| As I've stated in the past, I want to use this column as a place for different leaders of the chiropractic community to share their various points of view. Not only are these leaders knowledgeable; they also are dedicated to improving the future of our profession. I am pleased to announce that Dr. J. Michael Flynn is the author of this month's column. Dr. Flynn led the ACA's National Chiropractic Legal Action Fund and served as chairman of the ACA's Board of Governors. In 2002, he received the ACA's Chiropractor of the Year award. - Kent Greenawalt |
The idea of a national public relations campaign for the chiropractic profession has been considered for many years. Such a campaign of positive press for chiropractic would communicate the powerful message of chiropractic's considerable benefits and encourage patients to see a doctor of chiropractic. There is no question that a campaign would be successful once the proper funding is in place. This success would mean that patients would discover the true story of a profession once persecuted and now on the cusp of greatness.
Sir Winston Churchill once said, "The price of greatness is responsibility." If responsibility is indeed the measurement of greatness, one only has to look at the men and women who are banding together to promote and nurture the future of the chiropractic profession right now. With the formation of the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP), educators, philanthropists, and big-city and small-town chiropractors are uniting to take the concept of "giving back" to a whole new level.
The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress is going to make its mark; how deep that mark will be in the highly competitive health care marketplace has yet to be determined. But we have every reason to be optimistic. As the country's population ages, people are becoming more and more interested in ways to maintain their health and vitality. With epidemic rates of health problems such as obesity, diabetes, and osteoarthritis, our nation has never been more in need of a wellness solution. Chiropractic should be a part of the coming revolution. Our time is now, and the Campaign for Chiropractic will make sure we seize the opportunities of the growing wellness market. Together, we can lead the way to a healthier nation.
During the long antitrust trial (1972-1997), it was discovered that one of the strategies of political medicine was to "encourage disunity" among chiropractors and "watch them wither on the vine." The enemies of chiropractic want to see us fighting among ourselves, because they know we will not accomplish anything if we cannot work together. They want to see us fail. Fighting with each other only damages our reputation - with the government, with the health care community, and worst of all, with potential patients. It's time for us to prove the naysayers wrong and show them that we can unite and work together for the good of our profession.
Gene Veno, along with the F4CP's board of directors and many influential vendors, has taken the responsibility to put the "U" back in Unity and begin a campaign whose time has come. If our adversaries thought disunity would cause chiropractic to wither, then by uniting to promote this campaign, we surely will bloom!
This campaign of positive press for chiropractic can pay huge dividends. We want patients to think of chiropractic first, not last. When patients truly understand how much chiropractic can help them, they will seek our care. What individual doctors of chiropractic do with these patients will be up to their own clinical skills. The campaign will include a continual broadcast of positive press releases on current research findings and personal experiences, highlighting the safety and effectiveness of chiropractic care. It is a story that needs to be told, and the F4CP is going to be responsible for telling it.
The pieces are in place except for one - you. Without the work of dedicated individual chiropractors, there would be no profession. We can't succeed without your help. It doesn't matter what technique you use. It doesn't matter whether your practice is in Maine or Montana. It doesn't matter whether you have been in practice for two months or 20 years.
Every chiropractor can benefit from this campaign. Chiropractic has been fighting an uphill battle since the very beginning, but our hope is that this campaign will make our future better and easier.
The chiropractic profession is being called to unite behind this campaign. Every DC who can conceptualize this campaign's vision of bringing his or her clinic more patients; every student who can see the campaign as contributing to a brighter future; and every vendor and supplier who sees the success of the campaign as their success, too, must enthusiastically support the campaign!
There is no downside. Our goals are to promote the benefits of chiropractic, educate the public, and gain respect for our profession. To those who say it can't be done, think again. It can be done. It has to be done! We want everyone to know about the wonderful things chiropractic can do. It is our responsibilityto the greatness of the chiropractic profession - past, present and future.
Call toll free 1-866-901-F4CP and ask for a pledge card and information to be sent directly to you, or visit www.Foundation4CP.com. Become a part of the wave of support this campaign deserves. Hundreds of doctors supporting the campaign will keep it alive. Thousands of chiropractors will make a difference, and tens of thousands of our colleagues united behind this campaign will make it happen for your practice, your families, and most importantly, for those patients who deserve the care only a chiropractor can offer.
P.S. Donations to the Campaign for Chiropractic can be mailed to:
The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress
1335 N. Front Street, Suite 201
Harrisburg, PA 17102
When I graduated from chiropractic college in 1981 and started practice, I heard it all, and very little was positive. “You are a quack; you do not know what a subluxation is; you couldn’t get into a real health care program, so you chose the one that is slightly above a mail-order degree; you have no proof that chiropractic works; Are you really licensed?”, and so much more.
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A central challenge in creating our identity is that chiropractic is a method of care, not a technique or procedure. This is an important concept for us to promote. Our patients are treated with lifestyle modification, exercise, nutritional supplements, diet and a whole-body approach to accelerate the natural healing process. We are not simply CMT providers.
The results of a global survey released late last year (2023) unveiled some startling findings among medical and nursing students. The “Clinician of the Future: 2023 Education Edition” surveyed 2,212 students, of which 446 were in the United States, from 91 countries.
