What’s the Point?

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I’ve been invited to be a Panelist at the Canadian Chiropractor Business and Professional Growth Forum at McMaster University in June.  The panel discussion will be surrounding Social Media and its role as a business tool.  I was asked to participate primarily because of my blog, but I must admit, I feel like a bit of an impostor.

An impostor, because the primary purpose of my blog is not business-building.  Far from it- in fact, it has very much become a hobby, a passion, a creative outlet.  I would be writing this blog whether I was a waitress, a scientist, or a stay-at-home-mom.  I look forward to clicking ‘publish’ every Tuesday morning, and I have a notepad on my bedside table for when ideas wake me up at night.  Certainly it has helped to grow my business, as perhaps it’s made my name come to mind (and to Google) when people think of ‘Burlington’ and ‘chiropractor’, but that’s been a bonus effect rather than the ultimate goal.

I’ve always loved to write, and this blog began nearly two years ago when I was starting my six-month maternity leave with my daughter.  I had been considering my own website, and a blog seemed like a nice way to personalize it and keep it current.  The feedback I received was encouraging, and to my surprise, my readership grew quickly.  A year into it, Momstown asked me to be a Guest Blogger for their National site, and my ‘Letter to My Husband‘ and ‘I Hope you Always‘ posts became #1 and #3 respectively on their 2013 most-read list.  DR.WOROBEC.COM now averages about 2000 readers/month; some posts have hit hot buttons (‘I am a Chiropractor‘) and some have fallen flat (‘6:00 AM‘), but I can genuinely tell you that I’ve been proud of each one.  My writing fills the creative gap in my life that I didn’t even know was missing.

So, like I said initially, I feel like an impostor at the upcoming forum.  But maybe that’s a good kind of panelist to be.  Authentic.  Genuine.  Honest.  I’m what-you-see-is-what-you-get.  Perhaps that’s the point.

Cdn Chiro conf

For interest’s sake:

  • ‘Break the Silence‘ was my most personal post and the only one I’ve questioned publishing.
  • ‘Gifts and Gifts and Gifts, Oh My!’ is my favourite post.
  • ‘The Blogs of 2013‘ was the most fun to write.
  • Most reads in one day: 3190 (‘I am a Chiropractor‘) on Sept 27/2013.
  • I get nasty, rude comments on a post every few months, but I need to ‘approve’ each comment before it’s posted on the site, so you never see them.
  • My husband is my editor.
  • 319 people receive weekly blog post updates by email.  Join them by clicking ‘Follow’ at the bottom of this site.

Adjusting your Perception

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This week’s post is about professional communication, and in this case, a lack thereof, on my part.

Incident 1:  I was out for a run with a friend who strained his calf muscle.  This friend did not know that I ‘treated running injuries’.

Incident 2:  A current patient, whom I was treating for low back pain, twisted his knee and was unaware that I could help.

Incident 3:  A friend at the gym hurt his shoulder, but didn’t know that chiropractors ‘did shoulders’.

Sometimes I find myself feeling pigeon-holed by the term chiropractor, as people tend to have a pre-determined opinion about what that entails.  Spines, right?  ‘Cracking’, right?  The thing is, I do much more than ‘spines’ and ‘cracking’.  Chiropractors are musculoskeletal (MSK) specialists, and MSK boils down to ‘muscle’ and ‘skeleton’, meaning muscles and joints.  That’s our forte, our talent, our strength.

thomas edison doctor quote

So, I wanted to let you know what I do on a day-to-day basis at the clinic.  What I really do– which is perhaps different than your perception of what a chiropractor does.  I use various treatment techniques, because patients, injuries, and circumstances cannot be one-size-fits-all:

  • A.R.T. (Active Release Techniques): a ‘soft-tissue/movement-based massage technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, and nerves’.
  • Graston Technique: ‘instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization’ that is used to ‘break down scar tissue and fascial restrictions’.
  • Acupuncture
  • Joint mobilization and/or manipulation
  • Kinesiology Tape/Rock Tape
  • Physical therapy modalities
  • Exercise Rehabilitation

I have a special interest in sports injuries, so a large part of my patient base is made up of active people.  I’m an athlete, so I ‘speak athlete’.  Another special interest of mine lies in paediatrics, so I have many patients in my practice who are children- from squishy lil’ newborns to temperamental toddlers to Bieber-crazed pre-teens.  I’m a Mom, so I ‘speak Mom’.

It is my goal to get you out of pain.  It is my goal to speed up your body’s healing process.  It is my goal to figure out what caused your injury.  It is my goal to give you the tools and knowledge to prevent your injury from reoccurring.  I want you to feel better, faster.  That’s the name of the game.  That’s what I do.  And I love doing it.

A Female Chiropractor?

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BSAS LogoI have had some interesting experiences at work lately.  As many of you know, I have recently relocated my chiropractic practice, so this means I am meeting many new faces and being introduced regularly.

A couple of these recent introductions have produced some……. disheartening? annoying? disappointing? eye-opening? thought-provoking? results.

On two separate occasions, once in-person and once on the phone, people have asked me if I am the new massage therapist.  Now, before I go on, let me make something perfectly clear: I am not the least bit offended about being assumed to be a massage therapist.  I love massage therapists.  I have many friends who are massage therapists.  I think it is a very valuable and important profession.  What I am offended about is the fact that I was assumed to be a massage therapist because I am female.

I can’t say that I’ve experienced a glass-ceiling effect or sexual prejudice in my career thus far, at least not overtly, unlike many of my female counterparts in the corporate world.  But I have experienced assumptions, differences in behaviour, and innuendoes, which are all ripples beneath the surface of gender discrimination.

This question would not be posed to a male.  People would assume that a new male staff member is the new chiropractor, despite the fact that more female students are now enrolling in Chiropractic Colleges than male students.  Despite the fact that it is common to see male RMTs, especially in sports-based clinics such as mine.  Despite the fact that it says ‘Dr. Worobec’ on my shirt.

Let’s stop under-estimating women in the workforce.  I know female truck-drivers, and police officers, and welders.  These women excel in their professions not in spite of, or because of, their gender, but because of who they are as individuals.

Let’s teach our girls that their goals and aspirations are not limited by their gender.  Let’s teach them to dream of being a firefighter, or an astronaut, or a surgeon.  Let’s teach them that they can do it too.

Let’s teach them… and let’s re-learn it ourselves.

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