UPFRONT | Columnist BUSINESS TALK Being bigger than institutions W Practicing DCs need to become ambassadors of the profession BY DR. ANTHONY J. LOMBARDI, DC hat a tumultuous two years this has been. In between changes in world leadership, pandemics, travel restrictions, and business closures our profession has quietly been changing too. Did you know? Of the 45 chiropractic institutions worldwide that only 14 have retained the word chiropractic in the school’s name? Of those 14 schools with chiropractic in their name only four are in the United States (Texas, Sherman, Palmer, Life West) and only CMCC sports the name of the profession in Canada. Most recently New York Chiropractic College shed chiropractic from its name and became Northeast Col-lege of Health Sciences. This trend worries me. I fear that a serious identity crisis in the profession is on the horizon. School are trading the chiropractic name for a more general, generic, better marketable moniker. This might be understandable if the schools were in financial peril, but most chiropractic institutions are on solid financial footing. Most recent annual financial reports show that NYCC has over $50 million US in as-sets – yet they still ditched chiropractic from their name. Questions ANTHONY LOMBARDI, DC, is a private consultant to athletes in the NFL, CFL and NHL, and founder of the Hamilton Back Clinic, a multidisciplinary clinic. He teaches his fundamental EXSTORE Assessment System and practice building workshops to various health professionals. For more information, visit www. exstore.ca. 12 Chiropractic and Naturopathic Doctor September/October 2021 www.Cndoctor.ca Photo: © Monkey Business / Adobe Stock What does this tell chiropractors in the profession? Does it suggest that schools are putting profits ahead of preservation of the profession? Clearly these name changes have been encouraged by the sharp decrease in enrollment and in order to maintain profits, the institutions feel that a more generic name will attract a more diverse array of post-graduate stu-dents to their school to enroll in allied health curriculums. I wonder, how many medical schools or dental schools are no longer called medical or dental schools? Chiropractic has a young but rich history. Will it hurt our profession if the schools that teach future ambassadors of our profession no longer make chiropractic a visible priority in their own insti-tutions? Does the mass re-branding of chiropractic schools across the world also re-brand the profession of practicing chiropractors? The answers At first this bothered me. Then I thought that I needed to take a step back and take whatever positive aspects from this academic trend. I pondered: Do chiropractic schools make the profession? Or, do practicing chiropractors set the tone for the future? There are tens upon tens of thousands of practicing chiropractors worldwide: What are we doing to demonstrate and foster pride in the profession? The best we can do is to demonstrate clinical and civil greatness through our actions. Practicing chiropractors can make an impression on other chiropractors, chiropractic students, allied health professionals and patients, simply by being good role models and positive mentors in the profes-sion.
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor September/October 2021: Page 12
