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dr. john scaringe interview
dr. john scaringe interview
SCU Aims at Developing Problem Solving and Critical Thinking Skills
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Finally, as a professional, it is important
to serve others, your community,
and your profession. It is our
obligation as professionals to serve
others, and serve others something
of value. I built my practice by volunteering
and serving my community in
the sports medicine area. I was passionate
about sports medicine. I was
there to help individuals, without any
indication that I wanted something in
return.
I believe this genuine desire to help
people was evident to the people
I served, and in return they helped
me build my practice by being dedicated
patients. I believe they did this
because they observed that I cared,
I provided a valuable service, and I
volunteered that service outside of
the office.
New graduates have earned the skills
and knowledge to do great things. I
encourage them to work hard, be
confident, show some humility, but
above all—to have fun!
DB: When you moved to California
did you come out here to practice or
to be an educator?
JS: That’s a great question, Dennis.
The original plan was, because
I started a practice from scratch in
New York, was to travel to Southern
California and get a position as a full
time faculty member at the university
and practice part time. And then
over time, I was going to transition
to a full time practice and teach part
time. Well, that never really happened.
I practiced for approximately
15 years from 1987, on a part time or
full time basis, to 2002. It wasn’t until
2002 when I became a full time administrator
as Dean of Clinical Education
at SCU, that I really slowed down
and stopped practicing.
DB: Do you miss it?
JS: I do. Before serving as Dean, I
was the director in the health center
on campus with a full time practice
because of the money, but because I
enjoyed practice.
I was very passionate as a clinical instructor.
I think if you were to speak
to any of my interns at the time, they
would tell you that I really enjoyed
chiropractic practice, and enjoyed
being with the interns and supervising
patient care. I also embraced the
students as a valuable part of my
healthcare team, not that I was the
teacher and they were the students,
but as my colleagues.
I also had two small children at the
time, a second grader and one just
beginning kindergarten. I’d be getting
In addition to the necessary skills specific to chiropractic
or oriental medicine, we aim at developing more general
problem solving and critical thinking skills. Because I do believe
to be a successful practitioner—and that can be any
practitioner in whatever field not just in health care—you
need to be comfortable with ambiguity and have the skills
to think critically.
as I supervised interns. I was making
more money practicing as a faculty
member than as a Dean because I received
a percentage of what was collected
in my practice. At the time, I
had a pretty successful practice and I
took a cut in pay to become the Dean.
And that was tough for me, not just
home after they were asleep at night
and was often gone before they woke
up in the morning. I struggled over
missing practice and moving into a
full time administrative role. But once
I made the jump, I never looked back.
It was great because I was able to go
to all the school functions like plays
and award ceremonies that occurred
during school hours. I didn’t have
to worry about patient care. I don’t
think I worked any less as an administrator,
but I had a little bit more
flexibility with my time, because my
time before was centered around my
students and the private practice. As
it turns out, it was a great personal
and professional decision. It was the
turning point where I transitioned
from clinician-scholar to a career in
educational leadership.
DB: My impression is that you’re still
practicing; you’re just practicing in a
different way by educating many chiropractors
to be successful.
JS: And that is what is so rewarding
about my position. I’ve become the
conductor, the orchestrator of the
educational experience for the students
and their clinical experience.
And there’s just so much to do that
you never get bored.
DB: What do you see that the school
provides for the students who graduate
to make them successful?
JS: First of all, in addition to the necessary
skills specific to chiropractic or
oriental medicine, we aim at developing
more general problem solving
and critical thinking skills. Because
I do believe to be a successful practitioner—and
that can be any practitioner
in whatever field not just in
health care—you need to be comfortable
with ambiguity and have the
skills to think critically.
If students graduate with underdeveloped
problem solving and critical
thinking skills, and don’t feel comfortable
with ambiguity, I don’t think
they will be successful healthcare
practitioners. There is nothing more
humbling than a patient who doesn’t
respond the way you anticipate they
should respond. Strong problem
solving and critical thinking skills are
essential for a patient-centered, evidence-based
health care practitioner.
We also strive to graduate truly integrated
healthcare practitioners that
can survive in this ever-changing
healthcare environment. We value
ethical lifelong learners that place
the patient at the center of all their
decisions. If our students can graduate
with these particular skills and attitudes,
then I feel that I have been
successful as a university president
and educator.
DB: How do you react to the fact that
many students faced with the challenges
we face feel that the school
failed them in some way?
JS: Well I think there is some truth to
that. I don’t think we’ve been as successful
in reaching the masses when
it comes to being a true professional,
someone who is responsible for their
own learning, and deep learning is
generated by the exchange between
student and professor. You know, one
of the things I think students need to
realize—and if we can instill in them
the things that I just talked about—
that they need to work hard, be persistent,
and that critical thinking skills
are important. If we were more successful
at developing these skills, I
don’t think students would have the
negative attitudes that some of our
graduates have in blaming the institutions
for not teaching them every
little thing.
However, I think you’re correct by
saying that there are some graduates
that blame the institutions, and
we, as educators, have to accept that
those negative opinions are part of
the game we choose to play. As educators,
we try to do our best and continue
to make things better. Striving
for perfection keeps most of us motivated
and moving forward as we seek
the answers to the most important
question; what is it that we can do as
an educational institution to provide
students with the skills so they feel
that they’re successful when they
graduate?
DB: If you were talking to new chiropractic
students in your school,
what would be something from your
experience that they need to be successful?
What would you recommend
that they can start doing now,
in school, for success?
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