What’s Good for the Goose... Education for Both Patient and Practitioner?
PERSPECTIVE
Kevin Wong
DC
We all know the value of education, right? We preach it all the time in the profession—an educated patient is an empowered patient. An empowered patient is a compliant patient; a compliant patient, needless to say, is more likely to get better and refer others. How do we help our patients get there, though? Most people come to us to get out of pain or to improve their body’s performance—not to “get a lecture.” Plus, as chiropractors, we are taught the art and science of chiropractic, but not necessarily the art and science of teaching chiropractic.
The bad news is that in a survey of 150 randomly selected chiropractic patients, only about 75% felt that the doctor’s explanation of procedures was excellent, reflecting room for improvement in doctor-patient communication. The good news is that you don’t need a PhD in education to be an effective educator. We can leam from the best, such as renowned chiropractic lecturer Dr. Mark Charrette. He advocates the multisensory approach of telling your patients about their condition; showing your patients a visual aid that supports the discussion; and, whenever possible, having patients physically participate in a demonstration that reinforces your message even further.
The Telling: Don’t take it personally, but it’s the rare patient who is eager to hear about “recurring subluxations” or “neurological deficits.” You may be impressed by your own chiropractic vocabulary, but the average patient wants one thing and one thing only—for you to fix his or her pain. So skip the tongue twisters and overly clinical language in favor of clear, everyday metaphors to illustrate your points. “The spine is the body’s ‘command center’ (that’s why it’s so important to keep it aligned and healthy).” “The feet are the body’s foundation; if the body’s foundation is imbalanced, pain and problems will appeal' elsewhere in the body, just like cracks in the walls of a house.” “If you wear out your body, where are you going to live?” All of these truisms are easy for patients to remember and understand. When they understand, they’re more likely to follow through with your recommended care plan.
The Seeing: Every aspect of the patient experience is an opportunity to educate or reinforce ideas central to your care. Are you using every tool at your disposal to explain the “why”? Analyze your environment with the eyes of an educator—the posters on your walls; the before and after X-rays you display; the marketing materials and brochures in your
waiting room; the email signature you and your staff use. You should even consider your intake forms and reports of findings. Make “patient education” an agenda item during every staff meeting to get your staff talking and thinking about this.
Teaching Technology: Patients notice if you are up on current technology, and digital X-ray machines, 3-D digital foot scanners, and other innovations make your job as a doctor easier. By using a 3-D digital foot scanner, for example, you can show patients detailed color pictures and indicators of how flat their arches are. You can then explain how this relates to the other joints of the body all the way up to the neck and head. Pictures and graphics can help you educate and report your findings in ways that patients “get.”
Even better, recent teaching technology has evolved to help with all the three senses. Patient self-scanning kiosks are a growing trend in the modern chiropractic office, and for good reason. Because a patient is “doing the work” of scanning, she or he is inherently more engaged in the experience—she feels the scanner with her feet and the touch screen with her fingertips. She hears and sees the educational videos underscoring key chiropractic messages and philosophies. Best of all, she is the first to experience the exciting results of her foot scan, which she can share on social media with the click of a button (the doctor receives a more clinical version of the same report). Dr. Lisa Patel of Precision Chiropractor in Houston, Texas said, “We just recently upgraded to the self-scanning kiosk. It was the best decision we’ve made because we are able to simplify the scanning process with our patients. It’s
easy to use, and I love that it automatically sends the patient the report through e-mail. All of our patients are impressed with the whole system, including the products.”
Continuing Education Should Be More than “Just”
CEs: It’s not just patients who benefit from education. An educated chiropractor is an empowered chiropractor. An empowered chiropractor is an effective chiropractor. An effective chiropractor is a successful chiropractor.
While attending continuing education (CE) events is valuable (and indeed, to a certain degree, mandatory), don’t let that be the only opportunity you take to grow your skills and knowledge. Maintain a standing commitment to personal and professional growth through reading, online resources, talking with your peers, and even learning from other health disciplines. Look into free webinars (some of which offer limited CEs). Attend conferences, chiropractic and otherwise. Finally, be aware of the vast and often free or low-cost educational resources at your disposal.
A recent addition is the “Training Center” by Foot Levelers, which helps doctors who are committed to practice growth master the art of recommending custom orthotics to their patients. Sessions are free, last a half-day, and are held in major cities throughout the United States. Doctors who have attended report between a 30 to 400% growth in revenue from orthotics. One such practitioner, Dr. Kristin Soehl of Lafayette, New Jersey,
calls the Training Center an “invaluable experience.” She said, “The Training Center gave me the confidence and knowledge I needed to recommend orthotics to every patient who needs them. And now that I’m a Training Center alum, Foot Levelers’ continued support of my practice—in terms of customized marketing, one-on-one advice, social media support, and access to their Practice Growth Specialists and executives anytime I need them—goes well beyond the event itself.”
Another alum, Dr. Ronald Williams of Napa, California, said that the Training Center helped him create “a steady revenue stream for my practice. I learned I was sitting on a gold mine [when it comes to prescribing custom-made orthotics].”
While some patients are more inherently motivated than others to get better, your role as an educator and communicator is key. The ability of the chiropractor to provide clear, concise, and meaningful information helps bridge the communication barrier. When the doctor is educated, it’s even better. A doctor’s confidence in the subject matter is bound to inspire the “light bulb moment” in patients.
Dr Kevin Wong is a 1996 summa am laude graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic West. A past instructor of chiroprcictic technique for the college, he is currently part of the adjunct faculty. Dr. Wong is also a past lecturer and instructor for the International Chiropractic Association of Cali fornia. Currently he is in full-time practice in Orinda, California, and has been a speaker for Foot Levelers for many years.
