Chiropractic students spend years and thousands of dollars readying themselves for their careers, and often they cant wait to take on the world. With evangelical zeal, they look forward to spreading their knowledge — helping to create healthy lifestyles for their patients. But somewhere along the line, some chiropractors hit a wall. Their practices are not panning out the way they envisioned. Theyre disillusioned; theyre giving up. Some are even leaving the practice of chiropractic. What happens to turn these idealistic, young graduates into frustrated chiropractic has-beens?
When we graduate, were going to help the world, said Dr. Kevin Pallis, a Massachusetts DC who founded The New Renaissance, a coaching and practice consulting business. Then we realize the world doesnt always see things our way. It begins to grind us down. Dr. Donna Polk, who graduated from Life University in 1997, found the business end of her profession so daunting that she scaled her practice down to 10 hours a week, and became a police officer for the city of Marietta. By 2001, Id had enough of insurance hassles, said Dr. Polk. It seemed that at every turn the insurance companies would do whatever they could to hamper the care I could give to patients.
I just got completely burned out on it. Dr. Polk had always had an interest in fraud and legal investigations, so she worked toward certification in that discipline and became a police officer in 2001. Being a police officer, you help people, but youre interacting in a different way, she said. After couple of years, I found that I missed my patients. But along the way, she learned much from her experiences, and found that her confidence had grown enormously. My life was on the line several times as an officer, and I realized then how well trained I was, and that I could really handle myself, she said.
It gave me a new appreciation for the job (of chiropractic. ) After dealing with those life threatening situations, dealing with insurance companies was nothing. I had really gained so much confidence. So Dr. Polk returned to the chiropractic profession full time in 2003. But first, she learned a great deal about handling insurance issues. I worked with a company, Target Coding, she said. They taught how to work with insurance issues legally, ethically and in compliance, while maximizing the ability to get paid. It made all the difference.
Many new chiropractors are novices in the business end of the practice, and thats one aspect Dr. Pallis coaching and consultant company addresses. But business savvy is just one of the pitfalls chiropractors can face, he says. DCs who consider leaving the profession often fall into one of two categories: 1. Theyre struggling financially to keep their doors open, or 2. Theyre not feeling fulfilled in their practice — to them its just a job. The two groups really have a lot in common, said Dr. Pallis. They usually have a low image of themselves — they dont see themselves as successful or worthy. They dont have a passion or commitment to chiropractic–theyve lost their sense of purpose– and they tend to be poor communicators.
Theyre not making their patients feel good about themselves and have difficulty establishing bonds of trust with their patients. Basically, he says, there are two types of practices: those that deal with aches and pains, and those that focus on wellness care, particularly beginning with children. If you want to be an aches and pains chiropractor, people will accept you, he said. But wellness care, for many people, this is a confrontational issue. Many peoples initial reaction is to reject new things. If you have low self esteem or low confidence, family chiropractic can be very challenging and frustrating for you.
Facing rejection is hard for anyone. While aches and pains adjustments and workers compensation-type claims have become more accepted in todays society, utilizing chiropractic care as a basis for maintaining wellness is viewed with more skepticism. An astute chiropractor knows there are those (patients) that will accept proactive chiropractic care, and those that wont, Dr. Pallis said. You have to learn to let (the ones that dont accept it) go. We dont force anybody. Youve got to help the people you can, and let go those that you cant. So much of building a successful chiropractic practice has to do with personal connection with patients.
Dr. Polk was able to establish such strong bonds with her patients that when she returned to full time practice after her 2 year stint as a police officer, many of her original patients returned. Not everyone is that naturally gifted, said Dr. Pallis. But they can be trained in patient bonding. We teach how to build a rapport with the patient — a bond of trust, he said. In coaching, we show people their behaviors that arent working, and help them develop behaviors that do work. Dr. Pallis teaches his students to let go of the negative stories they tell themselves.
We were speaking to a group, when a chiropractor stood up and said you cant have a successful chiropractic practice in this town, Dr. Pallis said. He wasnt succeeding. But we coached and put people in the same building in that same town, and theyre doing just wonderfully. All it is is coachability and commitment, and the stories we focus on. One asset Dr. Polk had from the beginning of her career was the access to a mentor — in her case it was Dr. Cynthia Boyd (now assistant to the president of Life University). Dr. Boyd actually influenced Dr. Polk to become a chiropractor.
She gave me my first chiropractic treatment — for migraines — and they went away, she said.. This was the last of a long series of medical treatments I had that didnt work. For me, it was a life-changing experience. I had been on track to become a medical doctor. But after that, I switched gears and changed to chiropractic. Dr. Boyd has always been available to advise and guide Dr. Polk. Dr. Pallis says finding a mentor or coach early on makes a big difference in the success of a chiropractic career. We find that most successful DCs have mentors or coaches very early in their careers, he said.
Our most successful chiropractors actually coach with us while theyre still in school. A diploma alone doesnt guarantee success. By following a proven system of patent education and learning to really communicate with patients, instead of selling to them, you can avoid that feeling of wanting to leave the profession. However, not everyone is cut out for the chiropractic career, said Dr. Pallis. I am much more inclined to come up with reasons to stay, he said. The world needs all the chiropractors it can get. But if youre having no fun, and youre not liking working with people, especially children — these are probably reasons to leave.
If you do leave, it doesnt mean you have to forego the chiropractic lifestyle, though. At the beginning, it might feel a little strange, coming in for adjustments and not practicing, said Dr. Pallis. But after a couple of months, it would become routine. Still, some who leave the profession choose not to make it a part of their lifestyle, he says. Often, its the result of the mistaken feeling that chiropractic let them down, he said. Chiropractic doesnt let anybody down. WE let this majestic first lady down by not giving it our all.
