Diversifying chiropractic by reaching out
By Angelica Redleaf, DC

On the front page of the November 2005 ACA News was an article entitled “Blueprint for a Better Chiropractor.”

This article addressed the 30 percent to 40 percent decline in enrollment in chiropractic colleges in the last 10 years — a fact that many of us are probably not aware of.

In the article, Dr. Fabrizio Mancini, president of Parker College of Chiropractic, said: “We are not meeting the needs of the minority culture groups that grow every year. It’s important to attract them, so that when they graduate, they can go back to their communities and encourage more people to become chiropractic doctors or patients.”

I agree with Dr. Mancini.

My practice is in an area in which many diverse cultural groups have settled in the past 10 years or so. In my community, the dominant minority culture is Dominican, followed by Puerto Rican, Cambodian, and Guatemalan. Many members of the community are also from Africa, as well as other Latin countries.

I would guess that 80 percent of my patients are from non-white cultures.

I like the diversity, because I like being around people from other cultures. I learn from them. They enrich my life and make it very interesting.

In a previous article (Vol. 51, Iss. 17), I wrote about my background as an immigrant who needed to learn the English language and how my background made it possible for me to enjoy my diverse practice.

Here is a sampling of the different culture groups and some of the individuals you might meet in your offices. I urge you to learn about these cultures and how to interact with them. Your life and practice will be richer for it.

• Nepal. You might have a female patient who is learning to be a pilot and brings her ideas about life, religion, family, and health.

• Native American. You could be treating a patient who is a dance teacher and through her learn about the challenges facing her outside of a tribe, as well as the special gifts she brings her students.

• Lebanon. The next patient could be from Lebanon and getting a PhD in public health, and share her thoughts about healthcare — how it is provided in her native country, compared to what she has experienced in America.

• Africa. You might be able to guide a newly arrived Nigerian who is learning English to some community resources, and help him settle in more comfortably.

• Mexico. This patient might even be illegal. Can you welcome her and treat her with the same respect and compassion that you give all our patients?

Each of these cultures is different from one another. People from these cultures have different attitudes about being touched, about health, healthcare, gender, and doctors. Are you prepared to take care of a variety of patients like those above?

Get your practice ready for diversity! It’s an area for growth — personal and professional.

Angelica Redleaf, DC, has been in practice in Providence, R.I., since 1978. She is the author of Behind Closed Doors: Gender, Sexuality & Touch in the Doctor/Patient Relationship (1998) and is an instructor on boundary training for ChiroEcoCE.com. She welcomes questions that may be appropriate to answer in this column. She can be contacted at angelchiro@aol.com.