Developing the Dream Team

When I opened my own clinic in December of 2017, I already had been an associate/partner for 11 years and thought I could do it all by myself. That all lasted three weeks, and even during that time, my mom and husband had to help keep me from drowning. Thankfully, one by one, the Lord has blessed my clinic and me with an amazing team.

We have a large team and high-volume practice in central Arkansas. Currently, 23 awesome chiropractic assistants help fulfill our mission of “giving hope through healing” by booking appointments, setting therapy, performing soft tissue work, taping, taking X-rays, scanning feet, cleaning tables, doing laundry, greeting patients, scribing, keeping the energy of doctors and patients high, and much more — all on a daily basis!

Developing the CAs we employ takes a team approach. Some of our team members have been with us for over three of our four years in business. They are key to helping instill our vision and mission in our newer team members for how we treat each other and our patients. We use chiropractic coaching with a website of hiring and training resources to keep our team up to speed in a changing world (and through a pandemic). We also employ a communication coach who onboards each of our team members with Enneagram tests and conducts a group session to better understand each other’s personality types. We have monthly group sessions to discuss how to function well as a unit because, like family, when you are together a lot, communication can make or break a team!

My husband is our chief of operations with a degree in leadership and management. He leads us in monthly staff meetings and team huddles throughout the week before shifts begin to keep our common focus top of mind and help us function as a unit.

Essential Traits of a Successful CA

Qualities of an ideal CA can vary from clinic to clinic based on the company’s values, but I think that some would go over well in any clinic. I tell all my new team members that being coachable, trainable, and open to learning new things is huge. We have hired team members from other chiropractic clinics, but many come from other fields, including teaching schools and waiting tables at a pizza place. We look for a great smile and attitude because we can teach them the rest.

As a new team member, being willing to follow directions and be comfortable as your senior team provides instruction and guidance will help you smoothly integrate into our culture. Respect is a pivotal part of our practice, and we ask our team to respect each other, respect their supervisors, and respect our patients.

Customer service and working with people are not for the faint of heart. The past year has been tough — working it in a mask while adding extra daily tasks of additional cleaning on top of the mental strain and fear of an unfamiliar virus, all while smiling with your eyes. But we did it, and we not only survived, but we also thrived. We have suffered some turnover, which is common, and we wish the best to those who found other paths and left a lasting impression with their service during a difficult season with us.

Respect has taken on even bigger importance this year. Teamwork is another must! We value our team culture and saw this year how pivotal each team member is to the overall success or failure of what we are working together to achieve each day. As a leader, having clear values and knowing their importance helps empower your CAs to make decisions that you can’t possibly prepare them to handle. Finally, when I review my team at 30, 60, and 90 days, six months, and one year, I remind them how important integrity is to what we do. Again, I can’t be with 23 employees and know everything they do under my license representing my name, but I can ask them to do the right thing and count on them to watch my back with each other.

Promoting Products and Services

When it comes to selling patients the products and services we offer in our clinic, I can’t possibly do that by myself. With each additional product I consider carrying, I think about the following things. What is the vendor support going to consist of? Will it be easy to get into patients’ hands (and feet!)? Will my staff buy into it, believe in it, and ultimately sell it for me?

We offer chiropractic adjustments with multiple doctors and a variety of therapy services. We offer supplements, pain cream, essential oils, pillows, and custom orthotics.

When I was a solo practitioner, I could recommend and influence most of my patients to purchase my at-home kit (pillow, ice pack, and pain cream/supplement). As my clinic grew, I had to train other doctors and my CAs, who were the last point of contact to ensure those products go home with patients. I have limited the vendors I work with because I don’t want to overwhelm my team, my patients, or myself.

When I opened my clinic, my first purchase from a vendor was a scanning Kiosk from Foot Levelers before I even opened my doors. It arrived three weeks into my practice and has been used to scan every patient who has graced our presence. We have helped thousands of patients get proper custom arch support and body stabilization while selling more pairs every year. That wasn’t done by me alone!

Each team member receives a complimentary pair of custom orthotics after working with us for 90 days. I now have employees who ask to purchase their pair after two weeks because they work hard and see the value on their teammates’ feet. I have believed in the power of custom orthotics for many years with continued training in person and online through Foot Levelers. I also wear them 24/7. My team has grown to love them and see their impact too, purchasing multiple pairs. My long-term team members get new pairs on their work anniversary — the gift that keeps on giving for sure! When they are walking the walk (literally), it’s much easier to tell patients they need the product, and it works.

CAs Free Me Up to Concentrate on Patients

Being able to fully lean on my CAs allows me to focus on my most valuable activity — being a doctor! I work hard to stay truly present with my patients and lovingly serve them to the best of my abilities. I can make authentic recommendations for their care plan and other products, such as custom orthotics, but not complete the sale or be pushy. Going back to that respect, I feel it is my due diligence to tell them the truth and all of it. I respect my patients’ decisions about their health and their finances. I give them all the tools they need to make decisions, and then I turn over the sale and delivery of the product to my trusted, trained team.

We have learned things over the years after selling hundreds of pairs of custom orthotics, and Foot Levelers has been right there with us, creating flyers and documents to make the purchasing process easy for our patients and us. Implementing the product successfully is just as crucial as making sales. If patients take something home, whether it’s custom orthotics or an ice pack, they need to know how to properly use it. Otherwise, they won’t be happy, it may not work as it should, and it certainly won’t produce desired results.

My team assists our patients with trying on custom orthotics in the office, signing a checklist about the break-in process, and making sure they know the steps to return based on a money-back guarantee. New team members are trained on this and continue to implement it for continued success.

Continuing Education for CAs

As with anything, learning and continuing to perform at a high level takes consistent practice and continuing education. Through the years, we have been able to take staff to the Foot Levelers home in Roanoke, Virginia, tour the lab, and receive hands-on training from talented speakers and doctors, even earning CEs for doctors. As with most industries, pivoting to the beauty of technology through the pandemic was necessary, and it worked! Thankfully, in Arkansas, we’ve been able to return to modified in-person continuing education. I was able to take several of my doctors and team members to hear a Foot Levelers speaker and get CEs right at home.

I look forward to continuing to train new team members through the opportunities that Foot Levelers provides. When you are looking for training for assistants and helping them develop skills that translate beyond the feet, look no further than the mainstay of our profession serving us for many years — Foot Levelers!

In Conclusion

Running a chiropractic clinic is not easy. After a few years, we could probably execute what we do each day as chiropractors in our sleep, but it takes lots of helping hearts, hands, and smiles to make a practice run smoothly. From a small-town Arkansas chiropractor of 16 years who loves what I do more today than when I started, the best is yet to come. Godspeed to all of you loving servants of humanity!

Dr. Amanda Bledsoe is a 2005 graduate of Cleveland Chiropractic College in Kansas City, KS. She also earned a B.S. in Science from the University of Central Arkansas. She is the owner of Bledsoe Chiropractic Clinic of Conway, AR, founded in 2017.