CCGPP Urges Stakeholder Review of Low Back Document
As promised, the Council on Chiropractic Guidelines and Practice Parameters (CCGPP) is releasing the draft copy of its first chapter on best practices, which focuses on the lower back. The best practices document is not a guideline, but is intended to serve as a resource for clinicians and others, and includes a review and synthesis of available scientific literature. As part of the ongoing process, the CCGPP is asking stakeholders, including patients, insurers, and in particular, doctors of chiropractic, to review the chapter and take a short survey to provide opinions and feedback. The draft and survey are available at www.ccgpp.org.
Additional draft chapters will be released every six to 12 weeks, and will remain available for comment for a period of 60 days. The feedback received will be reviewed and considered, especially if accompanied by supporting literature. Similar comments will be grouped, and a response, as well as any appropriate changes, will be incorporated into the final document.
For more information, read "CCGPP's Best Practices Document: Stakeholder Review," which appeared in the Jan. 1, 2006 issue: www.chiroweb.com/archives/24/01/04.html.
Palmer College of Chiropractic Florida Graduates First DCs
Thirty students comprising the first graduating class of Palmer College of Chiropractic Florida (PCCF), in Port Orange, Fla., received their doctor of chiropractic degrees during a graduation ceremony in December 2005. The ceremony featured a commencement address by Donald Kern, DC, president of Palmer College of Chiropractic Davenport. Vicki A. Palmer, HCD (Hon.), chair of the board of trustees of Palmer College of Chiropractic and great-granddaughter of the founder of chiropractic, also participated in the program. PCCF, which opened in 2002, is a branch campus of Palmer College of Chiropractic, the profession's founding college.
Cleveland Chiropractic College Partners With USC
A recent agreement between Cleveland Chiropractic College of Los Angeles (CCCLA) and neighboring University of Southern California (USC) School of Medicine attempts to bridge the chasm that has so long divided chiropractic and conventional medicine. USC medical students will begin participating in "chiropractic rotations," just as they do with surgical, gynecological or dermatological rotations. During chiropractic rotations, which will be held at the USC University Park Health Center (UPHC), medical students will be able to observe the discussion, palpation, assessment and adjustment of patients.
This development comes approximately two years after a CCCLA/USC agreement was forged allowing Cleveland interns to provide chiropractic care as part of UPHC services.
It began when a UPHC medical doctor approached Howard Maize, DC, an instructor and supervising chiropractic clinician at CCCLA, about the possibility of exposing USC medical interns to chiropractic care. Dr. Maize hopes the chiropractic rotation program for USC medical students will usher in a state of reciprocity whereby chiropractic interns will be allowed to observe medical rotations - a huge stride toward further interdisciplinary cooperation.
New President of N.J. Board of Chiropractic Examiners
Joseph J. Murphy, DC, was recently appointed president of the New Jersey Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NJBCE). Initially appointed vice president of the NJBCE in 2000 by former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, Murphy said he is honored and delighted to continue serving the citizens of New Jersey.
Dr. Murphy is a former president of the New Jersey Chiropractic Society and also has served as editor-in-chief of the state chiropractic journal, The Jersey Journal, and Column, the official newsletter of the NJBCE. Chiropractic physicians appointed to the NJBCE endure a stringent selection process and must be recommended by the senator of their district. Recommended by Senator Walter J. Kavanaugh (District 16), Dr. Murphy replaces Joseph J. Lauro, DC, as president.
National to Host Conferenceon Chiropractic History
The National University of Health Sciences (NUHS) in Lombard, Ill., will be the site of the Association for the History of Chiropractic's (AHC) 26th Annual Conference on Chiropractic History, June 22-24, 2006. A celebratory event is anticipated, as NUHS commemorates its 100th anniversary this year.
Individuals wishing to submit a paper for presentation at the conference must do so by March 1, 2006.* A cash prize of $500 will be awarded by the AHC for the best paper presented at the conference by a nonstudent. A second $500 prize, provided by the National Institute of Chiropractic Research, will be awarded for the best paper presented by a student at the conference. For further details, including information regarding schedule, location, and submission guidelines, please visit the AHC and NUHS Web sites: www.historyofchiropractic.org and www.nuhs.edu.
*Glenda Wiese, PhD, Executive Director Association for the History of Chiropractic 1000 Brady Street, Davenport, IA 52803 (563) 884-5894; wiese_g@palmer.edu
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.
