Part of the holistic approach to medicine employed by chiropractors dictates that no surgery or medications be prescribed to patients during treatment. A recent proposal by the Council on Chiropractic Education sought to eliminate this language from the Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine degree, met with staunch disapproval and eventual rejection by the American Chiropractic Association, Congress of Chiropractic State Associations, and the International Chiropractors Association for good reason.
The article in part from Dynamic Chiropractic follows below.
The Profession Has Spoken … But Will the CCE Listen?
By James Edwards, DC
A few months back, the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) sent out a communique to interested parties asking for commentary about proposed changes it intends to adopt at its January 2011 meeting.
As outlined in my prior article ["What Is the CCE Trying to Pull?" Oct. 21 DC], the CCE proposed the following changes to its standards: adding the words “or their equivalent” to Doctor of Chiropractic degree programs, thusauthorizing the “Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine” (DCM) degree; deleting every reference to the word subluxation; and deleting the “without the use of drugs and surgery” provision.
I am very pleased to report that the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), the International Chiropractors Association (ICA), and the Congress of Chiropractic State Associations (COCSA) all officially opposed the proposed changes and submitted commentary to that effect. As a student of chiropractic history, I cannot remember another time that the chiropractic profession as a whole was unified on such an important issue.
And that’s not all. Several chiropractic colleges (who rely on CCE for their accreditation) also submitted commentary in opposition to the changes, including Cleveland Chiropractic College (Kansas City and Los Angeles), Life University College of Chiropractic, Life Chiropractic College West, Logan College of Chiropractic, Palmer College of Chiropractic (including Palmer Florida and Palmer West), Parker College of Chiropractic and Sherman College of Chiropractic. To be candid, my hat goes off to these chiropractic colleges for having the courage to speak up against proposed changes that they felt were not in the best interest of the chiropractic profession.
But when trying to chart the best course for the chiropractic profession, the real future stakeholders are the current students of chiropractic colleges. While some might think that there is no way to measure their opinions and for their representative voice to be heard in regard to these important issues, they would be wrong.
At the annual meeting of the Student American Chiropractic Association (SACA) held in Newport, R.I., in early October, and without any preamble, a survey was taken of the SACA leaders representing 16 chiropractic colleges from across the country. Here are the results from that survey in regard to CCE’s proposed changes:
* Removal of all references to the word subluxation: Agree: 6 SACA leaders; disagree: 32 SACA leaders.
* Removal of the reference to “without the use of drugs and surgery”: Agree: 9 SACA leaders; disagree: 28 SACA leaders.
* Authorization for the Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine (DCM) degree: Agree: 1 SACA leader; disagree: 38 SACA leaders.
For those of you keeping score at home, SACA leaders opposed the three CCE proposed changes by an overall tally of 86 percent to 14 percent — a landslide of incredible proportions. And it’s important to remember that these individuals are elected ACA student leaders, not members of some chiropractic fringe group. Personally, the survey results make me proud – and excited – that the next generation of chiropractic leaders will be willing to protect and defend the core principles of the chiropractic profession.
So, what happens next? Well, the deadline has passed for official commentary to the CCE. However, rest assured, the 24 CCE “councilors” who are charged with making the final decision will be lobbied intensively by their pro-drug, pro-DCM degree, anti-subluxation friends and colleagues.
To hopefully counter that effort and so the profession’s majority voice is not drowned out, I believe it would it would be beneficial for doctors in the field to contact CCE “councilors” you know personally, telling them that you oppose the proposed changes to the CCE standards and urging them to oppose their adoption.
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Dr. Stephen Estner is a Chiropractor in Rhode Island with office locations in Pawtucket and Cranston, Rhode Island. His offices offer chiropractic rehabilitation through acupuncture, massage therapy, and manipulation of the spine, joints, and muscles. Dr. Estner treats all spinal injuries, back pain, and symptoms including those due to automobile accidents, workplace and sports injuries, pregnancy, and provides general care and maintenance of the spine.
For more information or to schedule an appointment please visit: http://www.DrEstner.com.
