Is there a difference between wellness and maintenance care in today’s chiropractic practice?

As a chiropractic coach, I speak to chiropractors around the world day in and day out about their practice and life challenges, wins and how to create the life of their dreams.  And I get a good idea of the head space of what is going on in our chiropractic profession. This is a discussion that arises frequently and feel the distinction between Wellness Care vs. Maintenance Care is an important one to clarify.  From the standpoint of practice management, as well as from a person’s experience with care.

We have a Wellness Revolution that has fallen onto our laps.  The public truly wants what chiropractic can deliver, they just don’t know we do that.  They instead view us as pain relievers and back pain specialists, because that’s what we’ve educated them on in the past 90 years.

And the truth is, our chiropractic profession is still stuck in the antiquated 3:2:1 communication model of, “We’ll get you out of pain: then do corrective care: then onto maintenance”.  The only difference is now, we substitute the word “wellness” for “maintenance”.

So are they the same thing?  I think not!  From a definition perspective, maintaining something at the same level is much different than increasingly enhancing and moving towards new levels of health and wellness.  From a care frequency perspective, you might be able to “maintain” someone’s level of symptoms at a once a month frequency but you certainly won’t be helping them move forward towards greater levels of health and well-being.

Wellness care would have to be much more frequent to evolve someone’s nerve system and optimal health, depending on their lifestyle of course.  And from a person’s perception: if we are providing maintenance care at a maintenance frequency, is it possible that they have settled for their lower level of symptoms as ‘normal’? That they finally feel that chiropractic “didn’t work” because they still have x,y,z?  Or that they feel chiropractic care is only for symptom-relief care?

The big question is, how often do you and your family get checked? Isn’t it time that we told the people we care for the truth and offered them the chance to live the lifestyle and levels of health and wellness that our families do?  What’s the worst thing that can happen if they come in more often to get checked? That’s right, they don’t need to be adjusted!  We need to celebrate and educate them that this is EXACTLY what we hope for – to be functioning at 100% for that period of time.

I challenge you to look at what you are recommending for ongoing care.  Is it congruent with your understanding of chiropractic, our vitalistic philosophy and the goals of what you are trying to accomplish with people?  If you are still focused on pain relief, it might be time to recognize that people want TRUE wellness, not just an expensive aspirin.  A profession will step up to lead the wellness revolution, the question is, “Will it be chiropractors”?

If you want support and coaching, how-to’s on communicating this message, please contact us and see how we can help. Our mission is to have chiropractors be the leaders of TRUE health care and the wellness revolution!

Tags: Chiropractic Coach, Chiropractic Practice Success, maintenance care, Rosen Chiropractic Coaching, Wellness Care, wellness chiropractic practice management, wellness revolution

What are you going to do to ensure that 2010 is your best year yet, for your practice and your life?

As 2010 is in full swing, Dr. Rosen and I have been working with our coaching clients to clarify goals for the year and put together a powerful action plan to achieve them.

First things first, a goal is something you WANT.  If it comes from a place of lack, or is to avoid something you DON’T WANT then you need to do some KST, NET, EFT and get coaching to set a clean goal.

Secondly, ask yourself WHY you want it? What’s in it for you? What will be the driving force and motivation to doing what it takes to achieve it?  What’s in it for your community?

Next you need to ask yourself is it possible to achieve the goal?  Do you buy it? Is everyone on board?  If not, spend some time reorganizing your capacity blockages and working on your head space issues and level of certainty.

Then ask yourself what you will continue doing, that is working well, to achieve your goal?

Then ask yourself what you are willing to do differently to make the goal a reality? This usually means you either have to make space, or fill it!  Using our Rosen Coaching Systems, we will help you with your LAASR Communication, Marketing, Dream Team or personal life balance. If you need some help, use this worksheet to put together your action plan of how to accomplish your goal!

Fourthly, you need to take consistent action on the ONE thing that will have the biggest impact this week of moving you towards your goal.  Get accountability from your team, your coach, a friend or colleague.  Report to them each week on your progress, wins, challenges, and what you’ve learned and accomplished.

Lastly, need help creating balance in your life to manage yourself at the office and at home to get it all done? Find out how to create the perfect life and how to achieve your goals!

