I "vc attended more chiropractic conventions and conferences in the past 5 years than I did my first 22 years in the profession. You can"t always tell if the person you arc talking to is the doctor, chiropractic assistant, spouse or a combination of all! It pains me when I hear someone one say..."oh no. I'm not the doctor; I'm "just a chiropractic assistant". When I hear that, it tells me more than you can imagine about "WHO" they think they are and "HOW they sec their role in the practice. Rarely is it said with a sense of pride or accomplishment... that can and should change. It's up to you to make it happen. I can remember a story told by Zig Ziglar. The story illustrates the differences between two people starting out in the exact same circumstances. . .an entry level job.. .and reveals the dramatic difference that occurs over time as a result of a conscious decision to take a job and just working for money, or taking the job and working to make it a career. It is a choice. It's your choice and how you choose, will impact your life and others for the rest of your life. Lefs listen in on Zig"s story: "// s a hot August day on the railroad in the 1950 s, the sun is beaming down, and there s a work crew out doing some repair work on the railroad. Now all of a sudden a train approaches and pulls off onto the adjoining track. A window comes up and a loud voice shouts to the work crew, "Dave! Dave Anderson, is that you? " And the work crew chief shouts back, "Yeah Jim, it is!" And so Jim Murphy responds, "Why don't you come on in here and let's talk awhile!" Well ol 'Dave was delighted to get out of that hot sun. He chatted with Jim in that fancy air conditioned private car for the better part of an hour. And when the hour was up Dave made his departure and headed back over to the work crew. The crew looked at him in amazement and said, " Well Dave, that was Jim .\ furphy! "And Dave said "Yep, sure was!" So the crew says, "But Jim Murphy is the president of the railroad'" Dave kinda chuckled and said, "Well, nobody knows that better than I do!" Next, the guys asked, "Xow how in the world did you get to be such good buddies with Jim Murphy, the president of this railroad?" Dave responds, "Well, it's very simple. When I went to work over twenty years ago with this railroad, Jim Murphy went to work that same day. We 've been friends ever since. " So now the crew says, "Dave, we 're a bit puzzled. Twenty years ago you and Jim Murphy went to work for the railroad on the same day, and now he s the president of the railroad while you 're still out here working in the hot sun. Why is that? " And Dave Anderson paused for a moment, then very sadly said, "A little over twenty years ago, Jim Murphy went to work for the railroad. I went to work for a dollar and seventy-five cents an hour. " What can you learn from this? A lot I hope. When you took your position as a CA for your clinic, did you just take a job for hourly pay. or did you choose to make the position a career? If you took the job for an hourly paycheck and all you put in is "time" then all you" 11 probably get out of the job is a paycheck. That is okay, if that is your choice. However, if you took the position and made the decision to make it YOUR career and give it your all... youll end up in an entirely different place and impact more lives than you can imagine. Don"t think so? Here is a REAL life story that will illustrate my point. There was a 30 something year old mom with 3 kids, married and working for a DC. Time passes and life changes and she is now a SIXGLE mom with kids and still working for a DC. This was her first job and all she has ever known. She has seen first-hand the miracles of chiropractic care. She continues for a while as a CA and then realized chiropractic did not have to be a job, it could be a career. She moves away with the kids, enrolls in Chiropractic College at night and worked as a vet tech during the day. She drags the kids to Chiropractic College at night and finally graduates. She opens her practice in a small town, in a state where chiropractic is not licensed yet, there was NO insurance coverage for chiropractic and she was using garbage cans as her "developing tanks "for her x-rays. She lives in the back of the house and practices in the front of the house and life is good! Well, kind of good until she s down to her last 37 cents with 2 kids still at home to feed and wondering where her next patient is coming from. Not quite the success story you thought huh? Keep reading. She was 'just a CA " and treated her job as a career and ultimately chose to become a chiropractor. In less than 25 years, her practice grows, she marries another chiropractor and life is better. Her son goes on to chiropractic college and within those same 25 years, opens his own practice, had the honor to serve as president of the state association, was appointed by 2 Governors to serve on Workers Comp Reform committees, the State Board of Health and goes on to start a chiropractic program