By Michael Dorausch, D.C.
I love seeing that people are willing to go out and serve new communities with chiropractic care. Everyday I see chiropractors posting classified ads related to the regions they work in, and it inspires me to know they are making positive change in this world. This post comes from another Dr. Michael who is practicing chiropractic in Vietnam.
I am Dr. Michael.
I wanted to share my experiences working in Southeast Asian countries. I’ve been working in Asia for eight years. I’ve worked in both Indonesia and Vietnam. Both countries have offered me enormous opportunities for growth personally and professionally.
Working abroad definitely has its ups and downs. Especially as I have been working where chiropractic is not fully established as a profession. But I believe that the downsides are less than the upside of experiencing the adventure and excitement of rapidly growing Asia.
I’m currently working in Vietnam which has just opened its doors to Chiropractic. This offers an excellent time for chiropractors with a sense of adventure to enter into this market where people are hungry for new approaches to health care. The impediments we experienced in the west such as insurance issues and competition are not present. People can afford treatment and see the value of this treatment.
Starting work in Vietnam was quite overwhelming due to the language barriers, but working inside the clinic, I found that it was effortless as we always had translators and a team of 60 staff who are very highly trained professionals from medicine and physiotherapy.
This experience was unique as I was used to working in a clinic of 6 staff and jumping up to 60 staff in Vietnam was quite a novelty. The clinic I am involved with in Hanoi is over four levels and has state-of-the-art equipment. This has been quite a learning experience for me even after being in practice for 25 years. I have learnt more about the use of Electrophysical Therapies and their use in clinical practice. Fortunately, I have been able to travel throughout Vietnam and experience its incredible beauty, its nature, the delicious food, the friendly people, contrasting cultures and the excitement of big cities like Hanoi.
Life is never dull when working in a foreign country and it satisfies that need for a variety in life that we crave.
It’s very common for people to walk up to you in the street and want to talk with you and the Vietnamese are very friendly, and they want to know more about our lives in our home countries.
After travelling to many Asian countries, I have found Vietnam to be quite different. They aren’t so pushy or looking to get something out of you, and you feel very safe walking around the streets.
Business in Vietnam is quite remarkable and fast-moving, and I think it will be a strong force in Asia in the years to come.
It’s challenging to describe working in Asia. It is quite different from western culture. I believe the best thing is to go and travel there first and try to pick up some work and see if it sits well with you. I must say that it does take a good six months to transition into working there due to the language barrier and a different style of thinking. It can be frustrating to try to explain something and then have something utterly different show up at the table. But that is the beautiful thing about travelling; there is such an opportunity to learn and grow.
I love the clinic that I’m involved with at ICCARE Hanoi. It is by far the biggest and best in Vietnam in my humble opinion, and so it’s an excellent place to look for future opportunities.
Feel free to contact me at my email, and I will give you a rundown on working in Vietnam.
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Dr. Michael Bishopp
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