#125 - Why Great Clinicians Still Struggle in Practice

Performance tech is everywhere, but here's the uncomfortable truth. Most clinics don't have a tech problem. They have a decision-making problem. Welcome to The Factor Podcast, where we talk about the stuff they didn't teach you in school, how to grow your practice, refine your clinical skills, and get better results for your patients. We're here to help you navigate the real-world challenges of being a healthcare provider. From delivering top-notch patient care to running a business that doesn't run you into the ground. Whether you're fresh out of school or scaling your practice, we're diving into effective cutting-edge treatments to get patients better faster. We'll also talk about business strategies and tactics to help you work smarter and not harder, and the mindset shifts required to thrive as a top performer in your field so you can build a career you love without burning out. If you're ready to learn what works— and what doesn't— from leading experts, industry innovators, and respected clinicians across a wide range of specialties, you're in the right place, my friend. Let's dive in. Welcome back to The Factor Podcast. I'm your host, Jessica Riddle. Welcome and thank you for listening. Today's episode is a little bit different, and before we dive in, I want to mention one thing upfront. If you've noticed that the last couple of episodes have taken on a slightly different format, that is intentional, but it's not a shift away from the expert-led training content this podcast is built on. We'll be returning to our more traditional episode series format, starting with our upcoming live webinar on Thursday, April 16th at 1:00 PM, featuring guest instructor, Dr. Pengti Fadilla. We're going to be talking about From Clinics to Courtrooms: Chiropractors as Expert Witnesses in Personal Injury Litigation. So I want you to think of today's episode as a bridge, one that sets up an important conversation while also pointing toward what's next. Because today I want to talk about something that I think a lot of healthcare providers feel but don't always say out loud. And that is this: you can be incredibly talented clinically and still struggle in practice. Let's dive into it. Today, I want to talk about something that I think a lot of healthcare providers feel, especially those that are in private practice for themselves, but they don't always say it out loud. And that is this: you can be incredibly talented clinically and still struggle in practice. You can know how to assess well, you can know how to treat well, you can get great results with your patients. You can pour your time, money, and energy into continuing education, certifications, diploma programs, attend all the seminars, learn all of the techniques and the systems and all of the things that help you become better at your craft and improve your patient care, but still feel frustrated when it comes to actually building a sustainable, profitable, and well-run business. Because clinical education and business education are not the same thing. And I think that's an important note to make here, that if you want to succeed long-term in practice, you need both. And that's really what today's episode is about. It's also why I'm excited to officially tee up something new that I'll be producing weekly on LinkedIn called The Clinical Catalyst. This newsletter is going to live at the intersection of clinical excellence, business growth, systems thinking, and practical innovation for modern healthcare providers. And no, this is not about turning clinicians into sleazy marketers or making everything about making money. This is about helping good providers build better practices, because if you can't sustain the business, you can't keep delivering the care. So here's a problem that nobody talks about enough. I think one of the biggest gaps in healthcare education is that most providers are trained extensively on how to become competent clinicians, but not nearly enough on how to become competent business owners, and those are 2 very different skill sets. Now, please understand, this is not a knock against our chiropractic college and university programs. Their main priority is to produce practice-ready healthcare practitioners That are well prepared to pass their board exams and become licensed doctors of chiropractic. The same goes for any of the other healthcare professions that we have within our global community. So whether you're physical therapy, whether you are a medical physician, an osteopathic physician, or even those of you that are in advanced practice nursing, massage therapy, athletic training, that goes across the board for any of you that are healthcare providers delivering care to patients. And going into practice for yourself. To put it simply, those degree programs, their focus is to provide an education on the fundamentals of becoming the service provider for the practice, not an education on how to actively build the business entity that houses the practice. And most providers, I would assume, and have noticed in my experience within the industry, are conditioned to believe that if you just get better results, if you just become more knowledgeable, if you just take one more course, one more certification, one more seminar, that success in practice will naturally follow. And sometimes it does. A lot of times, unfortunately, it doesn't. Word-of-mouth marketing is still absolutely 100%, hands down, the most valuable referral source you will ever cultivate in your practice. But a lot of practice owners don't have the luxury of stumbling around blindly and learning business through the school of hard knocks, especially when you're fresh out of school and you have a very limited timeline before those student loans start their monthly payments. Because being great at the work is not the same thing as building the systems around the work. Clinical skill helps you deliver exceptional care. Business skill helps you deliver that care consistently, profitably, efficiently, and in a way that doesn't burn you out. Without a business education, even talented providers can end up with inconsistent patient flow, weak retention, poor communication systems. They can have unclear offers, pricing that doesn't actually support