The World Congress of Chiropractic Students (WCCS) is an international forum representing the future members of the chiropractic profession. The WCCS has an active membership in excess of 19,000 students, with 22 affiliated chiropractic colleges worldwide. The WCCS meets annually to discuss issues that impact the profession today, and that may affect the practice of chiropractic in the future.
For the chiropractic community to understand what we've done and what we do, we have summarized various proposals that were passed by the 2000 WCCS during its congress last October in Toronto, Canada. By publishing our efforts, we hope to increase the student voice in the profession, raise awareness within the community, and generate feedback from those already in practice. We know our goals are your goals, and the stronger our voice becomes, the more it will resonate with councils and committees around the world.
Here's a look at some of the proposals that were passed at the 2000 WCCS:
After the 1999 WCCS Congress, the WCCS passed and released a proposal to all chiropractic colleges that contained the "vertebral subluxation hypothesis tree" model. This provides a framework under which chiropractic research can be conducted and reviewed. Last year the WCCS sent letters to the presidents and research directors of each chiropractic college to request any subluxation-based research they may have conducted. The WCCS's actions were prompted by the results of a random field practitioner survey regarding the needs for future chiropractic research presented at the 1999 Research Agenda Conference.
Another concern of the 2000 WCCS was expressed in a letter to be sent to the Swiss government; Swiss chiropractors; and the Australian; Canadian; European; and U.S. Councils on Chiropractic Education; regarding licensure of chiropractors in Switzerland. The letter states:
"The Swiss government limits the licensure of chiropractors in Switzerland to graduates of 11 chiropractic colleges in the United States and Canada. WCCS urges the Swiss government to recognize the reciprocal relationship currently existing between schools accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) of Australia, Canada, Europe, and the United States. This reciprocal agreement grants graduates of accredited schools the ability to obtain licensure or registration virtually everywhere in the world that such status is available. Switzerland is the exception."
Additionally, letters are to be sent to the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) by each WCCS chapter to exert pressure on the board to institute individualized electronic testing for Parts I, II, and III of the national boards. This proposal has already been supported and suggested to the NBCE by the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC).
The current testing format is seen by the WCCS as an antiquated, student-abusive system that leaves little room for curricular innovation at the colleges. As it currently stands, many students are already taking national board examinations prior to completing the core curriculum tested. Electronic testing would not only be efficient and economical, but would bring us up to par with other professions that have already adopted this format.
The above proposals are a sample of those brought forth and passed at the 2000 Congress. We would like your feedback.
John Claussen
feedbackwccs@usa.net
