ON Chiropractic
FEATURE STORY / CHIROPRACTORS AT TORONTO 2015
F
or many of the chiropractors who
participated as volunteers at the
Pan Am / Parapan Am Games,
the Games were a once-in-a-lifetime
personal and professional experience.
As rewarding as it is challenging, this
experience has made a mark on the
more than 150 chiropractors who
participated.
There are three categories of
experiences highlighted in this article.
accomplishment for the chiropractic
volunteers. And athletes were not the
only ones who received care from the
health care team. Volunteers, staff,
officials and athletes were all served
by the hundreds of dedicated “medical
team” volunteers at the Games.
The success of the Games took
even the most engaged observers by
surprise. Toronto Mayor John Tory and
Premier Kathleen Wynne both said
“One of my most memorable moments was dealing
with a visually impaired athlete who spoke
only Spanish. I had to use a whole new level of
communication and used the people around me to
do the best I could so he understood the problem
and what I could do to help.”
Dr. Michelle MacDonald
First, preparing for the Games was a
unique challenge for each chiropractor.
For many, that process included
preparing themselves to be part of large,
interdisciplinary health care teams and
making sure that their home practices
were ready for their absence.
Second, getting close to the action
was a major source of enjoyment for
chiropractors. It is no surprise that
chiropractors drank in the excitement
of the Games. In particular, meeting
fascinating and exceptional people and
bearing witness to Pan Am history were
the highlights.
Third, getting to make a
contribution to the health of the entire
Pan Am and Parapan Am teams was
a major source of pride and sense of
20
FALL 2015
publicly that they were surprised by
the clamour of support for Toronto to
submit an Olympic bid while the 2015
Games were still underway.
Getting to the Games
A
s always, chiropractors put their
patients first. In some cases,
chiropractic volunteers were
away from their practices for weeks.
That meant that communication with
patients in advance of the games was
crucial. Dr. Trevor Vander Doelen
approached this challenge head on.
“In preparing for the Games, I made
my patients aware of my shortened
schedule during the Games far in
advance.” This approach allowed
patients to have clear expectations
about the availability of their
chiropractor during this pivotal time.
Several volunteers reported that
when they shared their plans to be part
of the Games their patients were very
excited. While they could be frustrated
that their chiropractor was not available
in the same way, patients appreciated
the reasons for the absence and that
it was for a specific period of time. Dr.
Cheryl van der Mark ensured a seamless
transition of care by bringing in a locum
to fill in the gaps in the schedule when
she was not available. She also brought
her patients along this exciting journey
by engaging with them via social media.
Dr. Brittany Moran and Dr. Marnie
Mabee D’Andrea both managed to
juggle their practice and volunteer
responsibilities during the Games.
This is an option that was available to
chiropractors from the Toronto area, but
was dependant on the time and location
of their volunteer shifts. “Luckily we got
our schedules well enough in advance
that I could block all of the times off,”
said Dr. Moran. “I had a lot of evening
shifts so I tried to open up my schedule
at clinic as much as I could around the
volunteering so as to take good care of
my patients.”
Dr. D’Andrea took a similar
approach. “As for scheduling my
practice, I blocked the day off when I
had a Pan Am shift because originally the
shift was for six to eight hours, and was
able to book other days in the week to
make up for it,” she said. Unfortunately,
Dr. D’Andrea was d \