Becoming an expert
(Concepts derived after reading "Badass your brand" by Pia Silva)
Chiropractic school teaches us how to be chiropractors... a specialty. It is almost exactly the same way medical school creates medical doctors (either specialist or general practitioners). The issue is that most people come to us, chiropractors or medical doctors, because they believe we are "experts". Unfortunately, we are specialist not experts. The medical community figured this out a long time ago and created a continuing education program that takes the practitioner from "specialist" to "expert". This is why, with medical doctors especially, there is so much emphasis on their curriculum vitae (C.V.), where they were educated (trained), or where their continuing education has taken them (even general practitioners are specialist for the "general" population and hone their skills through education and experience).
Chiropractors, I will compare them to orthopedists, graduate with a certain level of education and experience. They have endured the rigors of the education process, multiple national board examinations (possible state board examinations), hands-on clinicals (similar to medical internship or residency, as well as the chiropractic equivalent of "rounds"), and have begun their practice. Their education has made them a specialist, much like an orthopedist is a specialist in orthopedics (branch of medicine dealing with the correction of deformities of bones or muscles), a chiropractor is a specialist of the spine, primarily its function as a neuroskeletal system*. Many of us chiropractors also take our education further by learning the interplay of all the articulations of the body, basically we learn to identify abnormal joint motion in any joint and how to correct it if applicable.
*Neuroskeleton is an old term used to describe the interaction between the spine and the nervous system. It is not a term used anymore, except by few, but the more I learn and read about how chiropractic is different from its medical counterparts the more this term is apt. It embodies the essence of how chiropractic works and why everyone should get checked by a chiropractor routinely.
- Chiropractors, however, lack the continuing education system to make them "experts", much like a "general practitioner" lacks the education to be a specialist. This is one very important reason why there has been a sharp decrease in "chiropractic expert witness" over the last 20 years in the courts. This is why the chiropractic profession enjoys only 8% of the United States population utilizing it's unique style of care. No one has taken up a continuing education program that takes Doctors of Chiropractic from specialists to experts... Well, that is not entirely true. There are organizations that offer diplomates and certifications in various specialties, but these practitioners tend to see less and less patients as they are attractive to large institutions, such as hospitals and schools. Also, the programs are mad-expensive and in order to take such a program one must take out a loan... Or the time-expense; these programs are setup like school, so you must leave your practice in order to participate in most of them. None of this appeals to those of us who cannot afford it or have families to consider.
The program I am enrolled in has positioned itself by partnering with a medical school to give up-to-date credentialing and created chiropractic courses for chiropractors is the Academy of Chiropractic. Dr.'s Mark Studin and Bill Owens have gone to great lengths to create a program that is qualified and robust in order to give the chiropractor the very best understanding of the human spine. Over the next 3 years I am undergoing courses so as to give myself an edge. With the education, and aforementioned credentialing, I will be able to communicate with other professionals such as neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, hospitals, etc. The credentialing speaks to the medical professional because of it's backing by the S.U.N.Y Buffalo Medical School and Texas College of Chiropractic, now Cleveland-Kansas City University. The program also speaks well to my strong sense of being a chiropractor first and unwilling to "sell-out" my professional philosophy. They have done what very few, if any have done before them and created a program to bridge chiropractic and the medical professions without requiring chiropractic to disown all that makes it unique, effective and different from the medical profession.
Just look at that previous paragraph. It looks like a sales ad for the Academy of Chiropractic. I guess you could say that I'm very excited to be taking classes from them. I am excited at the possibilities that could potentially open to me by diving into such a singular program. What's best? I get to go from "specialist" (chiropractor) to "expert" (Primary Spine Care). I am given the opportunity to move closer to mastery.
Chiropractic school teaches us how to be chiropractors... a specialty. It is almost exactly the same way medical school creates medical doctors (either specialist or general practitioners). The issue is that most people come to us, chiropractors or medical doctors, because they believe we are "experts". Unfortunately, we are specialist not experts. The medical community figured this out a long time ago and created a continuing education program that takes the practitioner from "specialist" to "expert". This is why, with medical doctors especially, there is so much emphasis on their curriculum vitae (C.V.), where they were educated (trained), or where their continuing education has taken them (even general practitioners are specialist for the "general" population and hone their skills through education and experience).
Chiropractors, I will compare them to orthopedists, graduate with a certain level of education and experience. They have endured the rigors of the education process, multiple national board examinations (possible state board examinations), hands-on clinicals (similar to medical internship or residency, as well as the chiropractic equivalent of "rounds"), and have begun their practice. Their education has made them a specialist, much like an orthopedist is a specialist in orthopedics (branch of medicine dealing with the correction of deformities of bones or muscles), a chiropractor is a specialist of the spine, primarily its function as a neuroskeletal system*. Many of us chiropractors also take our education further by learning the interplay of all the articulations of the body, basically we learn to identify abnormal joint motion in any joint and how to correct it if applicable.
*Neuroskeleton is an old term used to describe the interaction between the spine and the nervous system. It is not a term used anymore, except by few, but the more I learn and read about how chiropractic is different from its medical counterparts the more this term is apt. It embodies the essence of how chiropractic works and why everyone should get checked by a chiropractor routinely.
- Chiropractors, however, lack the continuing education system to make them "experts", much like a "general practitioner" lacks the education to be a specialist. This is one very important reason why there has been a sharp decrease in "chiropractic expert witness" over the last 20 years in the courts. This is why the chiropractic profession enjoys only 8% of the United States population utilizing it's unique style of care. No one has taken up a continuing education program that takes Doctors of Chiropractic from specialists to experts... Well, that is not entirely true. There are organizations that offer diplomates and certifications in various specialties, but these practitioners tend to see less and less patients as they are attractive to large institutions, such as hospitals and schools. Also, the programs are mad-expensive and in order to take such a program one must take out a loan... Or the time-expense; these programs are setup like school, so you must leave your practice in order to participate in most of them. None of this appeals to those of us who cannot afford it or have families to consider.
The program I am enrolled in has positioned itself by partnering with a medical school to give up-to-date credentialing and created chiropractic courses for chiropractors is the Academy of Chiropractic. Dr.'s Mark Studin and Bill Owens have gone to great lengths to create a program that is qualified and robust in order to give the chiropractor the very best understanding of the human spine. Over the next 3 years I am undergoing courses so as to give myself an edge. With the education, and aforementioned credentialing, I will be able to communicate with other professionals such as neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, hospitals, etc. The credentialing speaks to the medical professional because of it's backing by the S.U.N.Y Buffalo Medical School and Texas College of Chiropractic, now Cleveland-Kansas City University. The program also speaks well to my strong sense of being a chiropractor first and unwilling to "sell-out" my professional philosophy. They have done what very few, if any have done before them and created a program to bridge chiropractic and the medical professions without requiring chiropractic to disown all that makes it unique, effective and different from the medical profession.
Just look at that previous paragraph. It looks like a sales ad for the Academy of Chiropractic. I guess you could say that I'm very excited to be taking classes from them. I am excited at the possibilities that could potentially open to me by diving into such a singular program. What's best? I get to go from "specialist" (chiropractor) to "expert" (Primary Spine Care). I am given the opportunity to move closer to mastery.
