How I Resurrected My Career
PERSPECTIVE
William H. Koch
DC
I began practicing in November of 1967 near my hometown in the Hamptons on eastern Long Island, New York.
Fifty years ago, the chiropractic profession was under a full-frontal assault by the medical establishment, the New York State Department of Education, and the professional licensing board.
The newly enacted law that licensed chiropractors was only four years old. Chiropractors who were practicing prior to the law were given licensing examinations that most could easily pass. It was another story for new DCs like me who had entered school and graduated after the law had passed. Six hundred young chiropractors were given examinations that were designed to keep us out. The idea was to discredit the education of chiropractors in general and the credentials of each of us individually. The tactics and objectives were transparent.
The New York Chiropractic Society and New York Chiropractic Association filed lawsuits and secured court injunctions against the New York Department of Education to prevent the enforcement of the law until the Supreme Court of New York could pass judgment on the fairness and efficacy of the testing.
When the court saw that we were being tested in subjects such as pharmacology, surgery, and other medical procedures that we were not trained in and could not legally practice, the testing program was completely revised to test chiropractors accurately and appropriately. I passed with flying colors on my first sitting of the new test. The hard study that a friend and I put in for three years finally paid off after so much pain and frustration.
Once relieved of the fear and uncertainty of practicing without a license from November 1967 to June 1971,1 was finally free to focus my complete attention on my practice. During the next few years, my practice grew in leaps and bounds. By the late 1970s, it was one of the most successful practices on Long Island. By the early 1980s and through the mid-1990s, I had what was
certainly one of the largest practices in the New York metropolitan area. At the peak of my practice, I had a patient volume of 300 to 400 patient visits a week.
This was a very exciting time for me. It was an affirmation of me as a doctor and my ability to attract patients, but it was unfortunately not sustainable. The long hours and physical stress on my body took a terrible toll on me.
In early June of 1996, while adjusting a 120 lb. woman who had been a patient for many years, my own back gave out with no warning and dropped me to the floor with blinding pain. X-rays of my spine confirmed what I feared—three compression fractures of lower thoracic vertebrae.
I continued to work for the next year and a half with the help of opioid medications. However, constant pain and sleep deprivation, as well as the advice of my own chiropractor, a neurologist, and a neurosurgeon finally convinced me that if I continued to work, I would end up in a wheelchair.
I sadly gave up my practice and became a reluctant retiree. The next four years were agonizing and depressing. My already troubled marriage fell apart as my wife refused to accept the idea of living on a reduced income. I missed practice desperately and could not accept the idea of never practicing again.
I had to do something. But what? I knew I would not last long if I tried to resume “full-contact adjusting.” I began looking for an alternative style of practice.
An advertisement in The American Chiropractor magazine for the ArthroStim and VibraCussor adjusting instruments by IMPAC, Inc. got my attention. A long conversation with Ed Miller, the owner of IMPAC, Inc., convinced me to attend a training seminar in instrument adjusting with Dr. Allan Creed. The four days my new wife, Kiana, and I spent with Dr. Creed were empowering and life-changing.
Kiana and I were living on our 50 ft. sailboat in the Out Islands of the Bahamas where I was the only chiropractor. Dr. Creed gave us special attention and taught both of us how to use the instruments to maximum advantage so I could practice without further injury to myself and Kiana could take care of me.
Kiana and I went back to our islands with renewed hope and enthusiasm. The first day in the office practicing with my new instruments was a real eyeopener. I found the techniques I learned from Dr. Creed to be very effective, easy to do, and the patients loved them!
I soon found that I could apply these instruments to the techniques I already knew. I also began studying other techniques of instrument adjusting such as Quantum Neurology with Dr. George Gonzalez, applied kinesiology with Dr. Eugene Charles, and the work of Dr. Jeff Rockwell, who applies the VibraCussor to structural integration and manual neuroscience.
These instruments and specialized technique applications allowed me to reinvent myself and begin to practice again full time as “The Out Island Chiropractor. ”
My patients got amazing results. Even those who had previously feared chiropractic adjustments loved this new kind of chiropractic. My practice thrived, and I was able to work as much as I wanted to without hurting myself.
Now, after 15 years of practice in my beloved Abaco Out Islands of the Bahamas, I spend most of my time in Mount Dora, Florida where I have a part-time, post-retirement practice. I see mostly challenging, difficult cases of patients who have had disappointing results with previous chiropractic, physical therapy, medical, and surgical care.
When I am not seeing patients, I spend most of my time studying and writing. I have also developed a seminar program to share what I have learned during my experience of 50 years and the unique protocols I use with great success. I call my seminar program The Koch Protocols or Integrated Advanced Chiropractic Techniques.
My goal is to help older chiropractors save or extend their careers without hurting themselves. I also want to help shorten the learning curve of young chiropractors so they can enjoy the kind of professional success and satisfaction I have known while providing their patients with state-of-the-art twenty-first-century chiropractic care. I want my students to be the doctors whom patients seek— not because they are chiropractors, and perhaps in spite of the fact that they are chiropractors, but simply because they are the doctors who can get great results fast.
I will never really retire. I already failed at it twice. I will always be “The Out Island Chiropractor.” The guy who practices in shorts and bare feet, taking care of patients wherever they need me, whether in my office, on the engine box of my boat, in the bush, on the beach or on the tailgate of a pickup truck. Helping people is my addiction, and I don’t plan to give it up anytime soon. Hell, I am only 73 years old!
Dr. William H. Koch, a 1967 Palmer graduate, just began his 52nd year as a chiropractic physician, writer and technique instructor. He has practiced successfully in the Hamptons of New York, The Bahamas, and Florida. Still in active practice, he currently splits his time between Abaco, Bahamas and Mount Dora, Florida.
Now, wanting to give back to the profession he loves, he offers courses on "The Koch Protocols for Integrated, Advanced, Chiropractic Techniques." Simple, Effective, No Nonsense and Hands-On.
Email Dr. Bill at [email protected] or check out drwilliamhkoch.com.
