As chiropractors studying the human body, we see that a healthy, optimum functioning body requires the coordinated effort of every aspect of the body. No cell, no tissue, no organ, no one system by itself will cause us to experience the highest levels of life expression. It takes teamwork.

Teamwork causes teams and families to be successful. Teamwork causes our body and our practice to be healthy. Let’s look at teamwork in your practice, but let’s look beyond us and our staff to the five Cs of chiropractic practice.

Community
Obviously, this is the town we live in. It contains young and old, dark-skinned and light-skinned, highly educated and not-so-educated, influential and barely known, affluent and destitute, white-collar and blue-collar, the young and restless and the mature and restful, and everyone in between. Which of these people do you desire to serve? Where will you go to give them a chiropractic health talk? Where will you go to screen them?

Crowd
It is wise for a chiropractor to live in the town where he/she practices. As we shop, get involved in local civic groups and organizations, participate in hobby clubs, coach youth teams, or talk with other parents at children’s events we attend, we are developing ties in the community. The crowd consists of the people we see on a regular basis and this enables us to build credibility with them. When dealing with the crowd, seek first to understand, then to be understood.

Clients
When a person comes to our office and begins chiropractic care, they have become a client. We may call them a patient, a practice member or simply a person, but then I couldn’t call this “The Five C’s of Chiropractic Practice.” How many people live in your town? How many have been to your office to begin care? What percentage of your community or crowd are clients? Is this percentage increasing each year? Or, for the larger picture — if your town is growing, are you willing to hire more DCs to care for them or help a new grad open up down the street?

Many times it seems that the chiropractor with the “broad scope” has a narrow focus and fears the competition of another DC. Frequently, it is the chiropractor with the “narrow scope” that has the broad focus and the dream to see all people receiving chiropractic care on a regular basis.

Committed
Honesty is always the best policy, and so we must now realize that not all of our clients are committed to some sort of regular schedule of care. Those that are represent the committed group. These folks may be committed to regular care for reasons that are different than what we would like. They may be coming in because they want to prevent a certain pain, ache or illness from re-occurring, or because they paid for a year in advance and figure they’ll get their money’s worth. Perhaps it is because the insurance pays, so why not; it can’t hurt.

Regardless, we understand that they will be healthier people functioning at a higher level when the spine is free of subluxation and so we continue to educate and serve. Wouldn’t it be an interesting statistic to calculate the percentage of our clients that are committed?

Core
Last is the core group, the clients who come to understand what B.J. Palmer always referred to as the “Big Idea.” Our staff is obviously a part of the core group, as is our spouse and our children. Extended family doesn’t always fit into this group, and some clients never get to this point. Are we being creative enough to educate and challenge the thinking process of our clients in order to facilitate more of them becoming core people?

Our offices frequently resemble a little one-room schoolhouse where we have people in different grades, with varying levels of understanding. What an exceptional challenge to be able to assist so many in their growing and healing process. While all these categories of folks do refer clients to our offices and are deserving of our services, it is the core group that is central to the mission and purpose of our practices.

The PSCA chiropractor can change the face of chiropractic and health in his/her community, and together we can change the perception of chiropractic in South Carolina. Teamwork will make the dream work. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.