We at Rosen Chiropractic Coaching would love to help you make 2010 your best year yet! If you want to THRIVE in a Care vs. Scare TRUE Wellness Model, give us a call for a Free Consultation to see if we can help. No pressure, no obligations.

As a gift to you, please keep an eye out for a 35 minute audio file on this topic coming soon!  Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get the FREE gift, click here to subscribe!

Tags: 2010, Chiropractic Coach, Chiropractic Consultant, Chiropractic Practice Management, Goals, New Year

What is the one thing that successful chiropractors do at the Holiday Season? Yes, they have fun, regenerate and relax with family and friends.  But more importantly? There are some basic steps that the ones who are creating the life and practice of their dreams do routinely at year end. Here they are:

• Take some time to reflect on 2009.  What did you set out to accomplish? What was your intention for the year?  Did you accomplish those things? What were the wins? More importantly, what needs to be improved upon? What didn’t  you accomplish but you learned something about yourself? How did you deal with challenge and adversity? Overall, how did you show up this year? In life and practice?
• Set a theme or intention to 2010: Maybe it’s practice growth. Maybe it’s the year of leadership.  Have an idea how you want 2010 to end before it starts
• Define your mission for 2010. In a written paragraph and look at it every morning to remind yourself of this big picture thinking you’re starting the year off with
• What are the Top 5 goals that you have to accomplish to make 2010 your best year yet?
• Set time aside each day (preferably the morning) to review your Top 5 goals and write the 5 things you must do today to move you towards those big goals
• Lastly, be disciplined and committed. Take your success seriously.  Get a coach. Show up big. Get organized and focused on making your goals a reality.

Have a very Happy Holiday with your family and loved ones.  From us at Rosen Chiropractic Coaching, we’re wishing you a safe and happy New Year and that 2010 is your best year yet!

Tags: Chiropractic Practice Success, Goals, New Year's Resolutions, Success, Successful Chiropractors

Here is a post from one of my heros, Seth Godin, an author, marketer and thought-leader, on the lifetime value of a customer.  Too often when we’re coaching chiropractors or when chiropractors are considering coaching, marketing or any other ‘cost’ to growing a practice it is seen as just that – a cost vs. an investment.

At year end, have a look at your retention (Patient Visit Average) for the year of 2009.  We consider 60 PVA a bare minimum for a wellness practice.  Then calculate how much a new person is worth to you.  Not because we see people as dollar signs, but so that you can make good decisions on investments to grow your practice.  If a new person is worth on average $2000, don’t you think it’s important to have your systems and communications wired so you don’t blow it when they come in?  How about ROI and marketing decisions?  Without this knowledge, as Seth Godin states below, $50 investment can seem expensive.

Enjoy the read!

Embracing lifetime value

Tags: chiropractic, Chiropractic Coach, chiropractic communication, Chiropractic Consultant, Chiropractic Practice Management, Chiropractic Practice Success, chiropractic systems, Chiropractic Wellness Model, Lifetime Value, PVA, Retention, Rosen Chiropractic Coaching, rosen coaching, Seth Godin

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. No gifts, no pressure. Just family, friends, and loved ones. The idea of just getting together to be together, being present, enjoying each other’s company and being grateful for what we have.  The most important thing in our lives are the relationships and love we have.

The first key to having the life and chiropractic practice of your dreams? Be grateful for what you have. What you focus on, expands.  So if you focus on what you don’t have… guess what?  It grows. So why not focus on what you are thankful you already have?  It will naturally expand. This mindset and feeling of gratefulness will bring you to an entire new level of attraction and success.

My suggestion? Write down 5 things you are grateful for in your personal life and 5 things you are grateful for in your chiropractic practice at the end of each day. This is the starting place for explosive growth and success in a TRUE Wellness Model. Have a mindset of abundance and satisfaction drive your decisions and actions, not from a place of lack and fear.

At Rosen Coaching, we are so grateful to have you be a part of our lives and to have you be a part of our mission to have chiropractors be the recognized leaders of TRUE healthcare and the wellness revolution!

