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July 2005, Vol. 15, Iss. 3
Table of Contents
A Great Opportunity • Age of Confusion •
APMR Accepts CBP® Research • CBP® has 13 Published Clinical Trials • Chronic Back Pain, Your Brain, & Chiropractic •
Creating a Great First Impression • Evidence Based Exams •
Had Enough? • Lateral Head Flexion from Vestibular Dysfunction •
Letters to the Editor • Life's Rise from the Ashes •
PosturePrint™ is now a Validated Posture Analysis •
The Disease of Unrealistic Expectation • Thousands of Heroes •
When You Can't Critique CBP® in the Peer-reviewed Literature
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Age of Confusion
by R. J. Hammett, D.C.
Dr. Hammett is a chiropractor in private practice in Kenosha, Wisconsin. After graduating from Life College in 1979, he completed several post-graduate programs in Physical Impairments, Diagnostic Imaging and Rehabilitation. He completed his Juris Doctor in 1995. He has written articles for several Journals and has lectured to numerous Chiropractic groups on the topics of Practice Management and Risk Prevention.
Forget chiropractic for a moment if you can. Forget Chiropractic College. You’re about to open your first business. Your business is not health care; it’s a retail business. The business you’re in makes people feel better, look better and have a better outlook on life! This is the business you’re about to start. So what do you need?
First, a location that’s easy to get to, lots of parking, not too big of a space, but not too small. You’re going to need enough of that “feel good” equipment to serve the masses you hope will be knocking down your doors. You’re going to have to hire, motivate and train a staff large enough to serve the groups of people who are coming to your new business. You’re going to have to promote to your community “why” they need to “feel good” at your place versus others. When you deliver to the public, the moment of truth arrives. Do they like me? Do they like my staff? Do they “feel good” after they’ve visited my new business? Are they so excited about that “feel good” stuff that they’re sending everyone they know? How about your first month’s profit? Is it above 40% or better? What about repeat customers, are they coming back for that “feel good” stuff again and again? If they’re not, are you finding out why? Are you promoting your staff as your new business grows? Are they getting updated training on a weekly basis? Are you adding more staff to handle the masses coming to your door? If you’ve read this you’re probably wondering what the hell? Well, it’s time to let you in on a little secret.
The business I’m describing can be any business from a Subway Sandwich Shop to a hair salon. The problem with most Chiropractors is that they believe that they’re in some “specialty” business and for some reason, people should treat them differently from a “Sub Shop.” Here’s the bad news, in most people’s minds, you’re just another business that they need from time to time. Sure, there are some people who catch on to the “big idea” — maybe 5% to 10% at most. But for the 90% to 98% of the public, you’re a “Sub Shop” for the spines. Not only that, but you have anywhere from 5 to 20 different “spine” sub shops in your town to choose from.
See, this is the age of confusion for most Chiropractors. Am I a Doctor, or a sub shop owner? The truth? You’re both. The sooner you realize this fact, the sooner your practice will grow and keep growing. You can hire the best consultants in the world, but the fact remains that every business has similarities, most of which I have mentioned earlier. Think about you opening your “Spinal Sub Shop” in a town with twenty other “Sub Shops,” how are you going to survive, to grow, to make a profit? How are you going to inform and impress your community that your style if spine subs is better that the other twenty? How are you going to prove it to them? How are you going to monitor for quality control? How do you focus on improving you service to the public?
I’ve met or heard about most of the latest, greatest chiropractic management geniuses in the country. The fact remains, that you are the one ultimately who starts, builds and sustains your practice. Think about the perceptions I’ve written about today. Does your new practice/business have what your patients want and does it give it to them? If you’re in practice for more than ten years, you need to “unlearn” what you have learned, “Old Jedi” Relearn and listen to your patients, find out what they’re telling you they want and deliver it with all the passion you can muster. Never forget you’re in the spine/sub shop business, and for the rest of your professional life, the public will view you in this light.
. . .Till Next Time.
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