As you may know I'm an active member of my local chamber of commerce. In my opinion, it keeps me connected with the goings-on of business and also presents some useful training seminars. 

It is an understatement to say that public speaking is not my strong suit. 

In fact, just giving the best man toast at my brother’s wedding brought on great stress and anxiety and several people noticed my sweaty brow and clenched fists.  To improve my skills in this area, I attended a training seminar offered by my local chamber entitled "High Impact Presentations."

At some point in your career as a chiropractor, you will likely have the opportunity to do some public speaking.  I wanted to share some of the key elements to a good presentation that were highlighted at this recent seminar. 

A colleague and friend sent me a disturbing video this morning. It was a news story filed by an undercover TV reporter regarding Department of Transportation examinations performed by chiropractors.

Apparently, the reporter presented "incognito" to a few separate offices requesting a DOT exam. Some of the required test procedures to obtain a commercial drivers certificate were not performed ... and in some cases, false reports were filed relative to the actual examination findings. 

This video reminded me of another report done by a television personality a few years ago who investigated and concluded that some doctors obtaining continuing education credits for license renewal did not in fact attend required classes.

These circumstances create uncomfortable moments and public relation nightmares for those involved and associated with the profession. While the scenarios are certainly not confined to one profession, embarrassments of this type are disturbing.

Mea culpa (a Latin term for "my fault") -- or as my son might say, "my bad" -- is a seemingly daily story. Over and over again, we hear of politicians, sports heroes, doctors, business leaders and celebrities who tarnish their reputations both personally and professionally who then retreat in an effort to repent.

Having been a member of a state licensing board, I had the privilege to review many difficult and, at times, unusual cases. Doctors placed themselves in compromising positions which I'm sure they would have liked to replay or obtain a "mulligan."

Unfortunately that's not always possible, particularly when you're a licensed professional with which comes responsibility.

As we engage in our daily endeavors, having an ethical character is a trait we should all strive for and develop. And as famed investor Warren Buffett has said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it."

Let's keep on building and Happy days!

Most professions have requirements for continuing education.  I have requirements for my insurance license and chiropractors have minimum requirements which vary from state to state.

The good news for you is that sometimes there is the opportunity to save money and get your CE credits.

NCMIC offers risk management hours through state associations throughout the country.  If you attend a minimum of eight hours of NCMIC program content, you will receive a 5% discount on your malpractice insurance premium for the following three years.

Many times, the discount will pay for your continuing education class. 

This is one way your CE classes can save you money.  There are other opportunities out there.  If you have any you have found, please post a comment and share what you have found.

For a listing of NCMIC programs, see our listing on NCMIC.com. 

I recently had the opportunity to mentor a new graduate from chiropractic college.  At the time of his graduation he received recognition for his academic and clinical excellence.  He decided to return to his hometown to establish a practice. 

In one of our encounters, I asked if he would share his perception of his strengths and weaknesses. 

After a few moments of etched silence, he shared with me that he felt quite confident in his clinical management of patients but felt insecure on the business side of practice.  He felt he had relatively good communication skills, but was uncomfortable about the idea of "selling himself" to the community and looked at networking as a process that he did not want to engage in.

With that level of honesty, we had a good starting point. 

It didn't take long to convince him that if he didn't become a student of the business of health care, it would not take long for his new practice to be in deep trouble.

He agreed that one of the first things he would do would be to develop a business plan to include the marketing strategies necessary to launch the practice.  He went to the local community where SCORE had an office that provided him with free support in the development of his business plan. 

With that in place, he now had a guidance system to follow on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. 

It did not take long for him to recognize that if he did not put his best foot forward on a daily basis and get out into the community that he had known since his childhood and reconnect with family, friends, former classmates and the rich resource of people there that he would have a difficult time getting the practice off the ground. 

With prodding and encouragement, he worked at the development of a 30-second "infomercial" that he could share with individuals that he came in contact with on a daily basis. 

