The Evolution of a Doctor
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Mike Patten
DC
DOCTORS ARE ALWAYS EVOLVING, whether they are aware of it or not. This evolution occurs in an upward or downward trajectory based on the doctor’s basic concepts they hold about the chiropractic profession or about life.
Evolution, simply put, means change, and a doctor should change for the better each day. Challenging oneself to become better — to serve the patient’s needs better — is inherent in chiropractic philosophy.
This journey of evolution maps three areas doctors must travel through, and the amount of change they experience is based on their ability to work with their own concepts in the growth process. The
following commentary examines each of them with a particular focus based on principles inherent in Concept-Therapy®.
The first area is that of money. There are two ends, or polarities, to this spectrum.
At one end is a doctor whose primary concern is earning as much money as possible, often at the expense of the patient, the expense of another doctor, or the expense of their own personal growth. Simply put, greed and selfishness are at the core.
Dr. Fleet’s total health handbook, Rays of the Dawn, defines greed as “an inordinate desire for power, wealth, luxury, honor, security, prestige, or any personal satisfaction or gratification.”1 This doctor is in practice primarily for the money as a means to focus on their hobbies or pleasure, such as travel, golf, fishing, cars, etc.
The other end of the spectrum is the doctor who doesn’t think about money enough. This doctor struggles financially and will offer services at reduced rates, potentially compromising their livelihood. They are lured into looking for the next gimmick or supportive service they can offer to make ends meet.
These individuals will jump on the next “big thing” in healing, thinking it will fix their broken business sense, usually to no avail. Why? They haven’t addressed the cause; their basic operating concept is keeping them from success.
This is not to say that money in itself is good or bad. One should seek a balanced approach to finances, always keeping in mind that a patient pays for care, and a doctor should be compensated appropriately according to the level and quality of care they deliver.
When a doctor conducts their business appropriately, according to the fixed laws of business, they will prosper and be able
to live the life they desire. This is a natural law of reciprocity.
Not all doctors who present at seminars or serve on boards do so out of vanity. Most of these individuals are sincere, do great work, and we are grateful for them. Those doctors are traveling on the upward trajectory of their evolution.
The other end of the polarity is those who don’t want to be seen at all. They go to work each day without people noticing them. They may prefer to avoid unnecessary interactions with others, even speaking harshly with those they come into contact with.
Regarding these individuals, the chapter continues: “The vanity and touchiness of so many exponents of our professional classes are marked evidences of a lack of spiritual development.”! Don’t mistake these doctors for being any less vain because the emotion of vanity will hold them hostage from making an impact on their community.
There are not many doctors in this category because such an overt attitude would soon ruin an otherwise fine reputation. If anything, chiropractors wish to be in the limelight and be appreciated by their colleagues and patients.
I am presenting extremes at each end of the polarity, which we have labeled “reputation,” for a broader understanding. The ideal is to have a balanced view of one’s reputation. Serve where one is supposed to serve, in the capacity in which one can serve, for the benefit of life. Here we find the law of compensation, a natural extension of cause and effect, in perfect operation in the advanced practice.
The third area in which we are called to travel is that of service to life. Upon one of the poles of this spectrum, we find doctors who need scientific, tangible evidence for everything they do.
The second area that every doctor travels through is reputation. On one end of this polarity are those doctors who want to be recognized. We find them presenting at seminars, sitting on state boards, and serving in capacities where people will notice them. The predominant emotion displayed here would be defined in Rays of the Dawn in the chapter titled “Vanity” — the main goal is praise from others and to disguise an inferiority complex.
“Not all doctors who present at seminars or serve on boards do so out of vanity.”
Often, these doctors become teachers and researchers. Never satisfied with the unknown, they strive to make each detail a scientific fact to support their perspective. This can lead to arrogance and thinking they are superior to others because they know, and such an attitude serves the ego more than it serves life.
On the opposite polarity, we find doctors rooted in a philosophical basis of healing. A philosophy is a way of life, so they live what they teach. They care about results just as much as any researcher or teacher but will practice in areas using methods that science doesn’t yet understand.
Both groups get results and help patients heal. However, these two opposites will argue and fight about how it should be done. They will often state that their way is the only way. Technique assumes the spotlight because every doctor feels their technique is the best, as they should. If a doctor practices a technique they do not believe in, their results will always be limited.
Holding all of these polarities in mind, let’s now discuss the evolution of a doctor.
Formal education provides instruction on the three phases mentioned in varying degrees. Chiropractic colleges are limited in scope regarding education about money and the financial side of the business. In my personal experience, very little was taught regaiding the fixed laws of business and how to run a clinic properly, or even personal financial management.
Many students must learn on their own once in private practice or secure a practice management firm, if funds allow. School offers many opportunities and exposure to different organizations and various speakers within the healthcare field. At this early point in the student’s education, much emphasis is placed on political work and being involved at the state and national levels to advance chiropractic care.
School provides a variety of technique classes aimed at fixing subluxations. Diagnosis classes support the correct imaging or blood tests for the patient. The emphasis is on treating the patient correctly.
Results are core to the process. One begins their search for the methods, techniques, or modalities that they believe in to get the desired results for a patient. However, because our schools do not teach how a patient heals, the student is left with mere mechanics rather than an understanding of why the various techniques all achieve results.
Without having been taught the physical, mental, and spiritual laws by which a body heals, a doctor becomes frustrated in achieving desired patient results. This usually happens within the first three years of practice.
The first three years are a big growth stage for any physician. Learning how to help people heal, along with trying to pay back student loans or other debts, leads to thoughts about money. This is when a focus on money usually occurs.
A doctor then begins to search for avenues to increase revenue in ways that deviate from natural growth. This can mean bringing in ancillary modalities and therapies to complement chiropractic care or investing hard-earned capital in speculation. The goal is to generate more revenue.
