CAMPUS NEWS
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
04/10/01
Community Relations Program Helps Student
Interns Prepare for Success
APRIL 10, 2001 - Thanks to the strong
community relations program at Sherman College,
student interns are learning how to make their
presence known in the community by taking
advantage of opportunities to participate in
career fairs, spinal screenings and visits to
local schools, businesses and churches. At these
events, interns promote chiropractic, refer new
patients to the Chiropractic Health Center and
hone their skills as communicators.
Director of Community Relations Linda Price
introduces students to the program just before
they begin outpatient visits in the college’s
health center. “I like to introduce the
community relations program as a way for interns
to build their practices in the health center as
well as a way to hone the skills they need to
succeed in practice following graduation,” she
says. “I want students to see me as a
resource - as someone who can help them build
their practices and enhance their communication
skills not only in the Chiropractic Health
Center, but also in their future private
practices,” she says.
Price is dedicated to helping students learn
low-cost, effective ways of promoting
chiropractic and their private practices. “When
I visit a new class of student interns, I ask
how many of them will have a practice set up and
waiting for them when they graduate,” she says.
“Usually only a few students have the financial
advantage of returning home to practice with a
family member or associate, so I get them
thinking. The interns realize they will need to
master effective ways to market themselves and
their practices without a lot of cash up front.
Most of them won’t be able to hire a coach or
purchase costly advertising right after
graduation.”
One free and effective way for chiropractors to
make themselves and their practices known in the
community is by volunteering. “Most successful
practices are built by patient referrals,” Price
says. “If you’re out in the community meeting
people face to face, people will remember you,
and you’ll build a solid referral base.
Advertising is a good way to promote your
practice, but it doesn’t put a name with a face
- it’s not as personal or as meaningful as
personal interaction.”
Price encourages student interns to talk to
people in the community as lay persons. “The
interns are accustomed to using ‘book words’
like vertebral subluxation every day,” she says.
“I tell them that if they are going to use words
and phrases that are unique to the chiropractic
profession, they need to explain what those
words and phrases mean in more simple terms to
effectively communicate their message to the
public.”
Interns also need to be good listeners and
positive thinkers, Price says. “When prospective
patients ask questions about cost, x-rays and
the details of a visit to the health center,
sometimes interns perceive those questions as
objections,” she says. “Interns need to think of
those inquiries as ‘buying questions,’ and turn
those challenges into opportunities. People
wouldn’t ask those questions if they weren’t
interested. I encourage interns to take this
time to explain that Sherman College is a
learning institution and that all procedures
(including x-rays) are done with the patient’s
safety in mind.”
Sherman College has definitely increased its
presence in the community within the past few
years, Price says. Last year alone, student
interns and college representatives participated
in 69 community events, including health fairs,
spinal screenings and school visits. “My phone
is ringing more and more, and I’m hearing from
people who have seen the college at a local
event and are interested in having us visit
their business or school,” she says.
Price has never had to cancel or turn down an
offer to participate in a community event for
lack of student interest. “It’s a credit to our
interns - sometimes we have too many interns
volunteering for spots in health fairs and
screenings, and they have to sign up as
alternates. The students’ enthusiasm and
initiative with the community relations program
shows that we will have successful chiropractors
in practice that will use their skills and drive
in the communities in which they practice.”
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