EPISODE 440: MPI Mastery Spotlight with Eric Eiselt DC
Hey, chiropractors. We're ready for another Modern Chiropractic Mastery Show with Dr. Kevin Christie, where we discuss the latest in marketing strategies, contact marketing, direct response marketing, and business development with some of the leading experts in the industry.
Dr. Kevin Christie: [00:00:00] Welcome to another episode of Modern Chiropractic Mastery. This is your host, Dr. Kevin Christie, and today we're doing a MPI Mastery Spotlight. This is with Dr. Eric Eiselt, who's been practicing for about 30 years now, and we dive into some of the essence of what it's, um, taken for him to build a. Really like a raving patient base.
Just a, a remarkable practice, uh, within a big group practice. And we dive in some of the nuances of group practice as well. Uh, present time, consciousness, you know, really building rapport with your patients. See's someone that has done a great job of doing that. And we get a lot of great wisdom and insights, uh, from Doc on this, uh, particular episode.
And, uh, you know, I challenge you. To check out the MPI adjust athon. One of the things we do talk about in this episode is kind of your core product of palpation and manipulation. And so the MPI adjust athon, uh, which is gonna be September 27th and 28th. [00:01:00] In Kansas City, you're gonna have Mark King, Brett Winchester, and Lindsey Mua, Eric Merick.
Corey Campbell, Terry Elder, uh, all there plus others helping out to teach the palpation and the adjustment. And there are two tracks. Uh, there is the student track and there is the DC track. I was, uh, there last year. Uh, my associate, Dr. Gage Winkle's gonna be there this year. Um, I really enjoyed it, and the DC track really helps with more advanced palpation and adjustment with other, uh, you know, advanced dcs.
So check that out. Whether you're a student or a doctor, it's geared towards both of you. And there is a job fair aspect to it as well. So if you're looking for talent or you're a student or a doc looking for a job. Um, there, there is kind of a, uh, cool DC student and intern if you're looking for preceptors, uh, match, um, process they have there.
So check that out. You can go to motion palpation.org, click on their seminars. Highly [00:02:00] recommend it. This is the Super Bowl of adjusting, so check that out. All right, without further ado, here is my interview with Dr. Eric Eiselt.
All right. Excited to have Dr. Eric Isit on the, uh, call today here to dive into a little bit of background on, uh, practice some things to consider as a practicing dc but before we dive in, all those things, doc, tell us a little bit about yourself personally, professionally, and we'll, we'll go from there.
Eric Eiselt: Okay. Thanks for having me. Um, I practice in Cincinnati and, uh. In a, uh, large group practice with, uh, eight other chiropractors, um, practices, Mark King and that group, Mount Lookout Chiropractic Center. Um, I've been in practice just shy of 30 years. It'll be 30 years in March. So, nice, excited and still have the, uh, fire to keep doing it every day, which I love.
All my patients ask me when I'm ready to retire 'cause we just added my son to the Yep. To the practice. And, um. I said, I'm not going [00:03:00] anywhere. I'm sorry. I, uh, I love what I do and uh, I'm gonna keep doing it as long as my body will let me, uh, keep adjusting people and taking care of people. So, um, I think that's the main thing is I still love what I do after almost 30 years.
Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah. And I think that's gonna be a, a big thing we tackle today is 'cause you know, I talked to a lot of chiropractors and I, I can't say that they all feel that way. And some of 'em are only five years in or 10 years in. So we, we will, uh, tackle that for sure. And so 30 years, I'm in my 20th year and mm-hmm.
Uh, yeah. You know, you get to that point where. You, you gotta be able to love what you're, uh, what you're doing. And, um, that's something that I think, um, alludes a lot of people. I think there's definitely some strategies in that, and I, and I do want to tackle that, but before we do, uh, I wanted to, I actually wanted to tackle the group practice thing a little bit first, so.
Mm-hmm. You know, what would you say are some of the, what do you love most about having a, a group practice type of setup? And if you could. [00:04:00] I mean, obviously it's pretty self-defined, but if you could define a little bit what that is and, and then why you like it.
Eric Eiselt: Sure. So like I say, we have multi doctors in there from chiropractic standpoint.
We also have physical therapy. Um, we do have functional medicine, so you kind of get a little bit of everything. We have had some acupuncture in the past, um, but all the pro practitioners all kind of have their own little strength and weakness. And I think the big thing with that group practice setting is we all kind of have to know what that is.
And if you're not, you know, I'm not a rehab guy and it's, it's, that's just not my thing. Um, we've got a guy or gal that can do that in the office and you just know like, Hey, I've got you adjusted. Well, why don't you see one of these other docs from here on out? And, um, they'll do some rehab on you. Or I don't do dry needling.
I'll send 'em to one of their docs for my son now is in, he's doing a great job with it. Um, and so I think Mark and I are the only two that don't do dry needling in our office. Um, but it's just, it's [00:05:00] not that we don't want, it's just there's, there's other things we can focus on and we have better strengths and kind of keep the whole practice moving in the right direction.
