UPFRONT | From the editor Time to grow up I have just finished watching a very enlightening YouTube video of Dr. Scott Haldeman’s McAndrews Leadership Lecture at the American Chiropractic Asso-ciation’s National Chiropractic Leadership Conference, which was held last February in Washington, D.C. In his presentation, Haldeman – a chiropractor, medical doctor, neurologist, and an international authority on spinal disorders – talked about the evolution of the chiropractic profession, its challenges and achievements from the 1960s to today. The world is very different today than it was more than five decades ago – when the chiropractic profession was largely isolated, facing organized opposition from the medical community, where philosophy dominated the discussions and significant research supporting the profession was lacking. Fast forward to the 21st century, chiropractic is now one of the few accepted evidence-based treatments for spinal pain and chiropractors are being invited to participate in conferences and discussions related to spine and public health pol-icy, according to Haldeman. More importantly, there is growing support for chi-ropractors to be identified as primary spine care clinicians. It is really interesting to see how chiropractic has made leaps and bounds through the decades to earn its rightful place in the public health care stage. However, as Haldeman says, chiropractors still face many challenges that need to be addressed – although these are very different from the challenges of the 1960s and ’70s. One thing that struck me was Haldeman’s observation about “poor partic-ipation” among chiropractors in national and international forums on spinal disorders, research or to learn about the latest techniques. He said this is the time for chiropractors, chiropractic organizations, educational institutions, researchers and policy experts to “understand what is happening and assume a leadership role.” “The next five years will be the most dramatic and exciting in health care policy evolution and, in particular, spine care and the role of the chiropractic profession,” Haldeman said. If you think about it, five years is not a long time considering the short span of time it took for chiropractors to evolve from an isolated, widely criticized profes-sion to well-respected, highly skilled spinal care practitioners. Haldeman puts it well: “We are not protecting chiropractors anymore. What we’re doing is protecting people with spinal problems based on our skills and knowledge, and hopefully, skills and knowledge which exceed that of anybody else in this field.” So, five years are all you have to grow up and take your rightful place in health care. As chiropractors, you have so much to offer the world – especially with spinal disorders as the leading cause of global disability. The combination of your skills, your passion and your genuine concern for people’s health and well-being is what makes you great practitioners of health. June 2015 Volume 20, Number 4 EDITOR Mari-Len De Guzman [email protected] (905) 726-4659 PUBLISHER Christine Livingstone [email protected] (519) 429-5173 • (888) 599-2228 ext. 239 SALES ASSISTANT Shannon Drumm [email protected] (888) 599-2228 ext. 219 MEDIA DESIGNER Brooke Shaw GROUP PUBLISHER Martin McAnulty [email protected] DIRECTOR OF SOUL/COO Sue Fredericks MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 530, 105 Donly Drive South, Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. P.O. BOX 530, SIMCOE, ON N3Y 4N5 e-mail: [email protected] Canadian Chiropractor is published eight times a year: February, April, May, June, July/August, September, October and December. Published and printed by Annex Publishing & Printing Inc., 105 Donly Drive South, Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 Printed in Canada ISSN 1488-6952 CIRCULATION e-mail: [email protected] Tel: (866) 790-6070 ext. 201 Fax: (877) 624-1940 Mail: P.O. Box 530, Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 SUBSCRIPTION RATES Canada – 1 Year $24.00 (with GST $25.20, with HST/QST $27.12) (HST #867172652RT0001) USA – 1 Year $35.00 (US Funds) Best pricing is available online at canadianchiropractor.ca Occasionally, Canadian Chiropractor will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above. No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission. ©2015 Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication. MARI-LEN DE GUZMAN, Editor EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD @CanChiropractor Victoria Coleman, DC; Connie J. D’Astolfo, DC, Dip HA, PhD (cand); Pierre DesLauriers, DC; Karin Hammerich, DC, MHS; James P. Laws, DC, FRCCSS(C)(Hon); David Leprich, DC; Wanda Lee MacPhee, DC; Peter Moore, DC; Don Nixdorf, DC; Renae Rogers, DC; Greg Stewart, BPE, DC; Greg Uchacz, DC, FRCCSS(C); Emily Roback, BSc, DC; Catherine Bezeau (student member -UQTR). 6 Canadian Chiropractor June 2015 www.canadianchiropractor.ca
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