If you like, please feel free to use the above pictures on your website and/or facebook pages.
Caring for Children
Different discussions on facebook has prompted me to add this page to the torstore.
Caring for children is one of my biggest passions in the office and to me, it is the most important part of my practice.
One of the phrases that has been passed around in the chiropractic world is:
"If you don't see children (in your practice) you suck."
This statement bothers me for many reasons. Not every doctor of Chiropractic is comfortable caring for newborns or wants to see children in their practice. I have had the opportunity to care for other chiropractor's newborns and have children referred to me by other doctors of Chiropractic. This is an honor to me and I respect these chiropractors who refer out to other chiropractors in these situations.
The chiropractor down the street who is 6'5" and has hands the size of a football might not be confident in palpating the premature infant who weighs 5 pounds but he is confident in chiropractic and refers the parents out! Many doctors may not have the patience to chase a toddler around their adjusting room and some doctors simply might not care for kids in general. But these doctors do know the importance of Chiropractic care and they refer out and they do not care for children and they do not "suck"!
What "sucks" is the chiropractor that denies these patients care or does not educate in their practice the importance of care from the very beginning of life simply because they don't want to see children.
Now that I got that off my chest........
So you want to see more children?
You have added the posters, you have the brochures, the flyers and the videos are playing in the reception room.... and where are the children?
Of course it helps to do these things in the office but it is not the magic answer to bringing more kids into your practice. Actually there is no magic answer but small steps taken frequently and over time will greatly increase your success to seeing more children.
Throughout the month of November I will update this page with tips to seeing more kids in your practice. As always I appreciate your comments and also sharing your tips with me so together we can benefit our great profession and the people we serve.
I am fortunate in my clinic to have a couple of adjusting rooms. I have one I call my "adult" room and one is the "children's or family" room. When I see adults they pass by the children's room. The door to this room is left open and one can easily see the toys, rocking horse and the kids pictures.
As we pass this room, simply telling the patient that this is the room where I care for babies automatically brings up the topic of chiropractic and kids.
This is when you hear the comment "You adjust babies?" and this is now your chance to explain chiropractic. This is when I look the patient directly in the eyes and tell them that it is actually more important for me to check a newborn's spine than it is for me to check an adult's spine! Explain why and now they know and now your posters will make sense to this patient. They often will comment, at this moment, about a relative they will share this information with because their child may need care or that they should bring their own children in to be checked.
Another thing that can be easily done is setting a sign on your reception table that states "To accomodate the variety of patients we see, we now have a children's adjusting area." This also helps to start the conversations of Chiropractic and kids.
Showing is often times more
valuable than talk
When you are lucky enough to get some kids on your schedule make sure you book them during your busiest times.
When it is their turn for care go out into the reception area to get them. Make it be known to the other patients that it is the child or baby that is going to be seen. All you have to do is pick the baby up and say "lets go check and see how this little ones spine is doing."
This can be a real eye opener for the other patients who are waiting to be seen. When you are done caring for the baby carry the child out and let your receptionist know how wonderful the adjustment went. The others will be listening.
This almost always sparks a good conversation with the patients that were in the reception area and are going to see you next. If it doesn't then bring it up yourself. Simply say "that baby has been doing so good since she's been under care."
Often times the parent of the baby will say many positive things as to why their child is under care to the others that were waiting which once again just reinforces chiropractic care for the entire family.