And, um, I think that's a big thing. I think if you start getting egos in the way it gets, that's when it gets, you know, a little hairy and dicey. Mm-hmm. Um, so I guess, you know, know your role and know. What you're best at and kind of stay in that lane and then let everybody else do their thing. And I think that helps a lot.
Mm-hmm. And, you know, I think the other thing is just try not to micromanage everything and everybody, you know, like, I know it could be easy for me to micromanage my son now that he's there, and I really don't, I really don't. I, I totally stay away from that, you know? Mm-hmm. He'll ask me questions. We have dinner here and there, and, and just one-on-one and say, how's it going?
What do you have questions with? I try to help him obviously in every way I can. But I don't wanna be on his toes like, Hey, why did you adjust that per, I never would do that or say that He'll ask me. Mm-hmm. And so as a, you know, as a group practice with numerous owners and stuff, that's the one thing I don't [00:06:00] think we want to do or can do because it gets frustrating for those other docs or associates, if that makes sense.
Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah, it does. And I think you, you know, you mentioned the strengths. That's obviously a huge positive is that as a collective and as a group, the practice can offer things and Right. It doesn't mean every doctor has to do everything. And I think a lot of right chiropractors get bogged down where they're trying to do everything for the patient.
Right,
Eric Eiselt: right. And I, yeah, and I think that, you know, I dunno if we'll touch on this later or not, but you know, as in you see some of these new practitioners, and I think they're. They're trying to dive into every single thing for every patient. And, and I mean, I've been doing a long time and seeing a lot of people and you know, I think there, you know, Tom Lotus has said it for years, you know, you gotta, you know, categorize these people and, you know, get 'em in the right place and mm-hmm.
I think sometimes as a young doctor, you want to do everything to 'em, let's do grass and let's do needling. Let's do, you know, some DNS. And you just throw too much at 'em. And I think it just overload for one, their body and two, [00:07:00] their brain. There's like, what just happened to me and why was all this? I think I'm more of a step by step, like, we're doing this for two weeks.
If we don't see an improvement, then we'll move on. Um, it's worked well for me. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it has worked well and I try not to throw too many things at 'em. You know, everybody like, Hey, can I do traction? I can do this. I'm like, no, that's just too much for you. And, um, I think that's another thing is, you know, you can't throw everything at everybody right away, is my, it's just my own opinion.
But, um, and it's worked so far and I think some of these younger docs may get a little frustrated at times and don't know what to use and what tool and, you know, to throw out 'em. So, yeah, I
Dr. Kevin Christie: wanna ask you a question on that and, uh, you can punt it if you want, but I get it, I get this a lot. Right? So, for instance, in our practice, we, we do chi, you know, we're MPI, we do a RT rehab, and we also have, have shockwave, I'll just use this as an example where, uh, I'll get a patient comes in.
Treat them for a few weeks, maybe we're hitting our head against the wall for something and then I recommend, you know, like, why don't we [00:08:00] try the shock wave for it? Right? And, and they might, uh, say it doesn't happen too long, but they might say, oh, how come we didn't do that from the beginning? Mm-hmm. And I'll, you know, what, what's your conversation with that patient where you've tried something for a couple weeks and then it maybe did hit the, your head against the wall and then you tried something else within your office and then it worked.
Yeah, and then it works. So like do you proactively say, well this is why we didn't introduce it the first couple weeks. I thought we could get, get it done with this? Or like, what are some of the conversations around that?
Eric Eiselt: That's one of 'em is just saying, yeah, I thought, you know, I've done this for. 20 years, let's say, before shockwave, and I got people better and I'm actually gonna throw everything at you right away and, you know, maybe increase your cost just because, you know, I'm trying to feed the, the pocketbook.
That's not what I'm into at all.
Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm.
Eric Eiselt: Um, you know, the money will come if you just take care of 'em. I mean, that's proven. I've proven that year after year. Um, and show 'em that you care, that kind of thing. But yeah, I mean, I've done that like, well, let's try traction now. And I'm like, we're, we did that because I wanted to get more joint movement.
I didn't want [00:09:00] that thing as stuck as it was. And then let that traction be more valuable to you. Or let's work on these muscles a little bit, then let's do the shockwave or dry needling or whatever. But um, yeah, I've had those conversations numerous times with, yeah, why didn't you do this two weeks ago?
Well, you weren't ready for it is another word that, I mean, are words that I use, like you just weren't ready for it.
Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm.
Eric Eiselt: You have to do this systematically, and if you don't, I think we fail. And I've done that. I've done too many things at one time. And it fall. Usually you, you fall on your face when you do it.
So, um, yeah. So sometimes you just say you weren't ready for it.
Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah. That's the beauty of a treatment plan is that you Yeah. You know, you're, you are progressing and regressing sometimes. Yeah. And you're not ready for it. Uh, I know one thing that I've kind of brought up a couple times where I'll be like, you know how sometimes there's levels to care, there's conservative all the way into surgical, and there's these different, right.
Ways we can go with it. And a lot of times people have to refer outta their office, do that. Well, we have a lot of things in our office and just like that, we're, we're starting with what we think we can get done with the, [00:10:00] the, the quickest and easiest for you. And that just didn't work. In this case, it's worked a lot, but just like anything it didn't Right.
And we're gonna try the next step in this phase.
Eric Eiselt: Well, and I think when it comes down to that report of findings, maybe for the younger doc and even in the older docs, because we get, we get in a rut. I mean, we all do. We all have. And if you say you don't. I, I think you're lying kind of a thing. 'cause we all, we all have done it is at that report of finding, you say, look, here's what I'm gonna offer the first couple weeks.
We have a ton of other things we can throw at this. We have laser shockwave, you know, taping, whatever, strapping, you know, we have different things we can throw at this, you know, plantar fasciitis or whatever it is. That's a little harder to get after it.
Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm.
Eric Eiselt: Um, but I think if you tell 'em right away, that's helpful.
Like, oh, there's more to this. You know, there's more to this than just, you know, one thing, an adjustment or just some muscle work. And then they say, Hey, remember when you said that about, am I ready for that? Then they'll, they'll open up about that. So, mm-hmm. Um, I think it comes down to the report of finding, just letting 'em know these are all the things we can do because you can put as many signs in [00:11:00] your office and as many billboard or those, you know, banners and stuff like that on the tv.
We do all this and they're like, oh, I didn't even know you adjusted extremities. I'm like, what? It's going across that banner like all time. So, yeah. You know what I'm saying? So sometimes you just have to lay it out on that report of findings and then say it again. Because that first day, they're in a lot of pain.
Mm-hmm. And they're just not listening as well as you think they are. So you gotta kind of keep leading 'em, leading 'em along, along with what you're kind of seeing, so they know.
Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah, makes sense. Makes sense. I want to one, one more topic within the Yeah. Group practice aspect is, um, you know, getting to know the docs at your practice and things like that over the years.
Uh, do you feel like, like, so way I kind of would categorize certain things is within a group practice, obviously you could have partners, but you could also have a situation where not everybody are, are partners, but there's a sense of being kind of an intrapreneur where you're like, maybe you don't.
Maybe one of the docs or some of the docs in a particular group practice don't own or [00:12:00] have ownership, but they, they feel like a sense of growth within the group. Has that been something that's been key for Mount Lookout, would you say?
Eric Eiselt: Yeah, and I think, you know, mark set it up that way, that everybody kind of feels like they have some ownership, quote unquote, but by, Hey, if we, if we collect this or that, you get a bigger bonus.
So you want, you know, and if somebody else sees your patient, you know, you're, you're bringing it into the office still while you're gone. And it, and it allows, um. You know, a growth of, of collections and then they get a bonus off of that. Is that, is that kind of what you're asking about? Yeah,
Dr. Kevin Christie: exactly. Yeah.
Where and, and you just feel like, you know what, yeah, maybe I, uh, I don't own the building and I don't own this, but, but I feel like I've got a sense of ownership and I've got growth within this group.
Eric Eiselt: Yeah. And I think if you don't do that, then you're just, then you're fighting for every single dollar and you know, we all, we all wanna make a living doing this.
But you don't, I mean, you can't have too much competition in the office where you're starting to fight with each other. That just doesn't work.
Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah.
Eric Eiselt: Um, and know, I don't know how many offices have as many chiros, um mm-hmm. 'cause we do in one place, a lot of times. [00:13:00] There's a lot of those, you know, family.
Practice, I think out in South Dakota and stuff. I know there's like a group of like nine brothers and cousins and stuff that work together, but you know, it's sometimes family's even worse. But, um, anyway, yeah, it's tough when you have different personalities, but I think you have to make sure that everybody is on the same page to try to grow that whole place and not just their own practice.
But if you, if you're growing your own practice, you're growing the whole practice too. If you know what, you know what I'm saying?
Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah, no, absolutely. Within that. So I think that that's a key. 'cause obviously you'll get some practices where they, maybe they have six or seven doctors, but it's owned by, uh, one person and then everybody's on kind of a tough, let's call it a tough compensation structure that isn't really fruitful, and they just have a lot of high turnover.
I think one of the things that's been pretty cool for, for you guys is the longevity of, of those, the doctors that are staying with the practice.
Eric Eiselt: Right. And I think, you know, like I said, it comes down to Mark being a leader and saying like, Hey, you know, I'm gonna do it this way and you guys will be part of the, the leadership [00:14:00] group, or, you know, you're gonna make better, you know, hey, if you, if you all grow together and mm-hmm.
So, you know, you each have your own silo or vertical within, and if we keep, if everybody keeps growing their vertical, then the whole practice will grow. But you do it together and try not to fight with each other.
Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And then, um, I want to take us into the, the treatment room for a minute here.
Uh, mm-hmm. Uh, one of the things of getting to chat with Mark and Donna both a lot, and they, they've both said the same thing, where you, um, you have a, a good knack of patient communication, but also, you know, you're, you're busy, you're, you're a real busy doctor, but the patient, uh, feels like they're, they're not just a, a, another number and, and you're able to main maintain kind of that.
Pre present time consciousness with, with the patient. What are some of your insights when you're with that patient and, and really, um, uh, listening to them and, and, and, and being an advocate for them?
Eric Eiselt: Okay, yeah. Um, [00:15:00] so I've probably had this thing like, I don't know, it's kind of a weird, weird analogy, but you know, when Michael Jordan put on his uniform.
He was ready to play and ready to go, you know? Mm-hmm. He, he didn't wear his uniform around, uh, town and do anything, but he was focused on that. Not only, so when I walk in those doors, my whole thing is my personality's the same. Like, I'm always the same, even keeled guy. And, and um, you know, I'm not grouchy or anything like that.
If I have a bad day or something's going on, I, I cover it up as much as possible. 'cause the patient doesn't need to see that. Mm-hmm. So I have the same, same hype, you know. I don't wanna say I'm hyperactive, but pretty close. But I, I walk in and, and it's all about them. Mm-hmm. And I'm, I'm happy to see that, that person that day, even though I may, I mean.
Even though they're probably not the most, you know, enjoyable person to be around, I gotta make it like they are. Yeah. And you know, my, my staff, they just always say, well, all your doc, all your, all your patients think that they're a [00:16:00] VIP around here. And I said, mm-hmm. All right. Then they're, then I've sold them because that's what I want.
I wanna walk in and make sure that they know that they're the only one I'm worried about right now. And at that time, and they're a VIP, you know, and I've, I've said that when there wasn't anybody on the waiting, we're like, what's going on? There's nobody waiting for you. I'm like, I don't know, just. I tried to roll out the red carpet for you.
I heard you were coming in. Uh, the, I guess the staff didn't get the red carpet out in enough time, but they were like, they look at me like, wow, they, he really does, you know, care about me. Mm-hmm. And I've always said when they, I like, Hey, how's it going? How was your weekend? What's going on? And they turn and say, Hey, enough about me.
What about you? How was your weekend? What's going on with you? Did you go to any concerts? Do anything, did you make anything? Did you grill anything? I'm like, okay, what, what just happened here? Like, why are they asking about me? And so. Then, you know, I quote, I don't wanna say that word, but then, you know, you have 'em like they, they're sold and it's almost become, I was thinking about this about two, three months ago.
It's almost like my patients now are just coming in like the, the, the old men and women that go to the [00:17:00] diner and to have coffee with their friends. It's kinda like, Hey, I can go see Eric and then I can also get an adjustment too instead of the other way around. Yeah. And I think, I think it comes down to when I walk in.
I give 'em a high five, I give 'em a NI, you know? Mm-hmm. I'm like, Hey, how you doing? I mean, every single person, I shake their hand when I walk in or I give 'em a high five. I'm like, Hey, how's it going? Are you feeling better? You know, give me, you know, let me know how things are going. And they tell me. We talk, I talk to them while I'm doing a stretch, um, some, mm-hmm.
You know, muscle release techniques or, um, Graston I'm doing. Those things, but I'm talking to 'em, the whole, like having conversation with them. Mm-hmm. Um, and it, it usually has nothing to do with their health. It has to do with their life. And I know a lot of people would say, you know, you're supposed to go in there and talk only about chiropractic.
I'm like, I haven't done that in 30 years. I, I don't, because I wanna get 'em off of that whole, I want 'em to think about life and what's going on. And a lot of times what I do is I key in on something. I'm like, wait, wait, wait. What's going on? [00:18:00] That's why you're having these issues. You are stressed out because you know this is happening with your daughter and she had, you know, a miscarriage or whatever, and all of a sudden you start thinking like, Hey, okay, that's why this patient's not getting this.
They're stressed out, okay, we gotta talk about this. And then they know like, you care. So a lot of those conversations lead me into what's going on in their life. The next time you say, Hey, how did the such and such go? And they're like, how do you remember that? I'm like, well, you told me. I'll remember it.
That's kind of the way I am. I'm a little weird, and I tell 'em I'm a little weird with that, but that's, that's okay. But I'm focused on, you know, what's going on in your life and I wanna make sure that it's just not about this adjustment. It's about. What's going on? Are you stressed? Are you having, you know, other things go on that you know you need help with?
So, um, yeah, it's just going in and, and just showing excitement and making sure they understand that I'm, I'm in that time with them and I'll go in with a patient for two to three minutes and I'll walk in the next room like, man, you were in there for not very long. Like, yeah, they weren't that, [00:19:00] not that difficult.
