these is important. Canadians mostly have cash-based practices. These particulars may result in some variations in practice. For instance, the way a Canadian chiro- practor communicates with patients will be different – he/she will place a lot of em- phasis on his/her own education and how to best talk to patients who are paying out of pocket for services they want to under- stand clearly. As well, beliefs and attitudes toward care, and taking responsibility for one’s health, vary slightly between the two countries’ systems.” Therefore, if a DC is investigating the possibility of working with a coach who is based outside of his/her country, it might be worth investigating how well that coach understands the environment in which the DC is trying to grow, both professionally and personally. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS Regardless of training, coaching method, experience, etc., coaches and practice con- sultants will agree that a DC must strive to work with someone who: • is adept at effective communication, • can properly assess the DC’s needs, • respects the DC’s paradigm and who he/she is, • has a value system that resonates with the DC • practices ethical strategies, and • who “walks their own talk”. 3 Janice Hughes adds that it also might be worth asking whom the coach is coached by? The choice of the coach, for his/her own support and growth, can be revela- tory in terms of the values and paradigm of that coach. ONE CHIROPRACTOR’S MODEL At the outset of Part II of this article, it was pointed out that there are several ways to choose a chiropractic coach or practice consultant. This also applies to choosing CE practice management courses offered through the various chiropractic colleges – an option which is beyond the scope of discussion for this article. The article has been an attempt to collate and discuss those elements which seem common to coaches/consultants and DCs in terms of what the relationship should entail and how it should progress, but is, by no means, the fi nal word on this subject. Dr. Patrick Milroy, who practices in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has devised a graphic (Figure 1) to help him sort out what he might glean from any professional devel- opment activity, be it clinical/practice man- agement CE courses or coaching services. The graphic considers doctor satisfaction and fulfi llment from these activities, but also takes into account how participating in them will impact on patient satisfaction. (See Figure 1 on next page.) “The graphic can help me discern who the coach is that I want to work with,” explains Milroy. “Ideally, I want to implement that which plots close to doctor and patient satisfaction on the two graphics. To maintain a healthy bal- ance, for any given issue, there should be a high patient satisfaction and a high doctor satisfaction.” Milroy points out that this graphic can be used to assess just about anything that a chiropractor wishes to implement into practice – the closer one can plot to both doctor and patient satisfaction, the more likely it is that the DC is making a good decision in choosing that strategy for his/ her particular practice. www.canadianchiropractor.ca CANADIAN CHIROPRACTOR | DECEMBER 2008 • 35
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor December 08: Page 35
