WFC Council Meeting Yields New Leadership, Identity Efforts
Editorial Staff
On June 27, 2006, at the World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) Council meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, members elected a new executive committee, with Gerard W. Clum, DC, as president.1 The council also announced plans to pursue implementation of the consensus identity for the chiropractic profession, as decided upon at last year's WFC Congress in Sydney.2,3
Dr. Clum, who served previously as WFC first vice president, replaces Anthony Metcalfe, DC. Overall, executive committee elections followed the pattern of years past, with committee members ascending through the chairs of the WFC. Each of the newly elected members will serve two-year terms.
The 2006-2008 WFC Executive Committee
President: Gerard W. Clum, DC, representing the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) in the North American region.
First Vice President: Stathis Papadopoulos, DC, of Cyprus, representing the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Second Vice President: Michael Flynn, DC, representing the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) in the North American region.
Secretary-Treasurer: Dennis Richards, DC, of the Chiropractic Association of Australia, representing the Pacific region.
Past President: Anthony Metcalfe, DC, of the U.K., representing the European region.
In the past two years, under the continuing strong leadership of the WFC Council and President Dr. Tony Metcalfe, a well-planned, open and consistent pursuit of important goals produced major successes for the future of the profession, including the international consensus on an identity for the chiropractic profession2,3 and the WHO Guidelines on Chiropractic Education, designed to advance the separate identity of the chiropractic profession.4
The WFC is aggressively pursuing implementation of the identity: "the spinal health care experts in the health care system," support-ed by several other important concepts. One major step in this regard is the WFC/Association of Chiropractic Colleges Conference on Identity, which will be held in Cancun from Oct. 25-28, 2006. The title of the conference is "Professional Identity and Curriculum: To What Extent Do Educational Programs Support a Common International Identity for the Profession." The identity and its importance will be discussed by leaders from chiropractic educational programs worldwide. The WFC recently announced that it will conduct a follow-up survey at the end of this year, in addition to facilitating a poster design competition to promote awareness of the identity among students and doctors of chiropractic.5
At the WFC Congress in Sydney last year, Dr. Clum explained the need for a professional identity: "Many have observed that the chiropractic profession lacks a clear identity, stands at the crossroads of mainstream and alternative care without a clear path forward, and that this represents a major problem for the profession. The identity just voted [on] can solve that problem. It reflects the perspectives of both the profession and the public it serves. It is broader than management of back pain or musculoskeletal pain, which is an identity understood by the public but unacceptably narrow to the profession. It is more defined than wellness care, which the evidence shows us is an identity not understood by or effective with the public."
For more information on current and upcoming WFC programs and events, visit www.wfc.org.
References
"World Federation of Chiropractic Announces Newly Elected Executive." Press release from the WFC, July 12, 2006.
Unaninous agreement on the identity of the profession. "Historic milestone" achieved at WFC Congress in Sydney. Dynamic Chiropractic, Aug. 14, 2005. www.chiroweb.com/archives/23/17/19.html.
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