What he essentially said was how happy he was to be back home to follow his dream of becoming a chiropractor and he had opened his office and if the need should ever arise for chiropractic care he hoped they would consider coming to him.

At this point he would hand them a business card, and ask for theirs.  That evening he would either send an email or a written note to the individuals that he met that day thanking them for taking the time to chat with him. His goal was to complete 10 encounters each day with this kind of interchange.

Although it was difficult in the beginning, he found that connecting with people could be a pleasant experience and within 10 weeks he had met over 500 people and was meeting his goals and objectives that he set in his business plan. 

He had also arranged for one speaking engagement a month as well as in-service programs at local family/internal medicine offices. 

He took his weakness and converted it to a strength.  You can do the same if you are willing to apply determination and persistence to reaching your goals.

Technology is driving our society so that we rarely step back and ask, “Is this really the way I want to communicate?”

Think about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs which identifies the most basic of needs at the bottom of the pyramid and the more complex at the top of the pyramid. In communication, there is a similar “needs triangle” in which there is the inverse value of time and money.

The more money you spend on communication vehicles such as direct mail and television ads, the greater the distance between you and your audience.  When more personal time is spent, the less dollars are required and the more individually effective the communication becomes.

Nothing replaces a look in the eye and a handshake to begin a relationship and convey a sense of confidence in the individual.

As simple as this may be, a handshake is still the most effective manner of communicating today despite the Blackberry, i-Phone, computer, telephone solicitation or annoying and ineffective blast fax. 

In this world of high-tech depersonalization, a young practitioner’s best communication tool might be the low-tech handshake:

• Use the powerful handshake with every new patient upon introduction.
• Use it with visits within the community.
• Use it every opportunity you have - this powerful force that has been used since the beginning of time to establish rapport.

Sometimes we simply need to look at our hands as therapeutic systems and communication tools combined into one very versatile and economical ally. They are always with you and never need charging.

A couple months back, I wrote about an unfortunate office water leak.  The cloud did have a silver lining as I was reminded that reactions are more important than actions. The carpet was in need of replacing anyway, and it inspired us to update the entire office with new paint and decor.

Oh, and I got a new patient out of the whole mess.

Have you ever heard the saying that bad things run in three's? Well, I hope someone can enjoy the following comedy/tragedy. I hope you laugh so hard you cry ... I'm still waiting to laugh.

On a beautiful Sunday morning, I arrived early at the office - coffee in hand, ready to paint the lobby/reception area It had been sleeting for three days and we finally had a sunny day. It was too nasty outside, so I was settling for a productive, indoor project.

I walked down the hallway and something appeared in my peripheral vision.  At first startled...I gasped in horror as I saw two square tiles and insulation dangling from the ceiling.  Another water problem?

Any other year, this would have been an unpleasant problem to a business owner.  But to me, after all this...it was nauseating.  From the words of a popular TV show Grey's Anatomy (my guilty TV pleasure)...  

"Seriously?  I mean, seriously?"

First things first ... bucket under the leak. There didn't appear to be any dripping water but everything was soggy.  Up on the ladder next to climb up into ceiling with a flashlight ... ahhh, there's the problem. 

Attach a smaller bucket to a rafter with bailing wire (hey, I'm learning as I go here!) 

Call insurance adjuster (again) who thinks I've GOT to be joking!  

Call someone who knows how to fix these kinds of things.

Mercifully, this was in a room I could close off for a couple days.  Oh, and that "third bad thing" concept?  Due to the ice that weighed down the roof and caused the leak, we lost electricity and had to close the office on Monday.  AHHHHHH!!!

"That which does not kill you makes you stronger"

But what about that which merely drives you insane?

Very rarely is my office closed besides holidays as my partner and I try to make sure that our committments or vacation time are not in conflict. However, there are three times over the course of the year that we are both gone and the office is closed. 