Tags: Add new tag, Chiropractic Practice Management, Chiropractic Practice Success, Gratefulness, Leadership, Success, Thanksgiving, True Wellness Model

The following is a guest post from Dr. Steve Silk, the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Chiropractic Awareness Council. He has graciously agreed to share a recent post on H1N1 to help chiropractors to communicate with their practices and communities.  People need empowerment and not fear, they need Care vs. Scare communication. So please share your truth ~ the people of the world need to hear it! For those of you who would like to do a Swine Flu talk, please email me, as Rosen Coaching has some resources for you.

“Friends…
I don’t believe I have seen such a contrived panic about a relatively innocuous issue in my life.  You would think the end of the world was right around the corner.  I have already talked about this one-on-one in the office with many of you, but for the rest, let’s have a few minutes of logic, truth and reality.
First, I need to get the legal stuff out of the way.  So let me absolutely clear: I am not attempting give any sort of advice on how you should proceed with taking care of the health of you and your loved ones in any form or model of health-care delivery but my own: Chiropractic.  The following is based on the expressing of my personal opinion.  But I can assure you that my opinion is based on historical data, research evidence and 20 years of clinical experience.
Second, I also want to be absolutely clear that my heart goes out to anyone who has lost a loved one…to H1N1, “regular influenza” or any reason.   There are FAR too many premature deaths in our society, driven by the increasingly toxic world we live in and accentuated by allowing a sickness-treatment model of care dictate how we create health.  It’s a lot like a bankruptcy agent telling you how to invest your money…not being broke is a lot different from being wealthy.
Finally, I believe that we all need to take that deep breath I mentioned in the subject line.  Go ahead, do it.  That will help you begin to deal with the anxiety that is building across our nation.  That anxiety is in the form of mass hysteria that is bubbling up regarding the predicted scourge of Swine Flu (now called H1N1).  It is a situation driven by one emotion: Fear.
Fear is a great motivator, it makes us do knee-jerk reactive things.  Just look at what it did in Salem Massachusetts in 1692 (a lot of probably nice men and woman were burned at the stake or hung for the crime of being “witches”), the north-east US during the War of the Worlds broadcast in 1938 (a lot of people went berzerk and starting preparing for the end when they thought that Martians had invaded New Jersey) and a large chunk of the German populace during the Holocaust from 1941-45 (an AWFUL lot of Jews, gypsies, Catholics, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, eastern European immigrants and mentally challenged people were medically experimented on and sent to the gas-chambers for simply being “different”).  Now we have the drums being banged for H1N1.
For those of you who are currently sick or have sick kids…I get the fear you are feeling.  I had a really good dose of it myself when I picked up malaria in a remote village in Northern Thailand…all by myself a million miles from home, sicker than I had been in my entire life and wondering if it was my time to meet the Creator.  Well, once I got over my initial anxiety (and all the wild fear-driven thoughts that went with it), I became quite excited at the level of fever I was experiencing, the amount of fluids coming from various parts of my body and just how intent my immune system was at keeping me alive.  So while it was no fun, the lesson I learned from it was that this earth-suit my soul calls home is well-equipped to look after my needs with no help from absolutely ANYONE!
Before you decide on how you will deal with this issue (and again, I am NOT telling you what to do…I’m not your mother!), here are a few things that you really need to consider:
1)  You are still more likely to pick up Tuberculosis (which is really running rampant these days on northern Ontario native reservations), get hit by a car (will you be driving today?), drown in the bathtub (planning on being clean this week?) or die from taking over-the-counter medication (more on that later)…so why isn’t the Ministry of Health and the media screaming about these more vital issues?  I don’t think that people realize that the risk of being infected with this germ is really low, with risk estimates at about 1 in 175,000 (about the same risk as being attacked by a shark) from info supplied by Health Canada.  You risk of dying?  That is put at about 1 in 425,000 (less than 0.0002%) which is just a bit less than your risk of dying from a meteorite strike.
2)  The predicted “high-season” (based on WHO algorithms) is the last two weeks of October and the first two weeks of November.  We are half-way through this “epidemic”, so hang in there people, we’re all going to be OK.
3)  Now this is a BIG one, so really consider this: Healthy people don’t get sick, and definitely don’t die…sick people do.  The inference in a lot of the reporting is that healthy people are being affected.  This is ludicrous.  The people who are getting sick are run-down at some level, and the ones who die are immuno-suppressed…it’s as simple as that.
4)  The best to survive ANY infectious process is still the same as it has been for the entire length of time humans have roamed this planet: our immune system.  Here are my suggestions on how to almost guarantee that your immune system will NOT let you down…ever!
1)  Get adjusted regularly (ensured the growth of my profession and got a LOT of people
thru the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918!)
2)  Eat well (especially fruit and veggies), and consider supplementing your diet with
Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Omega 3 fats
3)  Drink lots of fluids (mostly water and tea)
4)  Exercise daily…even if it is just a 15 minute walk
5)  Get a good night’s sleep
5)  Recognize that there are a lot of innuendoes, half-truths and flat-out lies being disseminated throughout our media by some of our “trusted health leaders”.  We are being told that research shows that the H1N1 vaccine is both safe and efficacious.  I suggest if you are considering rolling up your sleeve for the H1N1 shot, that you ask the person giving you the jab a few questions on efficacy (does it create a specific antigen-antibody complex, necessary for true immunity?) and safety (does it have any nasty side-effects?).   I know the answer to both, No to #1 and Yes to #2.  However, most people will be told the exact opposite, because most of the folks delivering the procedure have no clue about the background of what they are doing, they are simply “following orders”.  Just so you know, the “research” that has been quickly done was carried out on a very small group of people (and to the best of my knowledge, none of it on kids by the way), with no long-term follow-up of side-effects (the only study that I am aware of that looked at this only tracked their participants for three days after their injection).  So this is a typical case of “buyer beware”.
5)  You need to know another little tidbit of info: ANY flu-shot shows very LITTLE ability to reduce influenza rates ANYWHERE.  For example, Ontario introduced “free” (translation: we pay it with our taxes) flu-shot’s in 2000 and has seen the rate of usage almost triple….yet influenza infections and deaths have risen significantly during the same time period.  The obvious conclusion?  The shots don’t work.  The Ministry of Health’s conclusion?  We need to vaccinate more people.
6)  Want a really good overview of the pro’s and con’s of this whole debacle?  Go to the following website ( http://swineflu.mccoypress.net) and poke around a bit…well-laid out with tons of good information to help you come to a confident conclusion on the topic of Swine Flu.
I hope that the content of this email helps you to weather the storm, and allows you to relax a bit and NOT react to the fire of fear that is being fanned by the media.  I also hope that it helps you to make the absolute best decisions regarding your health…both for this issue and for every issue that impacts you”.
Sincerely,