the The hard costs of your practice, bad follow-up, messy operations, and a constant feeling of working hard without real momentum. That's not a clinical problem. That's a business problem. And a lot of providers keep trying to solve business problems with more clinical education. That's like trying to fix your Wi-Fi by buying a stethoscope. It's the wrong toolbox. And again, I have businesses built on the foundation of healthcare continuing education. I am one of the biggest advocates you will ever meet for postgraduate education after you finish your degree, and even for students that are still in school that want to learn additional skills outside of their degree program. So again, I'm not saying that clinical education is a bad thing by any means. What I am saying is— That you also have to have that business education component if you're going to be successful in practice. So why does this matter now? Well, I'd argue that this matters now even more than it used to. Healthcare is changing. Patients are more informed. They have more choices. They expect better experiences. They expect clarity, convenience, And above all, trust. And increasingly, they expect providers to not just treat pain, but to guide them towards better performance, function, health, and long-term outcomes. We've never seen a more informed consumer of healthcare than we have right now. With the introduction of AI tools, your patients can get so much information Good, bad, or otherwise at the click of a button. So they really have much higher standards for care, and you have an obligation to make sure that not only are you providing the best care you can possible to them, but in order to navigate the world of owning a successful practice, you also have to navigate rising costs, increased competition, more noise online that you compete with. More administrative burdens, and more pressure to differentiate yourself in a crowded market. So no, it's not enough anymore to just deliver great care. You have to know how to communicate your value, create a clear patient journey, build trust before someone even walks through the door, use systems that support follow-through, make smart decisions about your marketing dollars, Leverage tools and technology well, and build a business that actually reflects the level of care that you provide. That doesn't make you less clinical; it makes you more effective. And let me say that again because I think some people still resist this idea: learning business does not dilute your clinical integrity; it supports it. Because when your business is stronger, your clinical work. gets stronger too. You have better systems, better communication, you're more consistent, you deliver a better patient experience with better follow-through, and all of that results in better outcomes. Kind of funny how that works, right? So I want to talk about the false divide between clinical and business because I also think we need to stop pretending The clinical education and business education have to live in separate worlds on their own isolated islands. They don't. The best practices are built when those 2 things work together. A provider who understands patient communication, positioning, systems, retention, workflow, and operational strategy is often in a much better position to get patients results Than someone who is technically brilliant, but disorganized, overwhelmed, or invisible. Because patients don't just experience your treatment, they experience your entire process. They experience how easy it is to book and to find information on your website, how clearly you explain what you do, whether they understand the care plan that you're communicating to them, whether you and your staff follow up with them to see how they're doing, whether your systems feel trustworthy and they know what to expect, whether your practice feels organized, and whether your messaging actually connects and resonates with them. All of that matters. So when I talk about business education for clinicians, I'm not talking about fluff. I'm not talking about cheesy YouTube videos or making sure that your sign is the biggest and the brightest and you purchase billboards everywhere. I'm talking about essential skills, about understanding how to build a practice that lets your clinical gifts actually reach more people and create more impact. That's the game. Not just learning more, but learning how to make what you know work in the real world. And that brings me to the Clinical Catalyst. This is just one of many new initiatives and offers that we're going to be rolling out over the course of the next year, not only through Factor but through our parent companies as well. This new weekly LinkedIn newsletter is being created specifically for providers who care deeply about what happens in the treatment room But also know that clinical excellence alone isn't enough to build a successful practice. The whole point of this newsletter is to explore the intersection of clinical decision-making, performance-driven care, practice growth, business strategy, continuing education strategy. Yes, you heard that. You should all have a continuing education strategy every single license renewal period. And practical AI and workflow tools that help modern providers work smarter. Because I think the future belongs to providers who can do both, right? So providers who can think clinically and strategically, providers who can get results and build systems, providers who can improve patient outcomes while also improving the way their business runs. That's the lane, and that's the kind of conversation I want to keep having week after week through the Clinical Catalyst. Some weeks, that may mean talking about clinical frameworks and the systems behind better outcomes. Other weeks, it may mean talking about practice growth, operations, continuing education strategy, or how AI and automation can help reduce friction in your workflow. But the through line will remain the same. We want to help healthcare providers become more effective, more strategic, and more equipped to build practices that actually last. That's the mission. So here's the question I want to leave you with today. Are you investing in your business education with the same seriousness that you invest in your clinical education? Not