Are you a clinician or a therapist?

Are you a clinician or a therapist?

“I just want to adjust”.

I hear that quite a lot and (if I’m honest) I’m actually the same when I’m in my Chiropractic environment.

If I can SUSTAINABLY improve function with neuromechanical intervention and the patient is remodelling/healing, they will tell me they are feeling better, then I am happy to do neuromechanical intervention on its own aka “I just want to adjust”.

But as we discussed in the last newsletter, SUSTAINABLE changes are getting harder and harder to achieve because of the metabolic issues our patients come in with.

The key to picking these patients is their history.

The patients will tell you the SYSTEMS that are under stress, by giving you a list of SYMPTOMS/DIAGNOSES.

The SYSTEMS are driven by root causes, which is a combination of a lack of good nutrients and too many toxins/bad things – together they slow down normal pathways and your SYSTEM starts to become dysfunctional and you get SYMPTOMS.

You just need to listen.

Just wanting to do your Chiropractic magic without understanding the context behind WHY they have the issues you are working on is just burying your head in the sand.

You become a therapist, not a clinician.

Let me give you a related analogy to illustrate what I mean.

Reflexologists are therapists because they just to treat the feet (to affect the whole body) but lack the depth of knowledge to pick up on signs and symptoms that could suggest they need something more than just reflexology.

Chiropodists are clinicians because whilst they treat the feet and can affect the whole body, they also have a depth of knowledge that allows them to pick up all sorts of information that might be relevant to how the patient will respond to their care (and if the patient may have something that needs urgent medical attention).

Doing a comprehensive history used to be an hour long affair and was frankly a pain in the gluteus maximus.

A few years after graduation I got lazy and wanted to jump right into the exam after a few obligatory questions about their symptoms.

But as my referral practice grew, I attracted more and more complex patients, many of whom had already seen many Chiropractors.

So I developed a comprehensive health questionnaire the patients fill in before they see me, with data on all the critical areas of lifestyle from sleeping, to time sitting, diet analysis and a full systemic symptom check. This has allowed me to quickly assess those patients that are likely to need more than just neuromechanical care and which SYSTEMS need addressing.

It’s been a game changer – it shortened my initial consultation and allowed me to target my metabolic care with laser focus to allow my neuromechanical care to work just as it should.

Moral of the story… become a clinician not just a therapist and your practice will grow.

Speak soon

Simon

PS. Those complex patients who had previously seen other Chiropractors used to become a nightmare and respond poorly to my care as they did to the others, but now they are my favourite type of patient.

Why?

When they experience the package of treatment I deliver and the SUSTAINABLE results that follow, they understand the difference, they understand why we charge more, and they can’t help but refer friends and family.

It’s a great way to practice. More happy, satisfied patients, more referrals and more business.

What’s not to like?