They adjusted their ankle and they went down and did some therapy on it. And then the, I'm in that room with them less than I was with the patient. They're like, Hey, thanks Doc, I'll see you later. Yeah. Like I just laugh. I'm like, I was in that room less time than I was with the last patient, but they thought I was there for 10 minutes.
But it was because it was all about them for that time. Mm-hmm. Does that make sense?
Dr. Kevin Christie: It it does, and it, and it always brings me back to, I've been kind of ruminate on this for a few months now. I saw it probably like an Instagram reel or something, but it's a, it's the idea of being, you know, the, a thermostat versus a thermometer.
And it's just saying is like the thermostat sets the temperature of the room, whereas a ther thermometer reads the temperature of the room. And too many people are the thermometer. Versus the thermostat and you like really going in and setting that tone when you go into the room can make all the difference in the world.
And, and second to that, um, uh, Dr. Bobby maybe had done a, uh, CSA, we have the Chiropractic Success Academy and he did a lesson on the idea of [00:20:00] difficult patients. And I actually released. The audio, uh, on, on a podcast, uh, a, a month or so ago, and it was the idea of like, there's this situation happening with a lot of chiropractors in general where they think a high.
Percentage of their patients are difficult people, but it's more of the fact that they, they just maybe don't mesh with them. Exactly. Like maybe they wouldn't go have a beer with them. And so, because they wouldn't go have a beer with 'em, they, they consider them a difficult patient. And if that's gonna be your measuring stick of a difficult, difficult patient, you're gonna have a, a long road ahead of you.
A hundred percent. And what are, you know, I, what are some of your thoughts on, on that conundrum?
Eric Eiselt: Man. Yeah. I mean, we all have, we've all had 'em. We all have 'em. And they're just like, oh, you're difficult. I kill 'em with kindness. I just, I kill, I mean, even, I don't know if they'd be rude, but just kill 'em with like, trying to open 'em up a little bit and like get, get in there and, and get their psyche and like, [00:21:00] what is, what do, what makes you click?
Like what is it? And you'll find out, you know, they wanna talk about their, their favorite thing is gardening. Well, I don't really garden, but I like to do landscaping. Say, oh, you get my point. And I'll start. Just, just something they're like, wow, this. You just gotta connect. The bottom line is you gotta find that connection with each person.
And I don't, I don't know if you, if you can do that, you're, you're golden. If you're not, you gotta work at it. I mean, yeah. So I find a connection with everybody. I mean, even if they don't see eye to eye to me on like 80% of what the world is going, or, you know what I mean? I'll, I'll find that, I'll find 20% and I'll, I'll build off of that.
That's, that's what you gotta do. Does that make, does that kind of No,
Dr. Kevin Christie: e Exactly. Exactly. It's, you gotta read the room,
Eric Eiselt: I mean. Yep. You know, and it's the way, the way it has to work.
Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah. And I think you just have to go in with that mindset of there Yeah. There's gonna be, we kind of call 'em the 10 percenters where they really are just a miserable human being.
Oh yeah, yeah. But I think what's happened is like people think 50% of their [00:22:00] patients are difficult, but it's more just the fact that, you know, you're a Vikings fan and they're a Packers fan. It's like, well that's not really a difficult patient. Like, no,
Eric Eiselt: but I get along great with them 'cause we talk. We talk how we don't like the bears.
You know, it's like you can figure out like, we don't like the bear sentence. I mean, it's just, you can't not like the lions 'cause they're just so bad for so many years. But you get the point. You gotta find that one thing that you have connection with them and you can't, if you can't find one thing, I mean, yeah, you're probably not in the right profession because there's, you gotta, you gotta connect with your patients somehow.
Some way
Dr. Kevin Christie: you brought that back perfectly. It is. Just find out that you both don't like the bears.
Eric Eiselt: Yeah, I mean, okay, so we can agree on this and we'll move on, and then, then we talk bad about the bears for a while, and then Exactly. You know, and then, okay, now you need to get this adjusted. Now let's go, you know, tap the seat and like, all right, come over here, let's get your back checked out.
You know, but you can, you can sit in there and shoot the crap for, you know, hours if you wanted to. But, you know, the bottom line is we still have to make a living. And so you gotta be able to do that somewhat quick. Give 'em what they need and then, you [00:23:00] know, show 'em the love and you know, tell 'em, you know, stay outta trouble and I'll see you in a week or two weeks or the next day, or whatever it is that you're gonna do.
And they feel like they, you know, they've been in there for 10, 15 minutes and it was probably. Five minutes, seven minutes. I don't know. Sometimes it's, sometimes I'm in there for 10 or 15 minutes and to me it feels like an eternity because I'm like, we really didn't get a whole lot done other than we shooting the crap.
And that's not always good, you know?
Dr. Kevin Christie: So I want to kind of sum summarize a little bit before we move on to our. Uh, last couple topics here, but a few things is, you know, within a group practice feeling like you have growth within that whatever situation the chiropractor finds himself in it, definitely you want to have growth.