Tags: Care vs. Scare, Empowerment, Fear, H1N1, Hysteria, Media, Rosen Chiropractic Coaching, rosen coaching, swine f, Swine Flu, Wellness Chiropractic

Whether or not you think you have a philosophy, you do. Even choosing to not have a philosophy is a philosophy! Chiropractic philosophy is one of vitalism and deductive reasoning.

The problem is, over the past 114 years we have fallen into the trap of looking to the mechanistic, allopathic model of science to validate what we know to be true. And it doesn’t work. It’s like trying to get insurance companies to pay for wellness care – it’s just not their model. But the funny part is, science and philosophy are not separate. Even scientists have a philosophy! Dr. Eric Russell, professor at Parker Chiropractic College gave a great four-hour lecture at Life Lyceum 2009 on Science vs. Philosophy. And the conclusion is, we need both…but in balance. Not the idea that science reigns supreme over everything else. That philosophy is the starting point of everything, even the god-like institution of science. (Have you ever wondered what a Ph.D stands for? Doctor of Philosophy in whatever the chosen field of expertise!)

So what is your philosophy? How grounded are you in the vitalistic philosophy that formed this profession? Why do you do what you do?

Mechanism vs. Vitalism: What is chiropractic’s philosophy?

Mechanism as a Philosophy, is defined as:

a. the view that all natural processes are explicable in terms of Newtonian mechanics.

b. the view that all biological processes may be described in physicochemical terms.

Vitalism, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary,[1] is

a. the doctrine that the functions of a living organism are due to a vital principle distinct from biochemical reactions

b. the doctrine that the processes of life are not explicable by the laws of physics and chemistry alone and that life is in some part self-determining

The great news is, science is starting to have research that is actually illustrating our vitalistic philosophy! I was so inspired listening to Bruce Liption, Ph.D speak about the vitalistic nature of cells, and their ability to survive even when the nucleous is removed. How is that possible if we are only the sum of our parts and the DNA is the “brain” of a cell? Hmmm, guess there is more to it!

