The 78th Annual Congress of the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards, held May 5-9 at the Tabor Center Westin Hotel in Denver, Colo., highlighted the complexity of regulatory decisions in a world of diminishing resources and increasing demands for accountability. More than 150 people attended the conference, with significant representation coming from the chiropractic colleges, in addition to regulatory board members and executive staff.
"Regulatory work is hard. To be an effective board member requires a genuine commitment to the highest standards of ethical conduct," said Dr. Richard L. Cole, FCLB president. "Those ethics must extend into the entire process by which board work is handled."
"We are working hard to build logical connections between the education of future doctors and the professional standards of current licensees. The participation and interaction between the two groups was superb," Dr. Cole added.
Among those who attended the meeting was a special guest of the federation, Dr. Raine Makela of Finland, representing the European Chiropractors Union. In pre- and postconference meetings with the federation's board of directors, Dr. Makela described the ECU's commitment to developing systems to better protect the public in Europe. As part of working toward shared resources, the federation's CIN-BAD system of Internet-accessible databases, including active licenses and public board actions, will be demonstrated in Helsinki in several weeks.
Two workshops were held to explain the PACE program (Providers of Approved Continuing Education for chiropractic) and to solicit final feedback from stakeholders. After five years of development, the centralized approval process for continuing education made its official debut at the Denver conference. Attendees at both workshops received clarification of any concerns, and later commented on how pleased they were with the program design.
Over 30 faculty members participated in the educational portion of the conference, which featured opening remarks on Thursday, May 6, by Rosemary McCool, director of the Colorado Division of Registrations for the Department of Regulatory Agencies.
The keynote session took a creative turn, with attendees using interactive remote-control devices to "vote" on how they would have handled various stages of two very complex regulatory cases. "Our job in regulation is to turn gray into black and white," observed the session's moderator, Dr. Marc Gammerman of Maryland.
While participants tended to have a strong consensus on some steps, they were widely divided on others. This created a perfect opportunity for expert regulatory lawyer Dale J. Atkinson and New Jersey board executive Kevin Earle to present legal and procedural insights.
Other sessions touched on investigative practices, fraud issues, evidence-based practice, and the role of philosophy in the DC's continuing professional development.
Outside of the formal agenda, several additional programs were also offered. Regulatory board executive administrators held a day-long educational meeting which preceded the opening of the conference. In addition, attendees had an opportunity to tour the Greeley, Colorado executive offices of the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners as well as the FCLB. A training session was held for practitioners who expressed interest in serving on the Council on Chiropractic Education's Site Team Academy, which supports the work of the CCE's Commission on Accreditation.
The Friday session opened with a "town meeting" where a panel responded to current legal and ethical challenges facing regulatory boards.
Dr. Joseph E. Brimhall offered the 14th Annual Joseph Janse Lecture, "For the Good of the Patient: Opportunities, Challenges, and Possibilities in Chiropractic."
Breakouts sessions included an overview of recent changes to the CCE Standards, new developments at the NBCE, a presentation on Colorado's expedited settlement program, and a look at the impact on regulation of the best practices models emerging from the Council on Chiropractic Guidelines and Practice Parameters.
These sessions were followed by an overview of the FCLB Task Force on Ethics and its outreach to the educational programs, continued discussion about investigative practices, treatment of animals by doctors of chiropractic, and a study of the regulatory role when professional and legislative agendas collide.
Saturday's opening presentation asked whether we are developing ethical professionals. Panelists included two top educators and the former president of the California regulatory board. Additional presentations included an overview of the ethical responsibilities of investigators, and an introduction to online ethics intervention tools newly available to boards.
The annual business meeting focused on the role of executive board administrators in the FCLB; Kevin B. Earle was re-elected to a second two-year term on the federation's board of directors and the executive fellow position was given voting privilege through a bylaws change.
An additional proposed bylaws change addressed the participation of the member boards in the formation of the nominating committee. Although the proposal was not adopted, the federation's board of directors committed to reviewing the issue with an eye toward offering a modification of the current design for 2005. "The FCLB is recreated on an on-going basis by our member boards," Dr. Cole explained. "This type of change is healthy and reflective of the level of commitment and participation by our regulatory members."
Two resolutions were adopted unanimously. The first raises the membership dues by $100 per tiered category effective in 2005. The second affirmes the diagnostic responsibility of doctors of chiropractic.
The 79th Annual Congress will be held in Montreal, Quebec, May 4-8, 2005. A complete agenda, list of faculty, and many of the educational presentations are available on the federation's website: www.fclb.org.
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