Mm-hmm. Uh, two is, is is definitely that present time consciousness, even if you're having a bad day or that person isn't necessarily joyous. Like you gotta go in there and, and set the tone. Mm-hmm. And find that, and, and really find that thing that you can. Uh, connect with and, and really make sure that, um, you're able to, [00:24:00] uh, you know, relate to them.
And it's more than just the, the, the treatment. And then that kind of ties into my, my kind of topic I wanted to cover with you. 'cause you mentioned 30 years and, and having a longevity and you still enjoy, would you say. Those are some of the factors that have allowed you to have the longevity, uh, and, and that fascination and motivation of still this, of this career.
And then is there any other things that have helped you with that, or is it just in your DNA? Uh, I, I think it's a topic that a lot of people are discussing as far as longevity in this career. I would just love some of your insights.
Eric Eiselt: I, I would have to say a hundred percent. It's, I love my patients and I, and I do truly, I don't, it's not made up that I think they're all VIPs.
I want them to feel like I'm VIP and I like 'em. I like each person for what they're, what they bring to, to me, I've learned a lot from my patients and so that every day I go like, I wonder what I'll learn today from somebody, you know? And I think, um, if you go in with that attitude, like you're, yeah, you're the [00:25:00] doctor, but you gotta learn from your patients too.
And that learning could be something outside of. Has nothing to do with their health. But then the other thing is to learn about their, their life and what's going on and how can I make this better for them. You know, if they're going back and sitting in a bad posture or something. Like, they go, wait, what, what, what are you doing?
Where are you doing this work? Oh, I do it at my island in my house. I'm like, oh geez. Like we can't have that. That's a bad situation. And you know what I mean? You, so you're constantly. Digging in their life. And I've told people, Hey, I'm not trying to be nosy. I'm trying to figure out how I can help you the most and not just come in here and adjust you and leave.
And they too, they truly, um, enjoy that. But that gives me the fire to go in every day, to, to learn from my patients is like, how can I learn or what can I do to make them have a better life? And. Live pain-free and enjoy what they wanna do. And if it's golf or like I said gardening or if it's swimming or whatever it may be, I want to get 'em to that [00:26:00] as fast as possible.
Um, so that, that really makes me want to go in every day. Um, I, I just love seeing people and chatting with 'em, but, you know, when I'm done for the day, I don't wanna see anybody. I, I wanna go home and, and relax and not talk to anybody. So you gotta have a little, you gotta have that balance, and I think, mm-hmm.
You know, the longevity is I have balance. I have a good balance between work and my home life and doing the things that I want to do, and not in a selfish way, but just enough that makes me feel good about what I'm doing. Does that make sense? Because I think a lot of people go, go, go, and they never shut themselves down.
Dr. Kevin Christie: I think it's a huge thing, and I think that's something where you've kind of thread that needle of very busy patient base and, and when you're at work, you're, you're, you're humming along. Um, but at the same time you are also probably taking some days off and you're, and you're, uh, doing things outside of that to where you can recharge those batteries.
Eric Eiselt: Right. And I think that ba, if I didn't have that balance, I, I don't think I would've [00:27:00] lasted. I just, you know, mark set it up years ago. He said, these are the hours that you'll work. I looked at it, I was like, what? Like, I only have work two full days because you need time for balance. I'm like, dude, I wanna work eight hours a day every day.
Mm-hmm. That's just the way I'm wired. And he is like, he looks at me like, no, like, that's not how we do things. I'm like, okay. 'cause I was a new doctor. I thought that's just what you had to do.
Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah.
Eric Eiselt: And I, I just said, okay, I am gonna do it. And that's what I've done. And you know, now it's, it's almost. So great.
When you're done on that Monday all day and your Tuesday afternoon, you have that off and you're, you're like, okay, I can do these five things that make me happy. Mm-hmm. You know, that make me relax or whatever it is, and gets my mind off of everything at the office. And so he kind of laid that down and it's like, okay, now I understand.
And I, I hope that doctors are doing that. They're taking some time and, uh, I come home. The other thing that's kind of funny. On my full days, I come home every day, a full day, and I come home and [00:28:00] have lunch, and I take a 10 minute siesta and I get back up and I'm ready to go. I change my clothes, I go back to the office and my patient is like, what do you do for two hours at home?
I said, well, I'm not really there for two hours. I'm here, I'm doing some paperwork. I'm home for about an hour and 25 minutes, and uh, I, I eat lunch, I relax, I, uh, return emails or mainly text. I'm kind of a, you know, one, one of my favorites. And then, um. And then just get things done. So I go back and I have a clear slate and I go back in the afternoon.
I'm ready to go again. Yeah.
Dr. Kevin Christie: No, it makes sense. And I think that's one thing that we take for granted as chiropractors is many of us. And if you're not you, you should have some half days in there in a week. And it's not that, um, you know, it's, it's not an indictment on your work ethic. Right. And, and, and having that, and a lot of other doctors don't have that.
