Veteran chiropractors offer newbies tips for practice success

Aspiring chiropractors got a dose of reality from experienced practitioners at the recent Practice Opportunities event hosted by the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC).

Feb. 21, 2014 — Aspiring chiropractors got a dose of reality from experienced
practitioners at the recent Practice Opportunities event hosted by the
Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC).

At a panel session, sponsored by the Ontario Chiropractic Association, a
group of veteran chiropractors offered some first-hand insight to
chiropractic students about the realities of practice and the keys to
achieving success.

“If you don’t know where to start, get
experience from as many practitioners as you can. Seek out mentors,”
said one of the panelists Dr. Arif Alarakhia, founder of Physical
Therapy One, a group of 12 clinics in Ontario providing
multidisciplinary health care.

Alarakhia, who graduated from
National University of Health Sciences in 1999, knew early on he wanted
ultimately to own his own practice and work alongside other health-care
practitioners.

CMCC Practice Opportunities 2014 provided would-be chiropractors insight into the realities of practice. Panelists included (L-R) Dr. Arif Alarakhia, Dr. Anthony Lombardi, Dr. Katherine Tibor, Dr. Josh Binstock

Although he started out as an associate at a
chiropractic clinic, he learned what he can while he was there and, when
it was financially feasible for him, he left the clinic to start his
own practice.

Alarakhia added that new chiropractors today may
have an easier time getting into multidisciplinary practice as it has
become more of the norm in recent years, whereas it was a new concept
when he started out more than a decade ago.

Another panelist,
Dr. Anthony Lombardi, who owns the Hamilton Back Clinic, based in
Hamilton, Ont., echoed Alarakhia on the importance of having good
mentors.

“Find someone or some people who fit your belief systems. No one does it alone,” Lombardi said.

He
also offered his own advice: “If you provide outstanding clinical
results within the first three patient visits, people will refer you.”

Lombardi explained this strategy has worked for his own practice and helped him build up his patient base.

“Ask
yourself, ‘Am I giving the patients what they want or am I giving them
what I want them to have?’” Making the process easy and convenient for
the patient is also key, from booking appointments to actual treatments,
Lombardi added.

The panelists agree the best way to achieve success in practice is to take a patient-centred approach.

“Focus
on the patient and what it is they are looking for,” said Dr. Katherine
Tibor, who was also part of the panel. Tibor graduated from CMCC in
2006 and is now the owner and clinic director of a multidisciplinary
wellness practice in the Don Mills community in Toronto.

She said
figuring out what the patient’s goals are and being aware of their
limitations are important in providing patient-centred care. “Referring
out is also part of that patient-centred care,” she added.

Tibor also pointed out the importance of being part of a community and constantly finding opportunities for learning.

“There
is a lot out there to learn,” she said being part of a peer group
offers some good opportunities to get some professional advice. “There
are some things that you just cannot get out of a textbook. You need
that advice.”

Another advice from another chiropractor: “If you
want to be an effective practitioner and leader, listen and accept with
humility feedback that other people have for you.” These words of wisdom
came from Dr. Josh Binstock, a 2009 CMCC graduate.

Aside from
being a chiropractor, Binstock is also an Olympic athlete. He played for
the Canadian beach volleyball team in the London 2012 Olympics.

His
challenge has been finding a balance between his chiropractic and
athletic careers. But that has not stopped him from pursuing to build
his practice.

He urges would-be chiropractors to be resilient.
“You’re going to have negative things happen; you can’t be emotionally
attached. Look at things with objective perspective.”

Chiropractors
also need to look at opportunities for growth outside their clinical
practice, said Alarakhia, such as giving back to their community.

“Be conscious about social responsibility as well,” he said. “Give back. The rewards and impact you will have is unbelievable.”