someday, not when things slow down, not when you finally have time, but right now. Because a lot of providers will spend thousands of dollars every year learning how to refine their treatment skills, which is phenomenal. You absolutely 100% should be doing that. You should never stop learning in terms of your clinical skills. You should never stop sharpening your skills and striving to provide better care for your patients. But I challenge you that you should also spend time learning how to improve conversion, increase retention, communicate your value, creating better systems in your practice to track what's working, learn how to market effectively in an ethical way, and make your practice less dependent on chaos and more resilient when Things are slow, slow time of year, seasonal changes, things that may happen in the world. Those of you that survived COVID as practice owners, you understand very, very clearly what impact that had on your practice and how important it is to be resilient through even the most unprecedented times. If you have all of these incredible skills, Then you don't have to feel like growth is so hard. It doesn't have to feel like you're constantly shoving a boulder uphill, because it can if you don't pay attention to these things. And that's not a judgment, that's just reality. From one business owner to another, from one entrepreneur to another, if you want a stronger practice, you have to become stronger in both lanes. Clinical and business, not one or the other, but both. Because the providers who win long-term are not just the ones with the most techniques and letters behind their name. They're the ones who can combine skill, strategy, communication, systems, and execution. And that combination is powerful. And frankly, it's becoming non-negotiable. So if this conversation resonates with you, I'd love for you to follow along with The Clinical Catalyst on LinkedIn or subscribe to our emails if that's more your speed. I'll drop the link in the show notes, so be sure to check those out and choose the one that works best for you. Now, I know it may feel overwhelming, and the thought of adding just one more thing can make you want to run for the hills when you're already in a busy season. I get it. You don't have a lot of time to dedicate, and for most providers, the issue isn't usually a lack of ambition, it's a lack of margin. So let me leave you with a few simple action steps you can take right away. First, take an honest look at where your biggest point of friction is in your practice right now. Not the 10 things that annoy you, just one. Is it new patient conversions, retention, follow-up? Are you struggling with your marketing to generate new patients? Are you having issues with your systems, time management, or team communication? Get specific because vague frustration rarely leads to any kind of clear action. Second, choose one area of business education to focus on over the next 30 days. That can directly impact this pain point. Not everything, not all at once, just one lane. Maybe it's your patient communication, maybe your reactivation process. Maybe it's learning how to create a better patient journey or figuring out what this patient journey is that I keep talking about. Maybe you need to clean up your scheduling and following up systems. Third, build a tiny learning habit around it. 10 minutes a day, 1 article a week, 1 podcast episode on your drive, 1 checklist you actually implement. This does not have to be dramatic to be effective. You don't need a business retreat and a color-coded binder. You just need consistency. And finally, don't stop at learning something. Implement 1 thing that you learn about. That's the key. Take one idea and put it into practice within the next week, because information feels productive, but implementation is what actually changes your business. And here's the last thing I'll ask of you. I'd like you to visit the link in our show notes. We've put one in there with a quick one-question survey so you can tell us the one aspect of business that feels most confusing, frustrating, or challenging for you right now. The thing that, if you could finally get clarity on it, can make a huge difference in your practice. Your submission can be completely anonymous, and we really do want to hear the honest truth about what you're dealing with and what's keeping you up at night. We'll read every response and we'll use what you share to help shape future resources, create education and tools that are actually useful to the providers that we serve. So if something in today's episode hit home, don't just nod along and move on. Tell us where you're stuck, because chances are, if it's frustrating you, it's frustrating a whole lot of other people too. And the more clearly we understand those pain points, the better we can create content that helps you move forward with more clarity, more confidence, and more momentum. So start small, stay consistent. And remember, becoming a better business owner doesn't take away from your identity as a clinician. It strengthens your ability to make a bigger impact with the skills you already have. Because at the end of the day, that's the real goal. We want to help you become more effective, more informed, and more equipped to succeed both in the treatment room and beyond it. So thank you for being here. Thanks for listening. And thanks for continuing to invest in becoming the kind of provider who doesn't just know more, but knows how to build something meaningful with what they do know. We'll see you next time. Hey guys, if you like what you heard today, I encourage you to visit our website at factor-store.com. That's spelled F-A-K-T-R-store.com. To find out more information about all that we have to offer. We have a variety of online offerings as well as our hands-on Factor Rehab System course scheduled in cities around the globe. Be sure to also check out our event calendar and bookmark any of these upcoming live webinar dates coming up in the near future so you can join us live. And of course, the biggest compliment we can receive is for you to help us spread the word to your friends, colleagues, and classmates. You'll find all the important links as well as info about our sponsors in the show notes, so be sure to check those out.