Right. I was like, uh, you know, my mom, my mom recently had surgery and then the doctor was rounding every morning and he, you know, the surgeon, I mean, they got a tough, maybe they're not in the office. All the time, but they're, they're doing surgeries [00:29:00] at a surgery center. They're rounding on this, like they don't have a whole lot of free time.
And, and it's nice for us to be able to have that built in.
Eric Eiselt: Right. And I think that's, that longevity thing is I just, I, I know when it's time and there's mm-hmm. I've, I told somebody the other day, I said, you know, um, there's, there, there can be a Saturday where I absolutely, like I'm spam. Like I, I just need to rest.
And I. I'll just be a whole day of just, I'm doing nothing. I'm not gonna do any yard work. I'm just gonna crash and veg out and do nothing. And it, it, it's like, boom, I'm ready to go by Sunday, I'm ready. You know? And then Monday, obviously it's back in the grind, but, um, sometimes you just gotta take a day and just relax and don't worry about what's going on in life.
And it helps. But, um, I, I just think it's the fire of. Helping people for me, I guess is the probably number one. I love trying to figure things out. I've always been mechanically inclined and like, well that just doesn't make sense. Like this makes more sense. Let's try this. And they're like, wow, nobody else has ever said that.
You know, all these other docs, they're like, well, did they ever examine you? [00:30:00] Well, not really. I'm like, well, we're gonna take a look at how things work. And they didn't, they just took a picture of you. Mm-hmm. Um, with an x-ray. So I think that's the fire too, is I just love trying to figure things out and fix 'em.
And that's. That gives me that every day to get up and go do it kind of thing. Yeah.
Dr. Kevin Christie: On your point of like, just like a lazy Saturday, I heard a, a term recently is, uh, there's a difference between laziness and strategic laziness. Can I use that? Can
Eric Eiselt: I borrow that?
Dr. Kevin Christie: Yes, you can have that. Strategic laziness is important in one's life and you shouldn't feel guilty about it, so
Eric Eiselt: no.
No, I, I, I've proven that over and over. I think this is, this is what, this is what's working. I never, never used this strategic, but I'm gonna have to use that from now on.
Dr. Kevin Christie: Exactly. Now, um, kinda lastly, I know we covered a lot of things that I think would really help DC's. Uh, build a raving patient base, but I think too many are struggling with that.
Is there anything I didn't ask or we talked about in addition to all the things we already did that would help them [00:31:00] build a raving patient base, but anything you recommend them to, to do to, to really get that to that momentum going?
Eric Eiselt: Well, I think well as like from a new practitioner or anybody?
Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah. I would say new.
Someone that doesn't, yeah, it could be anybody, but someone that doesn't have a raving patient base right now and they need that. I know,
Eric Eiselt: I think, well, I mean, I, we didn't even touch on this, but I think the number one thing is please learn how to adjust. Yeah. I mean, I, that's probably the biggest thing is that I, I, people are like, yeah, I went to this, this doctor didn't know how to adjust me and blah, blah, blah, and then you adjust 'em and they're, you know, I heard you can do this, blah, blah, blah.
This, nobody's adjusting. Like, you know, we used to, in the old days, I guess is, if I can say that now that I've been in practice so long, but people wanna get adjusted. I mean, they, they really do. And then some, you know, yeah, there's a, there's a lot that are like, Hey, you're not gonna crack my neck. I'm like, no, we're you, you don't need that.
It's your low back. We'll be fine. We'll check it out. But, you know, so there is still that scare of all that kind of stuff. But the bottom line is we, we have to get [00:32:00] back to the. The adjusting and really moving some joints around, and it really makes a difference on how these people feel for one. And then two, I I, I know I touched on before, you have to come in with the same energy.
I mean, if you don't, people will read you and they're like, yeah, this guy was low energy, or he didn't, you know, you have to be high, not high energy, like you're bouncing off the walls, but just really show that you're, you're into 'em. Like when I'm doing my history, you know, I'm, I'm sitting there leaning forward, you know, maybe.
I'm the Gonstead bench, you know, just kind of sitting with my legs crossed and like writing notes and I'm, I'm just re you know, really into what they're saying. And they're like, this guy's actually listening. Then I repeat what they say here and there, and then they remi then they really know like, oh, he was listening.
And I think it all starts on that first visit. You gotta come in with some, some personality and shake their hand and nice to meet you and thanks for coming in. That kind of stuff. And I think that's. That's the key. I don't know. [00:33:00] Um, I'm sure I have interns that would tell you other things that they've seen me do, but a lot of times I've done done the same thing for so many years.
I just think that everybody's doing that, so.
Dr. Kevin Christie: Mm-hmm.
Eric Eiselt: Um, but I think it's that, and then just telling them a story that they told you and re you know, and reminding 'em and like, they really know you were listening. Yeah. Does that make, you know?
