To celebrate spinal health month, DCs across the country are being urged to select one day, October 17, 18, or 19 to participate in Patient Appreciation Day. DCs will donate their services in exchange for patient contributions to the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER).
The first 250 DCs to send FCER a minimum of $250 in donations will be entered in the November 15 drawing for prizes that include: a special prize provided by Foot Levelers, Inc.; a year's subscription to Spinal Manipulation; and a year's subscription to Staying Well.
Doctors participating in last year's Patient Appreciation Day found it to be an effective and ethical way to promote their practices and at the same time raise funds for chiropractic research. The need for research that establishes the efficacy and cost-effectivenss of chiropractic is critical to the growth and respect of chiropractic in the health care system.
The FCER will soon release the "Vermont" study which supports the superiority of chiropractic over two accepted medical treatments for low back pain. One clinical trial will compare the effectiveness of chiropractic to standard pharmaceutical treatment for low back pain. This is the kind of research that benefits the entire profession.
DCs who find the October dates inconvenient may opt to select another date in October. FCER will provide all participating DCs with special Patient Appreciation Day Kits that outline steps to insure a successful program.
To receive a free Patient Appreciation Day Kit and to set the date for your Patient Appreciation Day in October, call Diana Stevens at (703) 276-7455 or write to the FCER, 1701 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington, Virginia 22209.
When I graduated from chiropractic college in 1981 and started practice, I heard it all, and very little was positive. “You are a quack; you do not know what a subluxation is; you couldn’t get into a real health care program, so you chose the one that is slightly above a mail-order degree; you have no proof that chiropractic works; Are you really licensed?”, and so much more.
| Digital Exclusive
A central challenge in creating our identity is that chiropractic is a method of care, not a technique or procedure. This is an important concept for us to promote. Our patients are treated with lifestyle modification, exercise, nutritional supplements, diet and a whole-body approach to accelerate the natural healing process. We are not simply CMT providers.
The results of a global survey released late last year (2023) unveiled some startling findings among medical and nursing students. The “Clinician of the Future: 2023 Education Edition” surveyed 2,212 students, of which 446 were in the United States, from 91 countries.
