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I recently viewed a talk given by Dan Barber that got me thinking about the doctor/patient relationship, please view it below.  He told the story of a Spanish farmer and his award winning foie grae.   Foie Grae which is made from goose or duck liver has been in the news the last few years.  It was recently banned in Chicago (since overturned), and there’s been talk about its ban in other cities.  Many think the process that is commonly used to produce it cruel, as it involves force feeding the animals large amounts of grain.  This force feeding produces a large and fatty liver, considered a delicacy.  However this Spanish farmer doesn’t do any of this.  Instead he works with nature giving the geese anything they want, he has created a sort of goose paradise.  The geese range free through goose designated areas, where the electric fences are built to keep predators out, not to keep the geese in.  They have all kinds of wonderful foods to choose from, including olives and figs which grow in abundance.  They so love it that they will call to over flying wild brethren to come join them, who then stay for good.   The geese then naturally gorge themselves in the fall to prepare for winter, no force feeding required.  In return for this goosey paradise on earth they only have to give up their lives and their livers.

What does this have to do with the doctor/patient relationship? To my mind the relationship between the farmer and the geese was a win-win.  I know that some are thinking that the geese pay the ultimate price for it.  But I suspect that if we were able research it, we would find that these geese live a longer life than their wild brethren due to the lack of predators, plentiful food and significantly decreased stress.  Their livers then go to support this haven for future generations.  This in turn allows the farmer to continue to enjoy his life as caretaker to the geese (which he obviously does) and also to pass it on to his children as it was passed on to him.  Please watch the video below, as I am not doing this justice.

What is the lesson of this Taoist parable come to life?  Well I think a Taoist master would say that the farmer is living in balance with nature(or the Tao is you prefer), that by becoming a servant of the geese his needs are then also served.  I feel this is a very useful lesson in life including the practice of chiropractic.  So many times different agendas and motives come between a doctor and patient.    It is almost universally agreed upon within the chiropractic profession that patient education is a practice must.  The beliefs/perspective of the chiropractor can rise to the level of dogma.  We hold them as absolute truths, and believe that those who ignore them will suffer.  Therefore it becomes our duty to save the world, “one spine at a time”.  If this sounds familiar its because it shares the same consciousness level with all fundamentalism, whether in the form of religion or scientism.  Of course there is no shortage of practice management companies to fan this fire.  They fan these fires to increase enthusiasm and  to help increase the “us versus them” divide.  It also helps give rationale to their shock and awe practice management tactics, that milk every last visit from patients through fear based  manipulations both subtle and gross.  This inevitably this leads to an us versus the patient mentality.  Which is really an “us vs. nature” consciousness, or maybe unconsciousness is better.  This system requires more and more energy to maintain it, which takes the form of the constant hunt for new patients and better methods to control them.

You can  see where our Spanish goose servant’s arraignment with his flock exists at a much higher level.  Of course we don’t want our patient’s livers, but payment of a fair fee does represent a portion of their life and energy.  So how do we create this relationship with our community that seems to create more energy than is put into it?

The first thing is to determine what the patient wants.  I don’t think we want to get too complicated here, just keep it simple.  Primarily they want to feel better as quickly as possible and for as long as possible,  to be treated fairly, and they want the honest truth.  Secondarily they want convenience and a pleasant atmosphere and experience.  Some may even want to know in greater depth about chiropractic and how it works, these people will ask you about it.

Give the people what they want and trust them to know what they need.  Don’t assume the world needs you to save it.  Much harm has been committed under that banner.

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