Don’t Tell Me What You Believe In, Tell Me What You Know – Part 1
January 18th, 2010 // 7:00 am @ Thomas A Owen III // 2 Comments
Never has there been a time in chiropractic that the phrase; don’t tell me what you believe, tell me what you know been more important. You see the power in the difference of knowing vs. believing is astounding.
I remember a story about Dr. B J Palmer that gets to the essence of what I am saying here. It was told that local leadership had asked Dr. Palmer if he believed there was a God. To which Dr. Palmer replied “No!” His answer spread like wildfire throughout Davenport. The gossip amongst the people was that Dr. Palmer was an atheist. Dr. Palmer then went onto his local radio show to dispel the rumor by saying that he had never gotten the chance to explain his answer. He stated the person asked, “Do I BELIEVE there is a God, to which I answered no. The fact is I KNOW there is a God”. There is a marked difference between the two.
The essence of his answer is vital today in the profession that we all love so much. My partners and I travel from coast to coast working with D.C’s with various backgrounds in chiropractic be that technique or schools. However, there is one very concerning trait that we are seeing more often. The fact is many doctors are losing their identity of who they really are as chiropractors.
There was a recent graduate from university, who at his graduation stated to his fellow graduates, while still holding their newly acquired diplomas in their hands, “well, what exactly are we? I think we are glorified physical therapists.
The true science of “above, down, inside, out” is being lost. The power of knowing what occurs in a chiropractic adjustment is becoming an unknown. If we aren’t careful we could lose our identity as a whole within the next generation. Think about that for a second. The name chiropractic itself is being removed from the very title of the schools that are representing it.
I think we will continue to expand on this issue on our next visit. This is too important of a topic.
My question to you is “Did you graduate with a strong foundation of chiropractic philosophy?”
Category : Blog &Featured Work &Identity
Dr. Mathey
2 years ago
Tom,
I know what you are saying. I’ve only been out of school for 7 years and I heard a lot of the same in school and when I graduated. With your continued efforts in the profession, I see us headed down the right path of identity and uniqueness that is called ChiropracTIC! We WILL succeed! One ChiropracTOR at a time!
Thomas A Owen III
2 years ago
Dr. Mathey,
We must all work together to insure the identity for EVERY chiropractor. Thank you so much for the feedback. Please let me know of any other topics you would like discussed in the future.