5 minute read
Q&A
Q&A
NO PAIN, ALL GAIN
CHIROPRACTOR ZEYNEP TUZCU ’10 MAKES ADJUSTMENTS TO THE TRADITIONAL PATIENT EXPERIENCE.
Tuzcu opened her Loring Park clinic, Evren Chiropractic, within months of graduating with her doctor of chiropractic degree last spring. Determined to create a space where all community members feel safe and patients play an active role in their own health, she holds fast to her commitment to provide accessible, equitable care for all.
Question: Can you talk a bit about how you approach patient care?
Answer: I had never had a doctor ask me “What do you think would help?” until I went to a naturopathic doctor who spent about two hours asking me questions about my life and the things I was putting into my body. At the end she asked, “What did you hear out of our exchange?” That was the first time I was really engaged in my own care. Having that experience made me want to create a safe space for patients where they feel a collaboration in their care and where they can advocate for themselves. A huge part of my job, probably my favorite part of my job, is patient education—hearing patients’ stories and helping them rethink things about chiropractic, health and wellness. As I’m talking people through things I often see this relief like, “It’s okay for me to feel this way. Whatever I’m feeling is valid.” Sometimes just giving things a name helps pain dissipate.
Q: How do your patients respond?
A: Because it’s unfamiliar, at first patients don’t know how to react, and then the dust settles and they usually say, “Wow, nobody’s ever been this thorough in an exam. Thank you for listening to what I have to say.” More often than not patients will tell me they feel safe and heard here, which makes me really emotional because it was my dream to create that space for people, particularly people of color, who have historically been mistreated within the medical field. I treat every single patient with the same level of care, and people know that when they walk in here.
Q: You’ve described Evren as a clinic that brings your passion for social justice and inclusive healthcare accessibility to life. Can you talk about how you’re doing this?
A: In chiropractic school they told us, “Don’t talk about religion, politics or money.” Those are the things to stay away from. And I’m like, “Absolutely not. We are absolutely talking about those things because those things impact my patients.” When people walk in here they know that I support Black Lives Matter and climate justice. They know that I was and am, as much as I can be, out on the streets fighting for any type of justice. And I just try to be authentic and vulnerable about that. I also never want people to say, “Oh, that’s too expensive, I can’t go there.” We will make it work. It’s literally that simple. I have a sliding scale option if that’s necessary because I deserve to be compensated for my time and my skill, and at the same time I never want cost to be a deterrent. Minneapolis is saturated with chiropractic clinics, but a lot of them are in Uptown, Edina, Bloomington. Evren is in a good location between Uptown and downtown. It’s right by Minneapolis Community and Technical College, so students can come here. It’s near a public transit line, and it’s in a community that I really love. It’s in a much more diverse community financially and ethnically [than other clinics].
Q: On your website you share that you were born in and adopted from Turkey and named your clinic Evren, which means “universe” in Turkish. In what ways do you think your identity shapes your practice?
A: I’m very privileged to be from another country and to have traveled quite a bit. It has helped me see things from many different perspectives and be able to appreciate little differences from person to person, whether they’re cultural or otherwise. When you go to see a provider, you can tell right away whether they’re engaged or just trying to get the chart done so they can get to the next patient. And so to me the biggest thing to strive for as a provider is to always be present with my patients, and I think that’s a huge part of my identity as a Turkish American. My dad, who is also Turkish, and I both wear our hearts on our sleeves. We tell you exactly how we’re feeling, and from one minute to the next we can be sobbing and laughing. We’re very passionate.
Q: Your clinic is kind of a family affair with your parents working the reception desk, helping with interior design elements and offering guidance on the business aspects of Evren. Can you talk about this? A: I cannot give enough credit to my parents because they taught me everything. I get emotional talking about it. I literally could not have created one ounce of this without them. About a month before I graduated I called my mom and said, “I’m going to start my own business,” and she said, “Oh, cool.” I was like, “That’s it? You’re not going to object?” She asked, “Is that what you want? Cool, let’s do it.” So that’s how I got here, with their unconditional endless support. And it’s why I have so much gratitude for every single patient who walks in the door. I don’t have a lot of friends who are happy where they work. I literally walk in here and all my worries just go out the door.
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