This topic contains 4 replies, has 2 voices, and was last updated by 
Eric Lambert, DC April 2, 2018 at 10:23 am.
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Brandon Cohen DC, CSCS
I just finished up a career day at one of my kid’s school and there were 12 presenters. Several health care providers (Me, a nurse, a nurse practitioner, a paramedic, a flight medic) and as I listened to their little intros noticed that they all take a history, identify the problem, and solve that problem. One of the most rewarding things about their jobs is that they get to “fix people.”
This isn’t a comment as to how or what they do, as far as I know, they are all hugely capable and competent in their scope. I sat there pondering how to distinguish myself and what I do from what everyone else does, and then how to convey that to 4th and 5th graders. I was reminded that all of my communication should be digestible to these kids as well.
In my brain, I was going to say something like, “My name is Dr. Cohen and I solve problems. People come to me because they hurt, we talk about what their problems are and watch them move, and then I tell them what is wrong and how we are going to fix it.”
The Nurse Practitioner said, “Being a NP is hard work, but very rewarding. I take a history of a persons illness, accident, or injury, do a physical exam and then tell them what I think is wrong. I then order tests, treatment, or medications to help and fix them.”
Now, I understand that when I explain what I do as a doctor to people and how I’m great at figuring out what’s wrong (diagnosis) they look at me with the “well, that’s obviously what a doctor does” look. In a conversation, I can communicate the hammer and nail analogy and have a discussion about what’s different. In a conversation, I can say, “I have a degree in chiropractic and am a soft tissue specialist.”
I found myself not only trying to distinguish myself from other chiropractors, but also from other health care providers. What is the play in this situation? Do I focus on overuse MSK injuries (what I did), or do I focus on the problem solving and adhesion? There are probably several other options I have not considered.
Cody Scharf, DC
Just avoid career days with other medical providers.
But seriously, my play would be to focus on our specialty, which is finding and fixing adhesion. Your communication to 4th and 5th graders should really not be any different than the conversation with your patients. “Adhesion acts like glue and sticks muscles and nerves together causing decreased flexibility, pain, and weakness. This glue, or adhesion, builds up over time when we overuse our bodies. I am an expert at finding and fixing adhesion AND the ONLY one certified in the state of California (I think)….”
Christopher Stepien
Facebook and IG is laden with MSK and pain-fixing doctors. The conversation is noisy.
I don’t see much about adhesion except from ID providers. We’re more hedgehoggy discussing adhesion.
Brandon Cohen DC, CSCS
Thanks team. I’m always looking to be more hedgehoggy. In this scenario, the goal is to get kids to come and ask questions at your table after the intros, and its hard to compete with people who have a whole fire truck, pictures of whales, a 5lb model of fat, pedometers, bandages and the like. In the second round I just tried to rely on charisma and humor and a bunch of kids came to my table at the beginning but had no interest in adhesion. #priorities
Eric Lambert, DC
Another thing you might want to bring is some props. I did something similar back when my son was in 5th grade. I brought marshmellows and licorice and had the kids make spines. They could eat them afterward and had a ton of fun doing it. Yep, it was a chiropractic lecture, prior to ID training. But the same principle could work good with some props on muscle adhesion and having the kids participate some. Guarantee that the other medical professionals don’t bring too many cool props that educate these kids too. Good luck
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