The 11 Building Blocks to an A+ CA

Chiropractic assistants are not born – they are made. CAs like your children, your patients, and your life are a reflection of you and what you taught them. If they are going to assist you they have to be an extension of you. Although they all are individuals with unique personalities, and traits, all CAs can be trained if they have the right building blocks to work with. These are the ones I look for:

1) Humility and Willingness.

Its nice to know what your CAs past accomplishments are but if they are too caught up in them, you may find yourself struggling with their pride and arrogance. The most important thing I look for in CAs is willingness. Willingness to change, grow, explore, to do what’s right regardless of their ego. If a CA is willing he/she is trainable without hassles. They can still be assertive, but their desire to change for the overall good of the group and it’s mission prevails. Remember, “God apposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Without this building block you are destined to spend your time and energy with hassles and confrontation.

2) Faithful and Trustworthy.

When a CA has these traits you can turn your back and walk away to focus on what doctors are best at. A CA who is faithful and trustworthy gives the doctor more security in practice. When CAs are honest in everything they do and never “cover up” it builds faith and trust and the doctor worries less. Faithfulness comes from a trusting relationship with the doctor. The CA must see the right purpose, moral virtues, upright character, and integrity in the doctor. CERTAINTY will bring out faithfulness and trustworthiness. CERTAINTY comes from a conviction to a mission and purpose.

3) Congruent Purpose and Mission.

The CA must be congruent in the purpose and mission of the doctor and clinic. They have to understand chiropractic philosophy and the damaging effects of subluxations. In addition, they have to be congruent with the mission of getting chiropractic on the healthcare teams of families to improve their health potentials. Therefore, they must be in logical agreement with lifetime spinal maintenance.

4) Servants

CAs need to be servants. They need to want to help people. This means sacrificing to a degree. Staying late, coming in early and going to the office when not expected to and never complaining are signs of servanthood. Servant CAs are not “nickel and dimers.” They serve from their heart and give from the goodness of their soul. They know inherently they will “reap what they sow,” yet they don’t look for anything directly in return for their service that goes the extra mile. Their motives are pure, and they are not selfish. They are the ultimate team player.

5) Team Player

When a CA is selfish, like any team member, it destroys the team. CAs need to understand that the clinic team grows together, as well as falls together. When the clinic grows financially, the CA should proportionately. The staff must be educated as a team so everyone is on the same page. Weekly clinic meetings are essential, and mandatory. There should be open communication for clearing any problem, receiving help and support, having fun and sharing wins. Strategies for improvement should be discussed as a team and each person should take responsibility freely. Each team member must remember they influence every situation in some way and should look at how that influence applies. If they think they had no influence they cannot be an effective part of the solution. All team members must acknowledge their influence and what they could do to improve any situation. There is no room for “I don’t know,” “I didn’t do it,” or “Its not my job.”

6) Enthusiastic

CAs have to be excited and passionate about chiropractic. If they are “9 to 5” CAs they are not enthusiastic. Enthusiasm comes from belief in the teams mission and purpose. Each patient getting better through chiropractic care is the fuel for more enthusiasm. All a CA should need is the core philosophy of chiropractic to get enthusiastic about the possibilities it brings to humanity. If you have to keep “pumping up” your CAs, they are not enthusiastic about chiropractic. Testimonials and successes should be shared in the office from not only doctor to CA but CA to doctor. Enthusiasm comes from the Greek “en theos” or “in God.” God says to do all work as if you were working for Him not for man, and to do it zealously (enthusiastically). Chiropractic is God given for us to use to serve mankind.

7) Common Sense

CAs need to be perceptive and have common sense in dealing with people and their problems. Take a “street-smart” CA with common sense over the “educated,” intellectual, anal types. They will deal with the life’s situations realistically and be a comfort to your patients.

8) Good Communicator

Good communicators listen, duplicate, and facilitate. CAs must know chiropractic philosophy, the two types of chiropractors, technique principles for scheduling, refocusing strategies, and problem handling. They must know how the mind works and how people make decisions. Since the CERTAINTY Seminar is a communication seminar, we teach these strategies and more. With good communication skills your practice will flourish, but it must be a team approach.

9) Self-Starter

With all of the aforementioned attributes, it should promote your CA to be a self-starter. Some people are just not self-starters and always have to be told what to do. Look for slothfulness (laziness), selfishness, greed, and procrastination, as causes of not self-starting.

10) Multitasker

Multitaskers basically think about and can foresee outcomes before actions are taken. Therefore, they learn to juggle. Wayne Dyer called them “ten baggers.” In a grocery store one employee can bag ten bags to another’s one. Ten baggers will always be ten baggers and one baggers – well enough said.

11) Health Minded

Do your CAs take care of their health, and their families health? Look around and see if their family and friends get adjusted. Do your CAs try to eat right, exercise and get adjusted? OK, please at least say yes to the last one!

Look for these eleven building blocks in your CAs. Then strengthen them with your education and influence. If you happen to come to a CERTAINTY Seminar bring your CAs, FREE, and see how they will develop into A+ CAs.