May, 2008

I went through the process of trying to lease a large space for 11-13 chairs again this year. I was after the same space as last year at this time.  Some things had changed.  My proposed business partner was different.  A massage/healing touch therapist is now renting space from me and sharing my office was coming along with us.  What was the same was my drive to get a big clinic, taking it on faith, and looking no farther, that a small clinic just wouldn’t do.

As the negotiations with the landlord through the RE agent started to feel bad (too hard to put this together – it should flow smoothly if it’s right) we all started to become more honest with ourselves and each other.

“…physicians should not rely on their own excellence, neither should they strive with their whole heart for material goods. On the contrary, they should develop an attitude of good will. If they move on the right path, concealed from the eyes of their contemporaries, they will receive great happiness as a reward without asking for it. The wealth of others should not be the reason to prescribe expensive and precious drugs, and thus make the access to help more difficult and underscore one’s own merits and abilities. Such conduct has to be regarded as contrary to the teaching of magnanimity. The object is help.”
-Sun Si Miao

I was in New York City earlier this week and when I went to the Metropolitian Museum of Art I discovered that they have a sliding scale.  I must have looked surprised when the woman told me because she said "That's just the way we do it here."  This sliding scale idea must be really catching on! 

It is only because of the sliding scale at my clinic that I can look a patient in the eye and tell them to come three times per week without feeling guilty about charging them more than most people can afford.  I was recently trying to explain the sliding scale to an acupuncturist with a boutique clinic and she said "But people would just always pay on the lowest end of the scale!"  That's not the reality though, especially when you help them get better!

Lately I have been a total slacker blogger by asking others to write stuff for me to post. And so I am at it again. This month I asked my fabulous business partner Pam Chang to write about her experiences of opening a new CA clinic as a newly licensed practitioner. Some of you know Pam's great article in Yes! magazine, but she is a pretty quiet person and doesn't usually post on CAN. I thought it was time folks got to know her better.

Just a few little numbers before I let Pam take the stage: we have been open for almost 8 weeks. We have given a total of 221 treatments. We made a profit in our first full month (April) and were able to pay ourselves a little bit. We are having a great time! - tatyana

ok, here's Pam's post:

On Opening Sarana Community Acupuncture
by Pamela O’Malley Chang, April 2008

After reading Nora's excellent post on Myth-busting for May Day, I started searching the Internet for a link that I wanted to add to the comments. It was from a site called "Payday", written by and for people working jobs such as baristas, food servers, etc, and it was titled: "Things you will hear if you try to talk about class". I think there were 25 things, and one of those things that was included three separate times in the list was "Why are you so angry?"  Since it applies to Nora's observation of how resistant people can be to talking about class at all, and since it has definitely been my experience that when I talk about class, I tend to get asked that exact question -- or its variation, as instruction, "you shouldn't be so angry" -- I really wanted to include the link! But I can't find it.

However, I did find this:

I thought it might be useful to talk about speaking since
this is something most of us need to do as part of our marketing plans. Most
people fear public speaking more than death itself. I have to admit I have an
active dislike for it. I just joined a group called Local Business Network that
meets twice a month. It is a networking group that actively seeks to get its
members referrals and part of your obligation as a member is to get up and
speak to your chapter members (about 15 to 20 people) and give a 60-second
presentation of you and your business. I hate to admit it, but I still get
palpitations as people are going around the room and it’s getting closer to my
turn to talk. I don’t usually hear what the 3 or 4 people are saying who go
before me because I am busy anticipating my own flummoxing and awkwardness. The
more meetings I go to, though, the less time I seem to be wasting being anxious

I want to talk a little bit, in honor of International Workers’ Day, about class and classism. I notice that every now and then, in the posts or in blog responses, that protests are raised in response to the idea of using class analysis as a lens. I’m actually really curious about the discomfort and distaste some people feel in response to the term “classism.” Since an analysis of classism was a major driving factor in the formation of the elegant solution that is laid out in “The Remedy,” I think it’s useful to revisit from time to time.

So today is the day that we give free acupuncture all day long in honor of International Workers' Day! I am delighted to report that all six of WCA's acupunks graciously agreed to work today (including Moses and Christine, who normally have Thursdays off) and as of last night, we had 98 patients scheduled for acupuncture today!  We're pretty confident that 2 more will probably drop in, and so we will reach our goal of treating 100 patients in a day for the first time ever!