December 2003

Keeping it simple

by Dr. John Reizer

It's human nature and quite easy to take something that's very simple and make it much more complicated. In the chiropractic profession, I see this phenomenon happen frequently.

It's even easier to take something complex and make it more confusing.

As a faculty member at one of the best chiropractic colleges in the world (Sherman College), I've had the chance to watch developing chiropractic interns struggle with such obstacles when trying to educate patients under their care. I have also had the unique opportunity of helping to shape these young men and women into professionals who will someday run our profession. This allows me to teach future chiropractors the single most important component of educating patients: keep everything in the patient‑doctor education conversation very simple!

Many of the young students I and other faculty members have been instructing on a regular basis are beginning to see the value of a more simplistic approach when it comes to educating patients. As a result of their efforts to simplify things, these interns are seeing in many instances a greater retention rate with their patients as well as patients who project less stress back in the direction of the practitioner.

Doctors in the field also realize that patient education is the key to a stress‑free environment in the office setting. Those of us doing a good job in the communication department are usually the practitioners seeing the big numbers, having the least amount of stress, and helping the greatest number of people.

Many superb technicians in our field of expertise are unable to get their practice numbers to a level they would define as satisfactory. Some of these doctors can adjust any segment in the spinal column that needs attention. What they lack, however, is the ability to explain to their patients ‑‑ in a technical sense ‑‑ the very art they've mastered. Until these doctors learn how to tell the chiropractic story in a simple manner, they will continue to underachieve in their professional practices.

Doctors of subluxation‑based chiropractic embrace a philosophical objective that is both simple and sound. The reason so many professionals and political organizations connected to other health‑related fields fear the subluxation approach to chiropractic is because of its simplistic nature. This philosophy and its ability to point out the many flaws and inconsistencies associated with other professions has always been a cause of concern to those mainstream thinkers who reside within the tiny little box known as "conventionality."

It's time for our profession to break free from the box that traps the rest of society from making any progress in health care. We need to think outside of the box and we need to teach the subluxation approach to chiropractic in an easy‑to‑understand format so that all patients and laypersons can comprehend these important concepts. Why cover up the simple chiropractic objectives with Latin terms?

The subluxation approach to chiropractic is logical and works with the controlling laws of nature and not against them. Leave the Latin terms for those other professions that are not philosophically sound. What we have to say makes sense and we want to keep the conversations simple so that the chiropractic story can be repeated over and over again.

(Dr. John Reizer is a 1986 magna cum laude graduate of Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic. He is the author of the book "Chiropractic Made Simple," as well as the co‑author of the book "Up And Running: Opening A Chiropractic Office." Dr. Reizer has been practicing chiropractic since 1987 and has been a faculty member at Sherman College since 1998. He is a member of the WCA International Board of Governors, and an active club advisor for the SWCA's Sherman College Chapter.)