When my father talked to me, he would sometimes ask me, what part of this conversation don’t you understand? I fully understood all that he had said, but I either did not want to face the truth or I was just to lazy to do what he asked over and above suffering the consequences of not listening. Recently we have had several challenges that have faced our profession and fortunately we have come through these challenges unscathed. Chiropractic should be a way of life not just a way to make a living and have the extras in life. When chiropractic has been jeopardized either in the community, state or nationally, participation by our colleagues in our profession has been limited. The leaders of the profession are giving out the information to build a strong and viable profession that has a higher sense of purpose, credibility and integrity. What is needed is not the same group to do all work necessary to build but for all of us to work on projects at local levels to guarantee our success. Let’s start with what is easiest, and that is to start educating and explaining chiropractic to the public. Not in such a way that we are promoting discounted care just to get people in the door to educate them. When in essence we are educating potential patients to believe that all chiropractic care is at a discount. That has been the marketing method used for years to teach people about what we do. The state and national associations should be responsible for information that goes out to the public with the same message to help heighten their awareness. It is the responsibility of every chiropractor to do their part and do tasteful marketing and advertising to promote chiropractic as the standard for natural health care and to stand up against drugs and surgery. Our offices should be full of patients that come in from multiple referral sources, newspapers, websites, television media, and other media venues that show chiropractic in a favorable light. Chiropractors that hold their heads up high and have a philosophical belief system that is not mottled, but modeled by our forefathers that believed in a different set of health care values and had strength to stand together and fight for what they believed. Is anybody listening? Why are we waiting for the next disaster to hit our profession before we do something as group? Doctors that are ready to stand together and contest our foes in the health care arena? It is as though the young have forgotten our history and where we came from as a profession. It is important not to forget where we have come from and that what has brought us to this point is the passion, truth and our belief system. It is time that we work together on a different plane to truly bring the chiropractic message to any one that will listen and refuse to compromise our feeling or principles in what chiropractic and our profession stand for. If you don’t know why you do what you do for the patients it is time to start studying the history of where we have come from and not hide behind the myths. Lets face it there is an elephant in the kitchen that nobody wants to talk about and that is that many of the students and even practicing doctors out in the field are not trained or taught to believe that there is a bigger purpose to chiropractic then just popping backs and looking for the next new patient lure. It is the future of this profession to become more congruent in what we are telling the public and more importantly what the media tells the public about what chiropractic is or isn’t. It is time to start thinking like a healer and a chiropractor and prepare yourself for when the microphone is put in front of your face with a journalist on the other end of it asking you questions about what you do, what is chiropractic, or what is a subluxation? Have a 30 second prepared educational commercial you could articulate that would make a difference in what people thought of when they think of chiropractic. Too many doctors are out there in practice looking for answers on the outside when they need to look on the inside as to why they are having practice problems. They are looking for an outside answer and the truth needs to finally appear from with in. The higher your strength for what you do, the conviction of your principles in philosophy and ability to love your patients and those around you is, the larger your capability to serve more and give more back to your family, patients, and your profession. If you want to continue to complain be complacent and not participate in the bigger scheme of things then continue to do what you have been doing. As doctor Phil says, “How is that working for you”? That in it’s self should help you to reflect on your position in your life and where you may want to go from here.
