Make Room for New Kids on the Bus

Kids who were never "fortunate" enough to ride the bus to school actually may have missed out on many lessons related to the social challenges they would face later in life. One of the most classic might be called "The New Kid on the Crowded Bus." This scenario is played out many times every school day. It goes something like this:

The school bus goes from house to house, picking up kids headed for school. At one point, a new kid boards the bus and begins the agonizing search for an open seat. The atmosphere has a certain amount of tension as the other kids watch to see how the drama will unfold.

Friends sitting together in twos and threes fill most seats. A seat with a kid sitting all the way to the edge of the aisle means "You're not welcome," especially if they ignore you or give you a mean look. Ultimately, a kid near your own age or a little younger will slide over, giving you a place to sit down. This might be done with a "Sit here" offer, a smile or utter disregard.

So, how does "The New Kid on the Crowded Bus" challenge relate to the chiropractic profession? Here's how...

An Important Inaugural Event

I flew more than 120,000 air miles last year, traveling to countless chiropractic meetings and events. One of the most interesting was the inaugural Women Chiropractors (WDC) convention in Orlando, Fla., last October. Their theme was "Making Chiropractic HerStory." What made it interesting was not so much the venue or the speakers, but the attendees themselves.

As you might expect, the attendees were all women doctors of chiropractic or women chiropractic students. I was one of only a handful of male vendors.

More than a dozen women DCs took the stage over the weekend to share their thoughts about how women doctors of chiropractic can be more effective and successful. Much of what they shared related to challenges specific to many in the audience.

One of the most memorable events was on Sunday morning, when six women presented an open round-table discussion on "Breaking the Glass Ceiling." The speakers included Drs. Amanda Apfelblat, Bobby Doscher, Jeanne Ohm, Sherry McAllister, Theresa Warner and Donna Craft Godin. Each of the women was also recognized with the inaugural Breaking the Glass Ceiling Women Chiropractor Award.

Where Are the Women DCs?

I must confess that I tend to look at the world through the eyes of a privileged white male in his 60s. This isn't an inherently bad thing, but it requires a concerted effort in order for me to see the world from other perspectives. If you are reading this article, there is a 60-70 percent chance you see the world through a similar lens. That's because over the past quarter of a decade, growth in the number of women DCs in the U.S. has been stymied. Here are the facts:¹

• The male:female ratio in most of our U.S. chiropractic colleges has been at or close to 50:50 for at least the past decade (nearly two decades in some colleges).
• Approximately 59 percent of chiropractic patients are women, with women more likely to be the health-care decision makers in the family;
• Back in 1991, women DCs made up 13.3 percent of the profession; as of 2014, that percentage had only grown to 27.1 percent, some 23 years later.

The obvious conclusion is that a large percentage of graduating female DCs have failed to be successful in practice. This contributes to the impression that doctors of chiropractic are not that successful. The question is, "Why?"

When I posed that question to many of those attending the convention, the answer came down to choices and struggles. The choices for a family and a higher quality of life draw many new women DCs to discontinue practice or reduce their hours. Women DCs face different struggles in their efforts to practice successfully, many times without the mentors they need to help them overcome these obstacles.

What made the first Women Chiropractors Convention so interesting was the interaction between the attendees themselves. The focus of most conversations was about how they were making (or not making) their lives work and how they were overcoming the various challenges. There was an atmosphere of mentoring and nurturing unlike the other events I have attended in the past 35 years. Women helping women was a theme you couldn't miss.

Opening Chiropractic's Doors Wider

As I took in all that the convention had to offer, an important question repeated itself in my mind: "Has the lack of success by many women DCs contributed to the lack of success of the chiropractic profession in the U.S.?"

Certainly the lack of ethnic diversity in our profession (almost 90 percent white) has held us back from serving a greater percentage of our minority populations. It is probably safe to assume we would also see a larger percentage of health care consumers if there were more women DCs for female health-care decision makers to choose from. And the shortage of successful female DCs is reflected in the leadership of many chiropractic organizations.

Throughout the weekend, in all of the conversations I heard and statements from the podium, not once did I ever get a sense that women DCs are angry at their male colleagues for "holding them back." There was a definite sense of personal accountability as they sought solutions and offered support, rather than placing blame.

From what I can see, our profession will benefit from the success this type of event can provide our women DCs. It also speaks to the ongoing need for established doctors to reach out to the newer docs in their community, both men and women, and extend an offer to help them get their practices going – something equivalent to a smile and a "Sit here" as we all work to see our profession become more effective and successful.

Author's Note: I would like to acknowledge Cyndy Shaft Toll, DC, who founded the nonprofit Women Chiropractors organization, and the WDC president, Rosemary Batanjski, DC.² They definitely created an event that proved very effective for their attendees.

References

1. Practice Analysis of Chiropractic 2015. National Board of Chiropractic Examiners, January 2015.
2. Women Chiropractors (WDC): https://womenchiropractors.wildapricot.org.

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