Do you really know what is happening in your practice?

I'm not talking about statistics this time. I'm talking about do you know about what is happening within your practice, but outside of the room that you are in? Is what you’re doing and saying congruent with what your staff are doing and saying as well?

I've always found that a successful chiropractor (and I'm not necessarily just talking about volume- rather impact) is one that is congruent with both their philosophy and their actions. When we look at the clinic as a whole however you can have a congruent chiropractor and have staff members perhaps not doing what has been agreed on.

Whenever we have had new Chiropractic Assistants (CAs) start (and we've had some fantastic ones)- I've always stated that I will never hear what they say if they are saying the right things. I will however develop super hearing skills and hear things that SHOULD NOT be said from the very back of clinic.

Let me give you some made up examples-

• "Oops."
• "Just come in whenever you feel like it."
• "The bleeding should stop soon."                                                       

If you are hearing these things be alarmed!

So how do we ensure the right procedures followed? We start with scripts, training and role playing!

In our practices, we usually have an 8-12 week training period for new CA's culminating in a "solo shift" whereby they run the entire practice with one or two Chiropractors on shift. This "pressure test" shows us where they are doing well and where they need further support. Their training beforehand is such that we all do whatever it takes to have them succeed with the pre-determined and set date solo shift!

By the end of the training we have a very well prepared and empowered CA!

So what about after the training is long complete?  Wouldn't you love to be a "fly on the wall" in your own waiting room while you are on shift? Wouldn't you love to see how your staff interact with your patients? Perhaps it is just me.

I wanted to know what happens in aspects of my practice that I didn't always have the opportunity to. I have observed Associates and CA's in the past have found them to be overly nervous and VERY aware of my presence giving me an artificial reality.

So I went and got a GoPro and started experimenting (with the staff and patients permission of course!) I started focusing on the interactions between myself, my staff and my patients. It blew my mind!

What did I see?

1. I spent a lot of time stooped over patients and needed to correct this. Done!
2. I saw slight imperfections in examination techniques.
3. I also had an ongoing habit of saying "Does that make sense?"- it's an ongoing issue so please pull me up if you hear me saying it again!

Videoing (with consent) certainly helped our practice- and it can certainly help yours.

Here's the rules if you choose use video in your practice;

1. Get permission from both your patients and your staff.
2. Respect their decision no matter what!
3. Never record in a room that patients are getting changed.
4. Critic yourself first, before your staff. Even get them to critic you!
5. Once they see you are open to criticism, tell them 3 things they are doing well and one thing they may need a little more support in- and then you are on your way to a great team.
6. Redo the videoing down the track and track improvements.

Update:

I ended up getting a few more cameras, some special software, further training, and created a product we called "Black Box" which allows us to follow an entire practice for a shift and trace a patient’s interaction as they pass through. If you'd like to find out more Click here.