My office hours have changed over my career, with a little motivation from my wife, along with the needs of my family. Like many of you, when I was first in practice I worked long hours to help establish myself in the community. A few years later, after getting married, the hours needed to be reduced to support my new commitment and then once again after the birth of my first child. Many of you can relate to these wonderful touchstones of life.
During our round on the local public muni course, we were joined by another twosome. These two young men in their late twenties were very gracious and patient with my son as his skill level was a tad behind theirs. Given the expected slow play on the muni, we had many opportunities for casual conversation. These two friends worked together for a private equity firm that focused on the real estate sector, and seemed generally content with their employment. They were very interested in what I did and had the typical questions about the chiropractic profession and a few more about their own personal health issues. One of the gentlemen even began asking questions regarding the business aspect of practice and delved into some quality-of-life interrogatories.
When he asked about how many hours I put in weekly (44 by the way), both of their faces contorted into frozen expressions of disapproving disdain followed by a simultaneous “Huh." Their response caught me off guard and I didn't know how to respond except to hit my 7 iron within 3 feet of the cup for a birdie putt; yes, I missed it.
Darren D. Hancock, DC, DACBSP
Chair, President's Alumni Advisory Council
Dr. Darren D. Hancock
Recently I had the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful day on the golf course with my son. We've been able to play more lately since I changed my office hours with the explicit intent of spending more time with my children. As healthcare professionals, we have all struggled with achieving balance between personal and professional obligations.
Meet the New Alumni Chair
Chucaratext 2016
Times New Roman
Times New Roman
Tallys 2016
Meet the New Alumni Chair 2016
Meet the New Alumni Chair 2016
Meet the New Alumni Chair 2016
A G Garamond Bold
A G Opus
Century Gothic • Cen • Cen • Cen
Georgia • Georgia • Georgia • Georgia
New Century Schoolbook • New • Ce
Tahoma • Tahoma
My office hours have changed over my career, with a little motivation from my wife, along with the needs of my family. Like many of you, when I was first in practice I worked long hours to help establish myself in the community. A few years later, after getting married the hours needed to be reduced to support my new commitment and then once again after the birth of my first child. Many of you can relate to these wonderful touchstones of life.
During our round on the local public muni we were joined by another twosome. These two young men in their late twenties were very gracious and patient with my son as his skill level was a tad behind theirs. Given the expected slow play on the muni course we had many opportunities for casual conversation. These two friends worked together for a private equity firm that focused on the real estate sector and seemed generally content with their employment. They were very interested in what I did and had the typical questions about the chiropractic profession and a few more about their own personal health issues. One of the gentlemen even began asking questions regarding the business aspect of practice and delved into some quality-of-life interrogatories.
When he asked about how many hours I put in weekly (forty-four by the way), both of their faces contorted into frozen expressions of disapproving disdain followed by a simultaneous “huh”. Their response caught me off guard and I didn't know how to respond except to hit my 7 iron within 3 feet of the cup for a birdie putt; yes I missed it.
After the round I pondered about their response and wished I had taken the time to inquire about the unapproving reactions. Maybe their experience with chiropractors are with the ones that work part-time? Maybe they didn't realize that most of us are practitioner-owners and wear the many hats of a small business owner? Or maybe they were put off by the time and sacrifice it takes to take care of a hurting public? I am inclined to believe the latter, given their reflexive contortion.
This lead me to think about all of the sacrifices that I've made during my career in addition to the collective sacrifices that others have made for me in my personal life. Specifically those that have allowed me to be a son, father, husband, friend and chiropractor. Many people in our lives have sacrificed for us to be who we are today; parents, family, teachers, etc. We all are the beneficiary of someone else's sacrifice; no one achieves true success by themselves.
This year as the NUHS family celebrates 110 years since its founding, let us be mindful of the dedication and sacrifice of so many throughout its existence that it took to keep this institution running. We've all heard the many stories of the personal commitment and sacrifice to champion National's vision of science-based, broad-scope education long before it was expedient. Let us remember to make sure to acknowledge and thank those that have helped us personally and professionally so that they know that it was worth it.
After the round, I pondered about their response and wished I had taken the time to inquire about the unapproving reactions. Maybe their experience with chiropractors are with the ones that work part-time? Maybe they didn't realize that most of us are practitioner-owners and wear the many hats of a small business owner? Or maybe they were put off by the time and sacrifice it takes to take care of a hurting public? I am inclined to believe the latter, given their reflexive contortion.
This lead me to think about all of the sacrifices that I've made during my career, in addition to the collective sacrifices that others have made for me in my personal life – specifically those that have allowed me to be a son, father, husband, friend, and chiropractor. Many people in our lives have sacrificed for us to be who we are today – parents, family, teachers, etc. We all are the beneficiary of someone else's sacrifice; no one achieves true success by themselves.
This year as the NUHS family celebrates 110 years since its founding, let us be mindful of the dedication and sacrifice of the many individuals throughout its existence that it took to keep this institution running. We've all heard the many stories of the personal commitment and sacrifice to champion National's vision of science-based, broad-scope education long before it was expedient. Let us remember to make sure to acknowledge and thank those that have helped us personally and professionally so that they know that it was worth it.
See you soon!
Darren D. Hancock, DC, DACBSP