“Once enough money has been generated, the individual loses the fear of going bankrupt, which allows the brain freedom to think. “
Once enough money has been generated, the individual loses the fear of going bankrupt, which allows the brain freedom to think. This mark in the journey generally occurs after being in practice for three to five years.
Now, the doctor’s thoughts begin to focus on what kind of legacy, reputation, or assistance the profession needs. A doctor will resonate with different organizations and will get involved to the degree they are inclined. The goal is to be a part of a community with which to collaborate.
The natural desire to attain a degree of recognition or a position of prestige is common and not in the least abnormal. This can be a natural outgrowth of a sincere desire for a doctor to help the profession or patients in general.
Because of a limited number of positions within each group, many doctors continue to search for their purpose within healing. It is natural growth and evolution. This is the beginning of a doctor’s philosophical journey and just as necessary as the inquiry and advancement of science.
Having practiced for roughly seven years, this doctor is asking, “What heals?” That is a big question. Dr. Thurman Fleet asked this question in 1931, which led to a peak experience in consciousness and the creation of Concept-Therapy®.
Dr. Fleet was given the idea of how healing works, and he put it into practice. According to his biography, Where There Is a Will, There Is a Way,2 Dr. Fleet had police showing up outside his practice to direct traffic because so many patients were coming to see him.
The Concept-Therapy Institute has many audio recordings of Dr. Fleet sharing the success stories of patients he and other Concept-Therapy practitioners achieved. Dr. Fleet’s results were taught and replicated, including many dis-eased conditions, whether organic, induced by trauma, or functional.
Dr. Fleet obtained these results by applying the principles of healing. Doctor, do you know the principles of healing? Were they taught to you in school? Are you aware of the eight requirements involved in all healings?
These eight requirements are not taught, as such, in school. There is no educational facility outside of the Concept-Therapy Institute that so clearly lays them out. Many college curricula may teach aspects of these requirements but are lacking in the true science, art, and philosophy behind their effectiveness.
When reading them for the first time, the logical nature of the steps is obvious. What is not obvious is how to apply these eight requirements without full knowledge of the steps involved.
The eight requirements for healing that appear in Suggestive Therapy®, Concept-Therapy’s Zone Healing®, and also in Phase One of Conceptology by Dr. Fleet are as follows:
1. The patient must be desirous and willing to be cured.
2. The patient must obey all orders given by the doctor.
3. The patient must understand why the orders are given.
4. The patient must have complete faith in the doctor.
5. The patient’s faith puts both the doctor and patient “en rapport.”
6. The doctor must have an understanding of the treatment and why it is given.
7. The doctor must “know that they know” how to give the treatment.
8. The doctor must know how to give the healing idea. Innate power is then released.
It should immediately come to attention that number one says “cured,” and as chiropractors, we can’t say we cure anything. This doesn’t mean we, as doctors, say that we will cure the patient. This concept exists within the mind of the patient who must desire to be cured.
If a patient does not want to be totally cured from their complaint, they will always retain a degree of the problem. “You cannot put a man in possession of a gift if he will not accept it.” I am also not advocating that everything can be healed. There comes a point where physical matter has been destroyed to the point of no return.
Having the desire and willingness to be cured simply means the patient wants to heal completely. The choice lies entirely within the domain of that soul. A patient with the desire to heal must obey orders given. If an exercise, diet, supplement, or treatment plan is given to the patient and the patient does not follow directions, how can healing take place?
Often, a patient doesn’t follow a treatment plan as a result of not understanding why it is important to the process. Clear communication is necessary to ensure cooperation.
A patient must have faith in the doctor. This isn’t religious faith, nor confidence or belief. If patients aren’t confident that the doctor can help them, they won’t stay long. If you have been in practice for any length of time, you have experienced a patient like that.
The treatment given should be one that the doctor has confidence in; this includes knowing how to give the treatment and why it is given. This treatment can take any form as long as requirement number eight is involved — the doctor must know how to give the healing idea.
The last requirement refers to suggestion. A proper suggestion must be given to the patient when treatment is rendered. If you are reading this and have never heard of suggestion, it is time to learn.
Suggestion is the bedrock upon which healing is built. Concept-Therapy® teaches every aspect of suggestion to evolve a doctor into the modulus of full potential with self-confidence and a knowledge of how the innate intelligence goes about its work within the body. This can only contribute to upward evolution of the doctor, rather than contributing to the downward path so often referred to in boundaries and ethics classes.
Stop all the jumping from technique to technique, modality to modality, supplement to supplement. Learn the laws of the body, mind, and soul as explained in Rays of the Dawn, and share them with your patients. Discover and master the proven principles behind healing, as taught in Concept-Therapy, and enjoy your profession.
When patients heal through your chiropractic treatment, practice becomes richer and more rewarding. What happens when a doctor gets great results and enjoys being in the office? The law of compensation, money, a good reputation, and results all follow your service to life. So why not sign up for a Concept-Therapy® course and evolve yourself into the healer you have always wanted to become?
Dr. Mike Patten is a 2009 graduate of Logan College of Chiropractic and is a certified IHS and LDS from the Loomis Institute. He has completed all the coursework from the Concept-Therapy Institute. Practice information: Blue Waters Health Center, 3333 Clark Road, Suite 160, Sarasota, FL 34231, Office: 941-924-1057, email: drmike@ bluewatershealthcenter.com.
References
1. Fleet GT. Rays of the dawn: natural laws of the mind, body and sold. San Antonio: Concept-Therapy Institute. 1948, 1976.
2. Fleet GT. Where there is a will, there is a way: a biography of Thurman Fleet San Antonio: Concept-Therapy Institute. 1997.