Dr. Kevin Christie: Yeah. It's, it's, it's huge. And then going back to your adjusting part, I had a patient.
Bring this up. He was a really successful business guy, and, and we were talking about business. He was talking about my practice. He's like, you know, I come to you for a, for a core product and Right, that is the adjustment. And he's like, the other things you do, I like, but I come for that. And he, and he was talking about that, and it made me always realize like, uh, that's, I think a lot of chiropractors are struggling is that the, the core product that, uh, people are coming for isn't what it.
Should be, and it's kind of like we, we can make fun of the Bengals for a minute here. Yeah. Uh, you know, it's like building that football team with all the, it's kinda the [00:34:00] outside in approach where you got no, no. In interior linemen, your, your offensive line and defensive line sucks, but you got all these flashy players, right?
Mm-hmm. And it just doesn't work. Versus the, the football team that's built really stout on the interior and then you add layers to it from there, it's like, I think a chiropractic practice, and that's what I love about motion bowel patient, is that you build it from the inside out. It's like, look, we're gonna build you as a really good.
You know, palpation and adjusting your core product is gonna be really strong, right? Then we can layer on the soft tissue work and we can layer on the DNS and the McKenzie and all the other things, right? But I think too many of 'em are, they're, they're building like the Miami Dolphins, right? They got the star players on the outside, but nothing on the inside.
There's nothing that substance to it, and I just think we gotta revisit that.
Eric Eiselt: I agree a hundred percent. And you know, mark and I have had those. Discussions are like, you know, we gotta get back to the basics of getting these guys, get the core. Like really learn how to adjust and palpate and if, and I know Brett's on that whole bandwagon now too.
And then you can start adding these things [00:35:00] because I mean, if you look back, you know, Gonstead did it for years. He didn't have DNS, he got a lot of people better. I'm just saying, you gotta, you gotta start with that core and then you can build off of it and know what needs to be used for each patient and, and that's.
Uh, amen. I mean, that's, that's exactly where I, I try to teach these guys when they're interns, they're like, you gotta be able to adjust and then throw in the other stuff. And people come for that adjustment. You know, I've never had anybody come here and say, Hey, I came here 'cause I, I heard you can, you know, rub my right elbow.
It's like, you know, they want to, they want to have it adjusted and worked on and that kind of thing. So, um, go back to some of the basics and build around that. The other thing real quickly is, you know, try not to sell 'em the moon. I mean, try not to be, quote unquote, a salesman. Just give them what they need and be truthful, and they will, they will listen to what you say.
I've never felt like I've ever, ever, ever had to sell my product, like mm-hmm. And felt dirty about it. Do you know what I mean? Like just, oh, yeah. Be honest and just sell it. [00:36:00] Like this is what you need, this is why you need it. And I don't care if you've been in practice for two weeks, just say it with confidence, you know, it's easier for, you know, mark and my, you know, people like that that can just say, oh, this is what you need.
We've been in practice 30 plus years. People listen to that a little bit easier, but if you say it with confidence, they'll listen to you. I mean, and I think that's half the battles. These younger docs are just going in. They're a little afraid to tell 'em that they need to be in there two to three times a week for four weeks and they, you know, or whatever, and they don't wanna do that.
So,
Dr. Kevin Christie: yeah, and I think that's another step in longevity to your, to your point earlier where like some of the younger dcs, maybe it's not as easy, they don't have the historical years behind them, and, and the patient isn't looking at them. It's like, yeah, you, you look old. You've been doing this for a while.
I, I trust you. Yeah. Yeah. We got great here. It, it, exactly. The gray hair is key in practice. Exactly. We're losing it. One of the two. Um, but ultimately, you know, if you're in year four or six and it's, you're kinda like, how am I gonna do this for another 35 years? Is, [00:37:00] is, it does get easier, does get better.
You get better patients trust you more like the whole thing tends to get better. If it's not, you gotta find someone to help you to, to, to re-engineer that thing. Right. But typically there's that, uh, getting over that chasm for sure.
Eric Eiselt: Yeah, yeah. After year four, it's pretty, it's a lot easier, but those first four years are definitely tough.
I mean, to, to build that for most, most docs.
Dr. Kevin Christie: No doubt about it. So. Well, doc, this has been great. This has been insightful. Well, I appreciate it. Yeah. This has been, this has been fun. And to, to kind of dive into it a little bit, I think, um, more chiropractors need to hear this type of stuff on, on the realities of what it takes to, to grow practice and have fun doing it and enjoy it and, and, and be motivated still after 30 years.
So it's, uh, I, I, I commend you for that.
Eric Eiselt: Well, thank you. Yeah, it, it's been fun and I, I hope to do it for another 20 plus years and keep, you know, just plugging away and, and helping people.
Dr. Kevin Christie: Awesome. Well, thank you.
Eric Eiselt: All right. Thanks [00:38:00] for your time.