So how do we deal with getting coverage?

We do not have another doctor come to our office but instead make sure that there are two other D.C.s in the community that our patients can contact for emergencies.  After making arrangements with the docs, we put their names and number on our answering machine with the date we will return.  Of course there is the standard message recommending they go to the ER for any emergency and contact the family doctor, etc.

The DC's we make arrangments with know that our office will accomodate them as well when they need our help for their offices.

When we return, if any of our patients were seen by another D.C., the progress notes for that visit are on the fax machine with a note on the cover letter stating the patient was instructed to contact "THEIR" chiropractor for follow-up.

This is the type of professional courtesy that needs to be shown to other D.C.s in your area and not seen as an opportunity to steal a patient. 

One time, I asked a new D.C. in the area if I could use his contact info for my patients while we were gone.  He saw one of my patients but never sent reports and continued to re-schedule the patient. 

After the patient recovered from that injury, she again returned to my office for regular treatment and informed me that the D.C. who was suppose to be covering for me told her that she needed to see him as long as it was for "this condition" or the insurance would not pay. 

Needless to say, there is no longer a professional relationship between our offices.

There are plenty of people out there who would benefit from chiropractic care so there is no need to try to take existing patients from other practices.

I have just returned from one of many conventions and homecomings we attend. I am always amazed at how many opportunities are passed up by D.C's who fail to carry business cards.

For instance, just on my journey to the convention, I passed out three cards. One was given to a man sitting in the terminal at Chicago O'Hare. We gabbed about his limp, which in turn was related to his back. I happen to have a friend who is a chiropractor in the man's city and voila! a new customer.

Another card was given to a man on the plane who happened to know an old friend of mine and would pass on the information. The third card went to a woman who needed a product we sold! That was just on the way there!

At a convention, you'd expect vendors to have business cards, because we don't want to miss any sales opportunities. But what about doctors of chiropractic? If D.C.s serve less than 10% of the population, wouldn' t you think having business cards might be an inexpensive marketing tool and give them an edge in acquiring new business or business opportunities?

Even in school, cards with general contact information can be used to:

• Foster new relationships
• Provide information on chiropratic
• Make buiness contacts
• Show professionalism

It goes back to the old addage. "You only get one chance to make a first impression!"

Make it a special one. Hand out a card!

I've been involved in the Starting into Practice seminars for going on four years now.  Every time we do the program, there is a slide that discusses the reasons that businesses fail.  What is interesting about this slide is that what actually causes business to fail, and what we perceive to cause business to fail are not the same.

Most students, myself included, strongly believe that the key to keeping a practice running is marketing and bringing in new patients.  However, the facts show that the number one reason that we go out of business is due to money management issues.

I learned harshly how true this is the past few months.  The story itself is long and involved, so I will give you the cliff notes. 

We were required to change our electronic claims filer here last year.  Why we were required is an issue unto itself, but that is for another time.  When we switched over in October, my revenue dropped by 80% overnight!

At first, I wasn't too worried.  My staff is awesome; they know what they are doing, and I was sure the company knew their product as well.  It was just a bug.  It would be sorted out. 

Then a month went by, then another, and another.  I keep a three month overhead buffer in my account just in case.  By January, I had burned through that.  As I approached my 6 year anniversary, I had to take out a line of credit to cover my overhead expenses!! 

Scared doesn't even begin to describe how I felt.  The worst part was that I continued to be busy in the office, yet it just didn't matter.

To make matters even worse, no one knew what was happening.  The company was blaming my staff, my staff was blaming the company, and I was just sitting there asking people to please tell me what the hell was going on! 

Things finally did get sorted through, 4 months later.  We are not quite back where we were, but we are recovering.  The bottom line is this.  Know your business and the inner workings of it.  Seeing my dream almost evaporate because of computer problems was very scary, but fortunately, I do have a good team around me that figured out what was happening and got it fixed.