I’ve been honoured to be involved with Tedd Koren and speaking at Koren Specific Technique seminars. KST is one of the great vitalistic techniques out there.  The time is now chiropractors to have a look at your philosophy and get clear on what you are trying to accomplish with your care. If there is any incongruence, it will inevitably lead to destruction.

If you are stuck practicing in a pain-based model, treating the body as if it was a machine instead of recognizing the vitalistic self-healing and self-regulating laws of the body and you want more out of practice… the time is now! People want vitalism and wellness care and it is time that our profession became the recognized leaders of this movement! Who wants to join us?  We are vitalistic chiropractic coaches who can help you THRIVE in a TRUE Wellness Model!

Tags: Chiropractic Coach, Chiropractic Consultant, Chiropractic Philosophy, Chiropractic Practice Management, Chiropractic Science, Dr. Bruce Lipton, Dr. Eric Russell, Dr. Tedd Koren, Koren Specific Technique, KST, Life Lyceum, mechanism, Pain-based chiropractic, vitalism, Wellness Chiropractic

Why haven’t chiropractors marketed chiropractic as well as ShamWOW has marketed a stupid sponge cloth? That thing is a global phenomenon in a microcentury and chiropractic is 1000x more amazing and has been around for 114 years! (If you don’t know what I’m referring to, click here).

One of my favourite leadership gurus is Robin Sharma who’s coined the term, Merchant of WOW.  And I think it’s time chiropractors started acting like Merchants of WOW.  It means obsessive attention to detail in every aspect of your office, it’s decor, the chiropractor’s healthy image, the “red carpet” service to every person that contacts or comes into the office. It means refining your technical skills, growing your understanding of our philosophy and taking your communication skills and procedures to the next level.

Every step of the way we want people to think and to say, “Wow”.

The trouble is, a lot of practice management companies teach chiropractors to make their patients say, “Wow, I had no idea things were so bad”.  And from our perspective, there is no place for Scare Tactics in a TRUE wellness chiropractic practice.  We feel people should say, “Wow, I had no idea chiropractic could help me in so many ways! Wow, I had no idea you could affect my nerve system and my entire body”!  We want to be motivating them by what they want, as opposed to motivating them with fear and what they don’t want. It’s subtle, but has huge ramifications on the relationship long term. Sure you might be short term compliance with fear, but it doesn’t last and the relationship is tainted.

So how do we do that? We teach them under the radar, planting seeds and asking questions to help stretch their consciousness with every interaction in the office: How the CA answers the phone, your First Visit Forms, the look and feel of your office, your communications and procedures of Visit 1, Visit 2, Daily Interactions, Re-Evaluations and Re-Reports, how you handle difficult questions and situations, and how you manage your team.

It’s time that people start saying ChiropracticWOW! The wellness revolution is upon us and it’s time we step up and lead it.  If you want to know more about our chiropractic coaching and how to THRIVE in a TRUE wellness model, let us know. We’re here to help.

Tags: Chiropractic Coach, chiropractic marketing, Chiropractic Practice Management, Chiropractic Wellness Model, communication, LAASR, Leadership, merchant of WOW, Robin Sharma, scare tactics, Success, Wellness Chiropractic, Wellness Chiropractors, wellness revolution

What do successful chiropractic practices around the world all have in common? Chiropractic technique? Size and shape of the doctor? The politics of the area? Nope, none of those things.  We find, across the board, there are two things that make chiropractors successful and have the practices of their dreams.  What are they?

1. Certainty and Congruent Beliefs

2. Communication Skills

3. Congruent Procedures

I’ll get to the second point in a later post, but let’s start with the foundation of certainty and beliefs!  Recently, I spoke at Dr. Tedd Koren’s KST Seminar on this exact topic and felt like it was one I wanted to share with all of you.

As a chiropractor, you may have unshakeable certainty about who you are and what you do. Or, like many other chiropractors out there, might have some doubt and uncertainty about what you offer. Why?

