Doctoral Statement

Sooooo... I'm taking the plunge and I am now officially signed up to start a doctoral program in the fall. I have absolutely no idea when I plan on having the time to do this. Mobile business, single mom, homeschooling, puppy, and somewhere in there is supposed to be a social life (don't look too hard). Logistical planning aside, I know some really awesome things are going to come out of this besides another degree and more alphabet soup behind my name. For example, I had to write an essay about my practice as a part of my admissions package. Aaaaand I'm feeling pretty proud of it. Considering this is coming on the heels of my one year anniversary, it was nice to sit down and put the scope of my practice on paper. Heck, it might even help me get around to writing a business plan. Yup still don't have one lol. I'll get to it... (it's not really on my to do list lol).

Anyway, this is what I wrote:

My name is Tenisha D. O Dandridge-Brown. I am the owner and operator of Everyone’s Place; a mobile acupuncture clinic. My micro business is unique in that no two days are ever totally alike. Currently, Everyone’s Place is contracted by; private individuals for individualized treatments in their home or locations of choice, three different drug treatment centers in Sacramento, and it hosts a monthly fusion class. I have found a way to make this beautiful medicine a deliverable commodity to individuals who cannot (or do not want to) access a clinic.

My gateway into this business model happened on accident. When I first started my practice I a client who had huge mobility issues and only her frail elderly husband to assist her. This client eventually talked me into coming to her home to spare her the horror and agony of getting out of her bed, into a hover round, into a car, into a hover round, into my clinic and then doing it all in reverse. By the time she returned home the act of getting care was completely not worth it to her. I finally agreed, went to her house, and we both loved it. Then she told everyone I would do home visits. To my surprise everyone was willing to pay the extra cost for a home visit because many people wanted and needed the service.

After moving from Baltimore to Sacramento I thought my days of mobile acupuncture were over. That is until I met a colleague at master Tung class who only did house calls in Oregon. After asking me to care for his father in Sacramento, I realized that I much preferred home visits to operating out of a clinic. At the time I was working as an employee in a community clinic. I found that I didn’t care to be a practitioner who had to adhere to a fast pace and limited treatment modalities. I did however love the sliding scale and the warm hominess that came with the clinic environment. This greatly influenced my pricing and treatment styles when I opened Everyone’s Place.

My private clients are the same types of individuals that one would normally see in any clinic. I do have a large number of elderly, and immobile clients, who are already accustomed to having their health care providers coming to their homes to provide services. I also provide services to individuals who are very busy, just want to have the unrushed face time, or are having a major life event like births, car accidents, weddings, sudden injuries, and surgeries. Because I want to maintain the warm at home feel I rarely bring a table. I usually bend over clients resting in their favorite chair, on their own couch, or in their own bed. And in the spirit of community acupuncture my price per individual goes down the more people are in one location being treated at one time. My private schedule fluctuates wildly and the number of clients seen ranges between 7-20 visits a week.

I’m also contracted by churches, businesses, and other large organizations to provide services for their clients or personnel. The largest example of this would be the work that I do providing acupuncture and tai qi classes to the local drug treatment centers in the Sacramento area every week. My patient load for this kind of work ranges between 50-90 patients a week. I am currently scheduled to do 10 hours a week at 3 different centers.

Slow Down Sunday is the name of a fusion class that I teach once a month. It consists of; a general lesson in Chinese Medicine (usually related to the season), a general treatment like NADA and four gates, qi gong, tai qi, and a homemade seasonal herbal drink. There is also a live music, aromatherapy, and semi-precious stones used in meditation. The last class featured a professional sound therapist that played singing bowls, guitar, and native American flute. There are usually 12-16 participants. My goal would be to expand the class to once a week.

Thank you for a moment of your time to learn more about my busy little micro business. I hope that I can be of service to you one day. #getpoked