The opportunity to write this column falls quickly upon the heels of my stepping down as the president of the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC). Dr. George Goodman has succeeded me as the new president, with Dr. Ken Padgett as the vice-president and Dr. Peter Martin as secretary. Good luck to these capable men!
There was some resistance to the college presidents actually formalizing the organization of their group. It was felt that another political organization would only muddy the already murky waters of chiropractic organizations. Nevertheless, need dictated that the presidents begin to meet. When the Health Education Assistance Loans (HEAL) became a hot issue in the early 90s, the ACC under the direction of Dr. Clum was able to move quickly in finding solutions that saved the colleges from a major disaster. Waiting to assemble at an annual CCE meeting would not have served our needs adequately.
This conference has continued each year, the fourth being held in San Diego of this year with an attendance exceeding 300. The information exchange and problem solving that occurs has never been equaled in this profession's history. Keynote speakers, combined luncheons, interaction between different workshops and friendly socialization are the order of the day. While this conference is not the largest gathering of chiropractic related individuals, it is fast becoming one of the most beneficial to attend. It is also continuing to grow with the Council on Technique meeting at the same time, the Association for the History of Chiropractic considering a combined conference and the Conference on Research and Education (CORE), formerly part of the California Chiropractic Convention, also becoming part of the ACC conference.
One of the first areas was funding for research. As a result of our lobbying efforts with support from the ACA/ICA, funding for research grants was made available to the chiropractic colleges. Most recently, the Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM) designated support for a research center for chiropractic. This will allow research funds to come directly to programs designated for and by chiropractic institutions.
Another area of interest more to the colleges than the profession in general is the issue of student loans and federal support for chiropractic education. We lobby strongly for continued inclusion in student loan programs and we continue to seek opportunities for funding similar to medicine from such sources as Medicare and the Veteran's Administration. There is a lot of work to be done in this area.
We need to work more closely with the Department of Education in Washington as it relates to areas associated with the Higher Education Act Reauthorization. This is an area that overlaps with CCE in dealing with educational standards and how educational institutions are evaluated and managed. A strong Washington presence can be of great value to the ACC and the profession.
The ACC has moved forward in areas specific to our needs as educational institutions and there has been general application of our successes to the entire profession. I believe the ACC needs to continue in a major role of leadership for this profession, not in place of someone but focused on our specific needs. We need to be active in Washington, DC. We need to continue our efforts in research. Our conference needs to continue. There is much to be done and the ACC is in a position to help.
As we look into the future, the ACC needs to take stock of its strengths and weaknesses and plot out its future direction. What is our vision of the future of chiropractic? What is our mission and what our the goals we have established to fulfill our mission? How do we know we are making progress? What are the outcome measures we are using to determine our successes?
The ACC has taken on a responsible role in the chiropractic profession. As a leader, we must determine our direction and then move effectively towards our goals. Good luck, Dr. Goodman. You have a great responsibility upon your shoulders and I know that each of the college presidents stands ready to give assistance to your leadership.
Reed B. Phillips, DC, PhD
President
Los Angeles College of Chiropractic
Immediate Past-President
Association of Chiropractic Colleges
Many relevant diagnostic signs are not performed deliberately by the examiner or by the patient at the examiner’s direction. They are observed as the patient reacts to their condition. Fortin’s finger sign, Minor’s sign, and Vanzetti’s sign are three examples of this principle.
Spearheaded by burgeoning scientific and clinical research literature, psychedelics have reached a level of media coverage and popular interest that has not been seen for over half a century. By “psychedelics,” we are referring to the unique class of substances that includes psilocybin (the active compound found in so-called “magic mushrooms”), LSD, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ayahuasca, 5-MeO-DMT, and mescaline – each of which occurs in the natural world (except for LSD, which is a semi-synthetic compound).
While working at the Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque, N.M., one of the primary care physicians stated that imaging every patient prior to receiving chiropractic was not medically necessary. It was at that point I reconsidered the need for the imaging of every patient to avoid malpractice.
