If I get hit by a truck, take me to the ER.  If I have a heart attack, call 911.  If I have a genetic anomaly or inexplicably develop a disease such as diabetes or a cardiomyopathy requiring  life-sustaining medication, then give me that medication.

Some conditions are beyond chiropractic care to be enough.  Not that one won’t still be better off with chiropractic care than without it.  But in cases of life-threatening emergencies, or health issues either not associated with subluxation, or too far gone beyond full recovery, then give me the best that Allopathic care has to offer!

But for most everything else… I’m looking for my good colleague for an adjustment.  Some of you don’t get this.  Particularly if you’re a student or a new grad.  But thousands of DCs in practice today haven’t gotten this either.

I have an ongoing conversation currently with a newer grad who has been open in his own practice for about six months.  An extremely bright and intelligent young man.  Yet maybe due to the chiropractic education received from his Nurturing Mother, he has little confidence in his abilities beyond pain relief and improved joint mobility.   His main hangup is that while he’s aware there is research “out there” on the effectiveness of the adjustment beyond pain relief, he has not (yet) witnessed any such cases with his own patients. 

The origin of his lack of confidence in this area could take multiple blog posts to address.  I would request multiple comments from students who are being fed the “when all else fails, try adjusting your patient” gruel at their school… the “a subluxation does not exist” drivel that too many at our institutes of higher education are being misled to believe as scientific truth. 

We therefore have an entire generation of new grads and soon-to-be-grads, as well as gobs of DC veterans, who have NO IDEA who they are nor what they can provide for a suffering humanity who are desperately seeking their care in their community. 

If you are in practice, and are not aware of any conditions that have ever improved or resolved in your patients other than their pain symptoms, then you’re either not asking the right questions, or in some cases you’re not treating beyond simple relief of pain.

I used this example with this new doctor…  “I live in central North Carolina.  I have heard some claim that there are mountains in NC.  Some have stated, anecdotally, that the Atlantic ocean can be reached without leaving my state.  There is even proof of this in the geographic and travel resources.  However,  I have traveled to the outskirts of Wake, Chatham, Durham, and Orange counties, but have yet to see any mountains, and have not seen a coastline… since I’ve not seen it myself, I cannot believe these claims to be true.”  The real truth is, either I haven’t traveled far enough, or in many cases, I’ve just been looking in the wrong direction.

Didn’t plan on this post going in that direction, but just as well that it did.  This one can’t be ignored.  Our profession will never be #1 when so many of our fellow “Doctors” are practicing as glorified physical therapists.

What else needs to happen before our profession rises to it’s rightful place in the American public’s healthcare decision making?  We’ll dive into this one more deeply, but I’d love to hear your viewpoints.  Feel free to type out a quick comment.

“til then…

   A chiropractor in private practice is really an educated entrepreneur. 

    And

  …the skills and information needed to be successful are over and above what you’ve been trained for in school!

 If you’re reading this and you are still a student, you have learned some concepts that place you light years ahead of your colleagues, and yes, ahead of many a practicing DC trying to build a practice and earn a living.

 Why do so many of our brethren and sistren(?) struggle?  The answer lies in ”The Two Techniques”.  There are two techniques that you must be aware of and attempt to master to be successful in your practice…

 Ready to hear what they are?  The first is the main adjusting technique you plan to utilize in your patient care.  So much focus, time and effort are put into learning an honing our treatment skills.  School, continuing education, seminars, certifications, in some cases investing in special equipment… all to become good if not great with our patient treatment.  Yes, extremely important.  But unfortunately this is where it begins and ends with most docs.  What is missing is the 2nd technique…  And here it is… you MUST become a master of…

 Logan Basic Technique

 Just kidding.  Did anyone panic, even for a millisecond? 

 The second technique is… Business/Patient Management technique.

 Here’s how it often plays out, in any profession.  Let’s say, an attorney, or a CPA, or a plumber.  That person may have come right out of school, but often times goes to work for someone else first.  And that person becomes very good at the “doing” of their work.  The attorney has learned to research cases, build arguments, and has become a whiz in the courtroom.  The CPA is a magician with the numbers, and is trusted with some of the firm’s largest accounts, etc.

 And then that day comes, when he or she reflects on this question, “Why am I working so hard and making all this money for my boss?”  Followed by this assumption,  ”I can be doing this for myself.  I’m going to leave this place and start my own firm/company/business”…

 And THAT is where the “Fatal Assumption” comes into play (see last post about E-Myth’s Michael Gerber’s coined term).  Which in our example means this… just because an attorney, a CPA, a plumber, a doctor,… has become very good at the technical work their job requires, this has absolutely ZERO correlation with their potential to succeed as an entrepreneur running their own business!

