With the recent organized attacks on chiropractic it appears that chiropractors are ‘pulling their heads in’ and laying low. Not willing to ‘rock the boat’ or state their position they are shrinking to an apologetic life of victimhood and settling for living below the line of accountability.
This strategy results in chiropractors’ outreach to the public being negatively affected. Lower service rates obviously affect income and we are seeing many chiropractors (especially in Australia) taking a drop in income. This obviously is the desired outcome of the vested interests, which conspire to eliminate (or more accurately, contain) chiropractic.
Many in our profession question the ethics of marketing chiropractic in any area that deviates from mainstream health/disease care. They claim that it is unprofessional to promote our cause in this way. They cite the “proper” professional standards as exhibited by medicine as being a worthy model to emulate because they practice using objective, scientific principles and do not utilize advertising. These seemed like interesting concepts worthy of exploring a little further.
This begs an ethical question. What are the responsibilities assumed by the bearers of a body of knowledge, products and services that have value for the public? Is it professional to promote, advertise and market our products, services and ideas? Is it ethical to make sure every person knows the whole story about living a chiropractic lifestyle or is it only ethical to tell the bits that fit within the currently held paradigm?
In checking the dictionaries, the word profession has a primary definition that relates to professing or declaring, the root word profess is to make an open declaration or to affirm. To be professional one needs to profess one’s understanding to the world. This doesn’t mean just a little bit of understanding like “chiropractic for ‘hot’ low backs”, this means the entire reality of chiropractic utilization as evidenced by our clinical experience, science and other measures including our considered opinion.
The end result of our professing could see a positioning of chiropractic as the service people think of first when they think of highly trained professionals that focus on improving quality of life and optimal function.
I will continue this thread in next week’s blog.
