No school for the kids - but professional examinations for the chiropractor.

graphic coping greenBy Ashley Worobec

May 15th, 2020

BURLINGTON, ON

 

We’ve had a few out-of-the ordinary experiences over the past week or so, and that’s given some variety to our isolation life of homeschooling, neighborhood walking, movies, puzzles, and books.

Ashley pouting

Expecting different weather in May

I was a Standardized Patient for the year-end exam for chiropractic students in Toronto on Friday, May 8th. I am involved in this exam every year, but it’s usually in-person at CMCC (Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College) in North York. This year, as with everything else, the exam had to be adapted to this new reality, and it was performed virtually.

I played my role as a Standardized Patient in a Zoom room with an examiner, while chiropractic students rotated into the Zoom room and completed the required scenarios. Obviously, with a hands-on profession like chiropractic, this was a challenge, and students were not evaluated on their hands-on care, but rather on a multitude of other components required of being a healthcare practitioner. There were more than 50 Zoom calls happening simultaneously so that the exam could be conducted as fairly as possible, and it went remarkably smoothly. I think it’s a wonderful example of how we’ve been forced to modify and adapt, and I applaud CMCC for their extraordinary efforts to pull this off.

I participated in the “Brooklyn virtual half marathon”, organized by the New York Road Runners. The reason for my sad face in the picture below, is that this race happened on Saturday morning in the midst of May snow flurries! Growing up in Alberta, I am no stranger to snow in May, but that’s less typical for us here in Southern Ontario. I have not been training for runs of this length (a half marathon is 21.1km), but I have been doing a 14km-16km run pretty much every weekend and lots of shorter runs throughout the week, so I was confident that I could tackle the distance- and if you know me, you know that I LOVE a challenge, so participating in this was a no-brainer.

boy costume

My daughter dressed up in a Superhero costume for the workout

I’ve been continuing to host a LIVE 10-minute workout every Friday at 11:45am EST on my Facebook Page (Dr. Ashley Worobec) and my Instagram Page (@ashburlington). This workout changes each week, but is always something that’s adaptable to all fitness levels, as the goal is to get people moving. I broadcast live from my living room or my backyard with my family. This past week, my daughter dressed up in a Superhero costume for the workout and she was the highlight for many of the participants who joined in. This has been a great source of happiness for me each week, and I really look forward to it.

My mother-in-law turned 75 on Saturday, May 9th, and we organized a surprise drive-by birthday parade with her family and a handful of her friends. We were thankful that the City of Burlington changed its position on these parades, and we followed the rules of staying in our cars. In addition, we had a “virtual beer and cheese” tasting with the entire family on a Zoom call that evening. My sister-in-law organized this through a local cheese boutique in her Toronto neighbourhood, and each family was given a beer and cheese kit to drink and eat while on the group Zoom call with the cheese boutique owner. It was similar to being on a wine tour in Niagara, except it was done in the comfort of our own living rooms. Again, a brilliant example of adapting to these changing times. We had so much fun with this!

flower pots

A sign that Spring was close if not quite here yet.

Spring flowers on the front step! Although we’ve had to cover these pots with a blanket nearly every night due to the risk of frost, having plants and flowers on my step brings me hope and energy for the future.

I continue to take this day by day, and not let myself think too far ahead. My husband and I are anxiously awaiting announcements from our Premier, as I’m hopeful to return to work soon, and he’s a teacher, so his June is still uncertain. I can’t let my thoughts get too far ahead though, or I could get easily overwhelmed. In mid-March, I wouldn’t have been able to fathom being out of work for two months, and yet here we are, adapting and getting through it. I have faith that things will settle soon, and in the meantime, we fill our days with the things that we enjoy around home.

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