MESSAGE BOARD FOR POSTING THOUGHTS, CONCERNS AND EVENTS
Message Board
ACBC's "Best of
Conversation"
Competition -submitted 6/10/03
The recent announcement of Vancouver's winning bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics brings up an interesting conversation on competition. Competition in B.C. chiropractic is discouraged, individuality is punished and both the chiropractors and the public are hurt because of it. The B.C. College of Chiropractors have determined that all chiropractors should APPEAR to be the same and practice the same ART of chiropractic. This is absurd! Art is individualistic. Who we are as an individual has a direct affect on who we are as a chiropractor. Remember the famous commercial by Apple Computers? The commercial showed hundreds of people who looked the same and dressed the same - working at a factory and watching their leader, on an enormous video screen, emphatically state their position and how everything is perfect. Suddenly, a woman dressed in a running outfit sprints down the aisle with a giant sledgehammer. The woman stops, spins in circles with hammer and launches it at the enormous video screen - shattering it into millions of pieces. Continuing this commercial is up to you.
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Do you want to continue status quo? |
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Do you feel the public really respects us because of our advertising guidelines? |
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Do you feel it benefits the public to think, "once you've been to one chiropracTOR, you've been to them all", because we can't advertise techniques/specialties or unique services offered? |
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If competition and individuality is wrong - why have the Olympics, music, cars, clothes, make-up, art, culture? |
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If competition and individuality is wrong, why can a person with a Yugoslavian last name advertise his last name? After all, it gives him an unfair advantage over me (my last name is Scottish) in the Slavic community. |
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Does strict advertising guidelines promote animosity and jealousy in our profession or a more respectable profession? |
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Does the public know there are different techniques of which one might work for their specific need and another might not? |
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Does the public know not all chiropractors are the same? |
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Does the public know if they have a "bad" experience with one chiropracTOR - a different chiropracTOR/technique might provide a "good" experience? |
Honestly, are you happy where our profession is doing? Are YOU happy with your current status? ChiropracTORs are unique individuals who are not afraid of living on the edge and being the lifeline for people seeking wellness. Will you join me in HEALTHY competition? Raise our level of expertise? Educate instead of mentally masturbate? Together, in competition, we can turn on more people to chiropracTIC and it's benefits - let's throw the sledgehammer through the fragile window of the College and lay the groundwork for something special!
-B.C. Palmer
Are we in the DARK? - submitted 8/25/03
It seems, once again, the chiropractic profession is sitting in the tent, on a cold rainy day, instead of gathering wood to keep the fire going. How much longer will we have to watch other professions benefit from "discounted" initial exams, coupons for a free service, or actually being allowed to operate like a business. Last time I checked my lease, my taxes and my utility bills - none of them stated, "because you are a chiropractor, you are exempt from paying our business rates (electricity and phone), nor did my landlord say, "you are a chiropractor, so I will let you operate as a non-profit, you don't have to pay me the going rate for square footage." If I am the only one who is experiencing this, sorry, but I think there are many others of you in the same boat - so why are we not allowed to operate like a business? Granted, we are in the service/HEALTH care (not disease care) industry, but this doesn't mean we should be relegated to anonymity. There will always be people who judge chiropractors, regardless of what we do or don't do. Some judgments will be deserved, some will be ridiculous and ignorant, however, racism is usually stems from a lack of knowledge - if we were able to expose ourselves and our profession to more of the general public, by means of advertising, coupons, discounts or (god-forbid) a free service do you think the public would think less of us? Do you think there is a way to offer our services through unique advertising, or discounted services while maintaining integrity? Why are we restricted as a business, when the college doesn't pay the lease for us if we cannot? I ask you to speak up for our profession at the AGM in Nanaimo!
-B.C. Palmer