Don’t you think that after years of education and practice that chiropractors would know who they are and what they offer? That they would be certain about what they deliver? Well across the board, day in and day out, we coach and speak with chiropractors on the phone who are not. And when we survey audiences around the world (with their eyes closed to keep it anonymous) most chiropractors have some uncertainty.

Why?  We believe the original sin in chiropractic is the rah-rah seminar that makes the audience yell out, “Chiropractic can help everything”! And then there is someone in your office who doesn’t get any response to your care. Then what? Either chiropractic failed or you did. So in creeps the doubt and uncertainty!  In our LAASR process, we help you make a promise to truly help people, and to keep your promise!

Here is our Rosen Chiropractic Coaching’s Formula for Certainty:

· Who are you as a chiropractor?

· What do you offer?

· What would you like to deliver?

· What are you certain you deliver?

· How do you monitor what you deliver?

· How do you communicate what you deliver?

· What is your vision and mission?

· Define your persona statement (and become it)!

We suggest sitting down with yourself and your complete honesty and completing the above sentences. Then we suggest that you sit down with your team and do the same. See what truths, insights (good or bad) or “ah-ha’s” that you get from doing this! Once we can get your beliefs congruent, then we install congruent procedures and communications to have the practice of your dreams!

We feel it is healthy to have a difference between what you would like to deliver and what you are certain you deliver. It is always a good thing to be striving to become better at your technique, to grow and evolve your skills as a chiropractor. The truth is, the more you do, the more certain you will be. Only a closed mind is 100% certain, so it is always important to keep growing!

Here are some resources to develop your life purpose, vision and mission.  For those of you who are interested in completing the entire Certainty program, click here.

It’s time to be the best chiropractor you can be, so that chiropractors can become the leaders of true health care!

It’s your choice! It’s either one or the other:

Tags: Beliefs, Certainty, Chiropractic Coach, Chiropractic Coaching, Chiropractic Practice Management, communication, Health Care, Leadership, Success, Wellness Chiropractic, wellness practice management

One of the biggest classic blunders chiropractors make is to forget they are human first and doctor second. What do I mean?  They are so quick to jump on ‘teaching or telling’ the person in front of them what they think (they are the doctor, aren’t they?), before they really find out what is going on and clarifying the person’s question or statement.

During the Daily Interactions in your office, my favourite question to ask someone who has a question or a concern is,”Why do you think that is”? Assuming we’ve nailed our Visit 1 and 2 communications, we can use this question to help make the picture bigger without lecturing people. The old Ask vs. Tell!

“Doc, my neck hurts more today”, is a good example. The assertive chiropractor comes out with both guns of blame and shame blazing, “What’d you do to wreck yourself”?  The non-assertive chiropractor doesn’t address the concern with a meek, “Okay” response.

We coach our chiropractors to not get caught up how they want to respond but to connect with the person in front of them and clarify what they mean. “Why do you think that is”, is a good start. This little question allows us to:

1. Check in with them and find out what is really going on

2. Help them come to the answer, by asking questions and without you lecturing them (which concurrently creates less resistance and more ownership)

3. Connect the dots for them so that they get it! For example, “Wow, Mr. So & So, your neck is bothering you more today?  Why do you think that is? The last time this was subluxated, do you remember what lifestyle stress you were having then? Yes, it was stress “X”. Have you been having stress “X” again? Interesting… What do you think about that? Can you see that this lifestyle stress is recreating this subluxation?

We need to ensure that every visit people feel valued, given a voice to speak their thoughts, feelings or concerns and that there is a chance for us to give specific feedback.  We are either going to Celebrate & Educate or Commiserate & Educate. And what do we want them to get from our education?

1. The way I live my life can either recreate subluxations or help me stop recreating subluxations

2.  If I have subluxations, there is limited life force getting to my cells, my body is not healing or  functioning at it’s optimum, and I am not living at my greatest potential

If the people in your office are not able to give you the “Whole Story“, give us a call and we’ll help figure out how to communicate this and THRIVE in a True Wellness Model of Chiropractic Practice!

Tags: Ask vs. Tell, Challenges, Chiropractic Coaching, Chiropractic Education, Chiropractic Practice Challenges, communication, wellness chiropractic practice management