and serve as Staff Chiropractor for a \'A Medical Center. Today, as a result of being the "kid" of a Chiropractic Assistant, he goes on to become a partner in the development of a campus for a spine center which is home to some 13 spine physicians with services that include neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, pain management, physical medicine and rehabilitation, physical therapy and a multi-doctor chiropractic clinic. How did that happen? She was "JUST A CA"! But no ordinary CA. She may have started out as "just a CA" at minimum wage, but she made a choice to work for chiropractic: to serve her patients though chiropractic and it impacted her entire family. I know this story well, because the young lady that started all this is now 80 years old and still has a sparkle in her eye when she talks about chiropractic. I call her "mom" or perhaps it should be "Dr. Mom. Obviously. I owe all of the opportunities I"vc had in chiropractic to a very supportive mother and father who are both DCs and never uttered the words... you cant! Thank God! So. don't ever let me hear one of you say I'm just a CA! You have no idea what kind of impact you can have on your life and those around you when you choose a career as a CA instead of choosing to just work by the hour for a paycheck. It's not the "degree", or lack of a formal degree that is important. It's what you choose to do with your time and opportunity that counts! You have a choice. Continue to work for an hourly wage in a chiropractor's office, or consider working AS a chiropractor. Or perhaps, you start looking at your role as a Chiropractic Assistant as a career. Dedicate your life to improving your skills which will help transform the practice and help the patients fortunate enough to find YOU in the practice. In the end. the one with the attitude of "I'm just a CA" will still be working for "hourly pay", the one who chooses to consider Chiropractic Assistant as career will not only change their life, but their patients and families life. Let me be clear. I don't think EVERY CA wants to be. or should want, to be a DC. In fact. I hope and pray that is not the case because the profession NEEDS CAs to be successful and to serve more people. What I am saying is there is NOTHING that prohibits a CA from having a very successful, rewarding and satisfying career if that is role you choose. Twenty five years are going to pass. How the years pass and how you choose to use the time will determine how and where you'll end up. It is a choice. Choose wisely and make yourself invaluable! How do you make yourself invaluable? Serve your patients, your practice and your doctor in such a fashion that they will never want you to leave and will reward your for your loyalty and the stability you bring to the practice. I am amazed, and disappointed, when I hear my colleagues "brag" about how little they pay and how their staff is just an expense. Or. how many CAs they fired last >car. The first thing that comes to mind when I hear that is... IDIOT! They deserve even, bit of the chaos they have attracted to their lives! I then marvel at the success of those colleagues who have absoluteh wonderful practices and long term stability and calm in their lives...all because of their STAR CAs who have been with them 5-10-15 or 20 years. They are gladly paying them like the professionals they have become. Many expect the pay to precede the professionalism and loyalty. That rarely happens: it's out of natural order. "We" must deliver the goods before the "good" is delivered to us. If a doctor doesn't deliver the "goods" to you and YOU have...then it's time to move on. Don't look at the effort you put in as a loss...look at is as your investment in yourself so you can take your skills and expertise to someone who will appreciate the professionalism and stability you bring to their office. I'll bet I get some hate mail for that comment, but so be it. How do you become invaluable? There are a number of ways outlined in Stephen Covey's book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". I encourage you to read it as soon as possible and I look forward to sharing how those habits can be applied as a Chiropractic Assistant in the second part of this article in the next issue of The Chiropractic Assistant. Dr. Foxworth is a certified Medical Compliance Specialist and President ofChiroHeal-Ihl'SA. A practicing C liiropractor. he remains "in the trenches "facing challenges with billing, coding, documentation and compliance. He has served as president of the Mississippi Chiropractic Association, former Staff Chiropractor at the G.I'. Sonny Montgomery I'A Medical Center and is a Fellow of the International College of Chiropractic. He founded Con-servaCareCorp, the first chiropractic network selected by the State of Mississippi to serve over 195K covered lives in the State Health Plan. You can contact Dr. Foxworth at 1-888-719-9990. infodchirohealthusa.com or visit the ChiroHealthUSA website at www.chirohealthusa.com
