Meeting with the President

I wrapped up the week with a 40 minute meeting with Dr. Brimhall, the president of WSCC. The meeting was concise but covered a lot of ground. My intention was to talk to him about the perception of chiropractic in the public's eye. Why does the public not understand what it is we are about? Beyond back pain, most do not understand chiropractic at all. They don't realize we are trained to diagnose ALL health problems and legally responsible to do so. Most don't understand the academic degree is at the doctorate level. And a high percentage clearly don't know we can order an onslaught of blood tests to track metabolism and nutritional insufficiencies.

We can defend ourselves by saying our education mimics that of an MD's. But this comes across as a ploy to keep up with them. There is no reason to defend ourselves. The fact is, we are going to be given a scope of practice when we graduate and for the most part, adjusting people is a minor element. I get excited when I think about this. When I was working as a personal trainer/coach in Flagstaff I always felt blood tests were needed to get clearer understanding of each particular client. If I knew the persons nutritional makeup, I could give supplemental/dietary advice customized to their needs. As a personal trainer, I couldn't do this due to my lack of skills as well as licensure.

As a chiropractor, I am legally authorized and professionally trained to order blood tests and evaluate them. My scope will allow me to advise nutritional supplements as well as counseling for dietary/lifestyle modification. It's a win, win for me and a benefit to those who I intend on helping at that level. This takes me back to the meeting today with Dr. Brimhall.

I asked him if it matters whether or not the public knows we are trained at this level. He said no, it doesn't matter. He told me I should only be worried about educating my patients as they roll through my door. My expertise and ethical approach to health will allow me to work with my patients at this level. Being that most people don't know chiropractors can perform most of what they are trained to do, each time a person questions our work we must approach it as an opportunity to show them what we're about. For the most part, he's pretty positive about chiropractic and where it stands in the health care market.

I know by writing about these things many people will learn more about chiropractic and might give it a shot. Or at least realize that most of the chatter on the street is questionable and diluted. Those who know me and trust me will realize what I write in this blog is real and true. I convey the information I receive at school to hopefully portray chiropractic as a medically-based/safe approach to health - a way to achieve wellness. In my mind, chiropractic is a way for some people to find wellness. For others, it is a non-surgical approach to reducing musculoskeletal pain. I intend to practice both approaches in 2011 and beyond.

Next quarter I am roughly half way through the program. In the summer, I will be starting as a junior intern in the clinic. The stories will be pouring in on my end and I hope they are taken objectively without bias obtained through street chatter. As an outsider looking in, I was once a HUGE skeptic of chiropractic but as I have ventured through the curriculum, my outlook has changed and I trust my new skills and intelligence with human health. Modern chiropractic is evidence-based (scientifically approached) which should be trusted. I never thought I would say these things but my impression is that I can trust the education I have been given. Being a person who initially wanted to go into medicine, putting these words down is a big deal in my world.

Think about dentistry. These doctors spend a ton of time learning how to work in a person's mouth without hurting them. They drill into teeth, cut out lesions, remove diseased teeth all without doing harm. Their training prepares them to avoid harm and to improve health. It is no different with chiropractic. We practically live on campus learning how to manipulate every single joint of the human body, safely. And we learn how to interpret lab results which define the internal chemistry of our patients. We spend the time practicing at school so that we are competent and safe at administering our treatments in the real world. Just like dentists or medical doctors, we are professionals and masters of health.

Thanks for reading