawak changed him to become an independent young man. Life is so peaceful in Miri!

He is now looking for other ventures to deepen his journey as a Chiropractor. He took up dry needling courses in KL after he graduated. This came about when he had terrible muscle pain and experienced dry needling as a treatment.

This inspired him to go through the course and did his level 1 in 2017 and completed it in 2018. Moving forward there was a huge demand for this course in Malaysia. Robert from Australia, who happened to be the person who provides this training approached Vicknesh to become his instructor in Malaysia. Destiny am I right? He would like to build his patient network in KL and test the waters with diagnostic ultrasound. Where is Vicknesh heading to, well you will be able to catch him in a center owned by Dr Leon in Kajang called The Backroom Chiro.

A tip from Vicknesh
Focus on what you want and do not let others influence what you truly want – that means you are not going to be happy or passionate. Go explore, experience, and decide on it. Hence there are no regrets. There will be stress, balance it out with student life (activities around campus), you will gain skills that will help you a lot after you graduate.

The bottom line is: Our life’s purpose is to connect with others and by doing so, our life’s mission becomes clearer.