The Magic Pill

by William D. Esteb

Well, they finally developed what every chiropractor has wanted. Due to popular demand and the constant badgering of researchers, a new practice management tool has been developed that every doctor will want. Fortunately it is modestly priced and well within the financial means of virtually every chiropractic doctor. Even recent graduates can afford to buy and use this powerful practice enhancer.

Just look at what this new device can do. When used as instructed it results in 100% patient compliance. Imagine, being able to look a patient in the eye and proposing a complete relief, rehabilitative, and wellness care treatment package and getting instant acceptance, approval, and perfect follow through! Not only do patients comply, but they are on time for their appointments and never object to rush hour waiting. When this practice enhancer is used, asking patients to bring in their spouse and children results in total participation. Referrals? Ask and you receive. Finally the practice of your dreams.

Upon further reflection I think you wouldn't wish this scenario upon your worst enemy! Remember King Midas?

Let's say you're a tennis player. Several times a week you find a court and play as many games as you can. In fact, it's the cornerstone of your exercise program. As you watch your game improve and become an increasingly better player, winning the game is not as important as a challenging volley. You're working on your form, refining your backhand, and handling the net better. Your sense of personal progress is important and you seek out players of equal skill level to keep you challenged.

Then something happens. Close matches aren't as much fun. You've reached a plateau. It's difficult to find anyone challenging enough. After reaching a certain skill level, winning becomes more important. Almost a preoccupation. It seems a constant battle to find players to challenge you. The games you lose become burned in your mind. "I should've..." "I could've..." Instead of enjoying the game, winning becomes the goal. In fact, many of your friends observe how you've changed and they're not as interested in playing with you as they were before.

Over drinks at the juice bar at the club where you frequently play, a friend asks you if you've heard about the latest sure fire winning strategy. You perk up. "It guarantees that you win every time," your friend explains.

"What is it?" you ask. "How much does it cost?" "Does it work?"

"Oh sure," your friend reassures. "When you use this simple technique you win every time. You become a winning machine."

"How do I get one," you ask, as your pulse quickens and you try to hide your enthusiasm.

"Well, it's really quite simple," your friend smiles, "you just play seven year-olds. You win every time!"

The point? Personal satisfaction and fulfillment is in pursuit of something higher than a statistic or the achievement of some arbitrary goal you've set.

Too many doctors think practice is a destination instead of a process. "I'll be happy when..." "I'll be successful when..." "If I could just..." Those that are having the most fun in chiropractic recognize practice is a process, not a destination. You never "get there." The objective is to keep the game going. When you win, you actually lose. You lose your excitement. You lose your vision. You lose the fun that practice should be. 100% compliance would be boring and you would quickly lose interest in chiropractic.

Doctors who wisely acknowledge this reality are unfazed by changes in the worker's compensation or personal injury laws in their state. They are in touch with reality and recognize fewer patients have insurance and they develop strategies to deal with it. Do they fight for equality and support their state association's legislative action committee? Of course. The key point is that they admit times are changing and will continue to change. The joy is in the process, not in finally getting somewhere and reaching a certain practice volume. Because there will always be someone faster, bigger, or better than you.

This is not a dress rehearsal. If you're not having fun or you're not enjoying the process of educating and caring for patients and stimulating them to bring in others, you have several choices:

Change careers. Does the grass look greener somewhere else? If your heart isn't in chiropractic and you think you can serve others in a different capacity, go for it. I know several doctors in various stages of transition now. Do their practices suffer? Sure. Make sure your profession serves you to the same degree it allows you to serve others. If you feel obligated only because of your education or out of duty to your mortgage payments, stop killing yourself! Unless of course your idea of a great tombstone is, "He never missed a payment."

Start over. This is a common approach, particularly among the more entrepreneurial chiropractors. Sell the practice and move somewhere else and start over. For those who enjoy the adrenalin-pumping days of start up and dislike the maintenance of a "business," this may be a viable solution. Do remember though, you'll take the problem patients, the problem procedures, and the problem business skills with you wherever you go. That's fine, just remember to enjoy the process. You'll never have the perfect practice.

Sabotage the practice. This is a favorite among those who find selling the practice and starting over too risky. Instead, they test their practice. To use the earlier tennis metaphor, they become the Bobby Riggs of chiropractic. They try to practice with the equivalent of one hand tied behind their backs. They try it without patient education. They try it without any staff. They try it by practicing only two days a week. They try it while trying to build a building. Or they try it while dividing their interest between their political role in the state association and some pyramid marketing scheme.

Change your attitude. This may be the healthiest, yet the most difficult to achieve. Someone once said that the reasonable man tries to change himself, whereas the unreasonable man tries to change the world. When you enjoy the process of practicing chiropractic and of changing one patient at a time, you're changing the world. It may not be dramatic or instantly obvious to the rest of the world, but your community is not the same.

When you are no longer focused by a purpose larger than you, burnout and self doubt can take hold. In a recent interview comedian Chevy Chase observed his lost passion for civil rights, the Vietnam war, women's rights and other issues. "Those were great days. It saddens me to think that there's something I'm missing, something that I've lost, and I wonder what I traded it for. I miss the passion."

Since the beginning, chiropractic has been a profession of Lone Rangers. Individualists who embraced a healing art they were told didn't work and no one wanted. If chiropractic becomes too easy and too accepted and the battle seems too predictable, then chiropractic might surely be in trouble! Are you ready to go to jail for chiropractic like generations of chiropractors before you? Are you willing to publicly take a stand for chiropractic? Are you walking the talk?

Our bodies are continuums that grow and age and die. One's understanding of chiropractic is a continuum that goes from unawareness to unconscious competence. And certainly practice is a continuum from start up to retirement. What's the hurry? Enjoy the journey.

Buy the book
My Report of Findings
Originally published in 1993
240 Pages
US $24.95

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