 This is a HUGE concept to grasp, and it’s significance cannot be overstated.  If you’d like to read a bit more on the two techniques written by a leader in the chiropractic profession, take a look at Dr. Todd Osborne’s blog post from a couple months back:  http://www.drtoddosborne.com/2009/12/08/two-techniques-required-for-success-in-chiropractic/

 After checking Dr. Oz’s post, come on back and let me know what you’re thinking.  ‘Til next time…

Hello, and welcome!!  Last post we discussed moving a resolution or a goal from “thinking” to reality.  The above quote commonly attributed to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is one of my favorites.  He was known as Germany’s “Shakespeare”, and he would have been a fan of this topic. 

How do I know?  Check out a couple more from the man, who incidentally is also credited with being the first to identify the Incisive bone, part of the Premaxilla (Ahhhh, flashbacks of Gross Anatomy):

“Enough words have been exchanged;  now at last let me see some deeds!”

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply.  Willing is not enough; we must do.”

As true today as when T-Rex caught the scent of our early ancestors…  There is power in “Action”.

We’ve talked about the power of taking (even small) steps in the direction of our goals.   Now if you’re someone who is a Go-Getter in all aspects of your life, and have a history of 1) setting goals, and then 2) making the necessary sacrifices to move towards them, then well done and carry on!  You are in an ultra-elite minority.

For most though, when resolutions or goals are made, various “reasons” crop up that keep them as “good intentions” only.  Necessary changes are never made, or sometimes steps are taken but are given up too early.  

When change seems to be too difficult, overwhelming, time consuming, or fill in the blank excuses here, the way to overcome is to first decide to commit to the goal, and then to take a step in the right direction, even if it’s seemingly insignificant.  Action!

How is this applicable to the student?

Are you a procrastinator?  Spent many all-nighters cramming for exams because you don’t keep up regularly?… Have to “drink from a fire hose” right up ’til the last minute before rushing to take a test?   I am very familiar with this strategy of studying, and through much personal sacrifice and peril have come to this conclusion… its flawed.  

How about this instead?  Take a small step.  Commit to read over your notes for just a few minutes each day.  Don’t even think of it as “studying”.  After a week, build up to five minutes per day.  Increase your review time as needed once a test date is still days away. 

Looking to save some money to fit your student budget?  Take a small step.  Order just the plain coffee instead of one of those Tensor Fascia Lattes.  Or make coffee at home instead of stopping by St. Arbucks.  Eat pasta or rice and beans an extra evening per week.  Eat your roommate’s leftovers when he or she is not home.  I’ve tried that one too… also flawed.  Who in the world dreamed up Tofurkey?? 

Have you given much thought to life after graduation?  If not, take a step.  The next time you have some downtime, such as on a Saturday morning, use it to relax.  Get your coffee, or Diet Coke, kick back, and dream of your future… only good things allowed.   Not the “How To” yet, just the destination.  

• Are you working in someone else’s office or in your own clinic? 
• Where is it located? 
• How big is the office (how many rooms)? 
• What does the decor look like?  
• What kind of patients do you serve? 
• What is/are your most used technique(s)? 
• Is your office “all cash”, or do you accept insurance? 
• How many patients do you serve in your ideal day? 
• What kind of income do you have?  etc.

Whether you’re in early Tri/Quarter, middle, or close to graduation, it’s never too early to visualize and prepare for  the real world ”beyond the four walls”.  Now take a step toward that dream.  Write me a comment on what you’ve come up with.

‘Til next time.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably wondered why that is.

I recall seeing results of a survey showing Patient Satisfaction was highest among patients of doctors of chiropractic… so if what we have is so good, how come…?

Part of the answer I believe traces back to false assumptions made even as students in Chiropractic College. And too many of our colleagues never learn otherwise.

And that is what has prompted this web log. My aim is to share valuable information, give hope, and help stop a cycle that plagues our profession.

My intention is that this becomes a place of refreshment for the chiropractic student, as well as a resource for the graduate doctor who has yet to fulfill his or her dream of opening a practice.

I welcome anyone in the chiropractic profession to stop by, hang out for awhile, and comment on my posts.

Here’s what makes me so passionate about this:

I Believe:

• Chiropractic should be the #1 Healthcare Choice in America!
• Too many graduate from school ready to set the world on fire, only to experience reality smacking them upside the head.
• Too many have great aspirations, only to end up making one faulty decision after another in establishing their own practice.
• Too many of our colleagues are struggling, working far too hard for the results they are seeing.
• Too many of our colleagues are defaulting on their student loans and other debts.
• Too many of our colleagues are going down and out…and that’s got to stop!!

I’ve got a lot to share, but like a mosquito in a nudist colony, I know what I want to do… I just don’t know where to start! So let’s see where this takes us.

What do you feel contributes most to our profession’s current status?