Chiropractic at a crossroads Palmer’s Chancellor: Unity is essential for chiropractic to grow


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Issue 12 - September 2003

Chiropractic at a crossroads
Palmer’s Chancellor: Unity is essential for chiropractic to grow
By Linda Segall

DAVENPORT, IA — Ask Chancellor Guy Riekeman, DC, what makes Palmer College special, and he’ll answer: “It’s in the bricks.”

According to Riekeman, those “bricks” are more than the physical structures of the oldest college of chiropractic, which stands up the street from the banks of the Mississippi River. “Those bricks” are the heritage and the history of chiropractic and “a feeling that when we make decisions, it’s not just for Palmer but for chiropractic’s future.”

On a flawless weekend in early August, “those bricks” resonated with the future of chiropractic as 3,422 doctors from various schools, students from many colleges, and faculty converged on the college for Palmer Chiropractic Lyceum, whose theme was “Revolutionize Tomorrow! Changing healthcare one patient at a time.”

The theme echoed throughout the three plenary sessions as well as the 100 programs presented throughout the weekend. And the theme underscored Riekeman’s thoughts as he talked with Chiropractic Economics about the future and profession of chiropractic.

“I think that the profession is at a crossroads,” said Riekeman. “There are two extreme scenarios, both possible: If we continue to have three professional associations that can’t get together, I think we’re put into an adverse situation. The profession will have people — like physical therapists — intruding into it and the original principles of chiropractic will be far removed.

“But if we can get unity of action in politics, public relations, insurance, legislation, education and standards of practice, then the profession is poised to have significant impact. We are at a threshold,” he declared.

Taking a P.E.E.K. at PR
Doctors who attended the Saturday plenary session at the Palmer Lyceum 2003 were invited to pick up and use a Patient Evening Event Kit (P.E.E.K.) to help launch a grassroots public-relations effort.

The kit included:

• A five-step outline on putting together a successful patient evening.

• Reasons why an office should participate.

• A sample patient letter.

• An event plan.

• Marketing strategies.

• A sample ticket sheet.

To request a kit, call the Fountainhead Programs division of the Palmer Institute for Professional Advancement at 866-592-3861.

Unity of purpose is imperative, and to achieve it, “We need to agree on three areas, in this order: our core values (guiding principles), content and management for practices and the profession.” said Riekeman. “We haven’t even addressed the core values issue yet.”

The Palmer chancellor, who heads up a university system comprised of three colleges, a research center, a history foundation and a post-graduate education facility, enumerated the top five needs the chiropractic profession, all of which impact on revolutionizing healthcare:

• Patient education. “The number one thing doctors of chiropractic need to do to increase their practices is educate their patients. You increase utilization with education.”

• Support for a national association. Everyone in the profession needs to support one of the associations, in order to give them resources, said Riekeman, admitting that, “this will require a leap of faith.”

• Public relations. Public relations must be driven at a national level as well as at a grassroots level. “The national associations haven’t produced continuous funding for this. Palmer has made a commitment to work on the national level.” Riekeman said he and others are working on PR behind the scenes.

‘It’s in the bricks!’

Take a walk around Palmer College of Chiropractic and you get a sense of history. On walls and in nooks and crannies, you’ll find the words of B.J. Palmer etched in epigrams, such as:

• When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.

• Chiropractic is health insurance: Premiums small; dividends large.

• Enter to learn how (above the entrance of the clinic building). Go forth to serve (as you leave the clinic building).

• Students come in search of an education and leave with a philosophy of life.

“B.J. left a mark on the profession,” said Chancellor Guy Riekeman, DC. “That gets reflected back to the school. The lineage is subtle but real.” The Palmer family’s mark is one of the things that differentiate Palmer from other colleges, according to Riekeman.

Another is its approach to education. “In Florida we have restructured how we deliver chiropractic education,” explained Riekeman. “We focus on four educational tracks each quarter: fundamentals, structure, care and practice. This is an integrated curriculum. We put students into groups of 12 who work with a faculty member as a group for the entire year. The curriculum is structured around what they need to do clinically.”

Innovation aside, Riekeman sums up his perceived difference between Palmer and other schools: “It’s just in the bricks.”

Additionally, Palmer made available to Lyceum attendees a Patient Evening Event Kit (P.E.E.K.), a package designed to help launch the grassroots PR effort.

• Research. “Doctors of chiropractic like it but don’t like to support it,” said Riekeman. “Research is new for the profession. The first money didn’t come from the government until 1992.”

• Publishing. Riekeman observed that there is a dearth of books about chiropractic on popular bookstore shelves. “We aren’t even on the radar screen! How can we expect people to know about us if we aren’t published?”

In addition to listing the top needs of chiropractic, Riekeman identified the top barrier to the profession — fear. “We have a fear of the unknown that isn’t real. We are afraid that the insurance companies will take money away. We fear that if we raise educational standards, we won’t have enrollment. We live in fear that is unfounded.”

Despite these needs and barriers, Riekeman is optimistic about the future of chiropractic. “I am not a naysayer who says we have too many doctors of chiropractic. We are keeping up with the pace. ‘Too many’ is based on the assumption that people will use chiropractic for a limited number of visits [authorized by insurance]. If patients saw chiropractors for regular lifetime family care as recommended, we wouldn’t have enough! There are unlimited possibilities for graduating DCs.”

Linda Segall is editor of Chiropractic Economics.

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