As a long time CA, there is nothing more frustrating than hearing about a DC who refers to their team members behind the desk as receptionists or secretaries. The lack of respect here is alarming. Not only for the CA wannabe, but the DC as well!
Does a Chiropractor not deserve to have a Chiropractic Assistant? Dentists, Optometrists and many other health care providers have them and we should as well.
While there might be some similarities in some of the responsibilities in terms of day to day office skills, as soon as someone has earned their stripes in a chiropractic office they should be lovingly referred to by their DC’s as CA’s or Chiropractic Assistants.
We don’t just book appointments or answer the phone. We are well armed with a wealth of knowledge (if we’ve been trained properly) and a heart for an industry that is unlike any other health modality out there. We get to witness miracles on a day to day basis and support our DC’s in the education of the practice members on chiropractic terminology and the principles of self healing.
We get excited to talk about Innate Intelligence and how our bodies actually heal themselves when subluxations are removed. We schedule Recommended Schedules of Care and can reinforce to the patient why it’s so important to not only preschedule this, but to follow it as closely as possible. And if one has to be missed why it is so important to make up that appointment as soon as possible. We have role played this to the point where it easily rolls off of our tongues in support of what you the DC has already told the patient.
When your practice members hear your recommendations, backed up and reiterated by your CA behind the desk, it lends the patient to believe that “Hey, maybe there is something to this!” and they become more likely to follow through with care.
We, as CA’s, know how to answer the phone with a smile and that extra wow factor that differentiates for the person calling that they are in fact calling their chiropractor – someone who cares about their well-being and not the MD’s office who has spoken to 500 people by noon and is monotone in their responses!
We know how to make that person on the phone feel welcome and dare I say, hopeful, before they have even put a foot across the threshold of our office!
We, as CA’s, are capable of running Health Care Classes, and answering questions, freeing up the DC’s time to go home to family, or get other things done that better serve their time management.
We, as CA’s, can manage the nerve scans for the patients and take notes for the examination. We can even ask appropriate questions on intake and record the answers so the DC doesn’t have to ask the question and can therefore focus and expediently move through the discussion and examination with the new patients and/or with patients who need re-exams.
Patients love when they have more than one person in an office who takes care of them. It enhances the experience and expands the love and concern felt for them.
We, as CA’s, manage the desk, take payments, answer the phone, print receipts and occupy little Johnny in the waiting room while Mom and Dad get their adjustments in peace, until it’s little Johnny’s turn on the table. All the while holding a baby who may or may not be thrilled to be held by someone else other than Mom!
We assist with marketing, manage deposits and financial reports, and make sure the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed on each patient’s paper and digital files. We tidy the office and make sure office supplies and inventory are up to par.
And most importantly we LOVE the patients that walk in the door and feel a sense of responsibility for their experience in the office. We want to see them be well as much as you do.
We are their cheerleaders and celebrate the milestones with them when they move to the next stage of care.
If you don’t have a CA that is managing all of the above then I would say you probably do have a receptionist behind the desk.
And I would also say that you have the wrong person, the wrong idea, and the wrong job in mind versus what is actually needed and what is actually a fundamental force for driving your Chiropractic office to the next stage.
Raise your expectations for the person behind the desk. It will raise the vibration of energy in your office and drive up your bottom line.
A RockStar CA is worth their weight in gold.
A clearly outlined Outcomes Assessment document that details all that you expect of your CA is the key to making sure all facets of the office are covered and your CA remains challenged and focused on your ideal practice. As well, constant training and upgrading of skills is a rewarding way of facilitating growth not only in your CA but in your practice as well.
If you have a CA that needs some TLC and has the potential to be RockStar, please check out Full Circle’s CA Training program. It’s been developed by our own RockStar CA and CA Trainer, Shazia Pehlvi who loves to share her love of chiropractic with other CA’s.
Believe me, there is more than hope here for signs of life! Let’s give your CA the training they deserve to become a RockStar CA so you can focus on adjusting and creating your most ideal practice!
