Making Chiropractic Famous

On the front page of First Monday, a monthly publication of the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, is a photograph. This is not just any photograph; it is a head-and-shoulders shot that is literally almost 12 inches tall. The photograph is of Wayne Wolfson, DC.

The foot-high front-page photograph leads you to an interview with Dr. Wolfson that covers another full page. Although the majority of the article is about Dr. Wolfson's position as incoming chamber chair, his initial comments are about his chiropractic practice and his approach to the health of individual patients.

Through this article and his involvement on the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, Wayne Wolfson, DC, is impacting the way people think about chiropractic. He is breaking down preconceived notions just by meeting people, letting them know that he is a doctor of chiropractic, and talking a little bit about chiropractic.

There are literally thousands of people in your community who need to meet a "real live chiropractor" and have the opportunity to see that you don't have fangs or bad breath and that you aren't some kind of "wacko." They need to see you as the caring doctor that you are, and hear about what chiropractic can do and has done for others. They need some kind of encounter that will move their opinion of chiropractic from skeptical (or worse) to accepting (and maybe even "would like to be a patient").

These kinds of interaction are not meant to immediately recruit patients - although that will probably be the end result in many cases. It may not happen all at once, but sow enough seeds and a harvest is certain to follow.

Interactions with people in your community will begin changing chiropractic's (and your) reputation, and ultimately remove opinion-based barriers that are preventing people from seeking the care that they need. They need to know you as a person before they will change their minds about what you do.

There are a number of ways to create positive interactions with people in your community:

• Begin writing a column (or submit articles) for your local newspaper. If you need help with material, let us know. We have lots of consumer information we can help you with on a regular basis.
• Join clubs, groups or service organizations. Get involved in your community and work with the local leaders. Rubbing shoulders is a great way to reveal who you are and what you stand for.
• Become politically active. The November elections are quickly approaching. Every political candidate in every election should have at least one DC working hard for them, so that when elected, they will think about their chiropractic supporters when it comes time to vote on applicable legislation.
• Volunteer your services. Make sure every sports team from grade school on up has chiropractic at their events. If needed, meet with the other DCs in your town to divide up the work. Chiropractic should be seen as an essential component of an active lifestyle.
• Act as if the world is watching. You may not realize it, but you always represent chiropractic, no matter where you go or what you do. If you do something noble, chiropractic gets kudos; if you do something wrong, chiropractic gets a black eye.

Our collective reputations are based on millions of seemingly insignificant individual interactions between people and the chiropractors in their communities. If chiropractic has a bad rap in your area, one or more colleagues probably created it. You can change it, but you will have to work at it.

Wherever you go, let people know you are a doctor of chiropractic, and share some of your values with them.

Let them see the real you and the real chiropractic.

DMP Jr.