The Congress of Chiropractic State Associations has a new president: Dr. Kate Rufolo, the first female president of COCSA and only the second woman to head a national chiropractic association. Dr. Rufolo was elected at COCSA's annual business meeting in November.
"It is exciting to break glass ceilings and to open up avenues as our profession continues to grow," said Rufolo.
So, who was the first woman to preside over a national chiropractic association? That would be Dr. Sylva Ashworth,who assumed the presidency of the Universal Chiropractors' Association in 1926. The UCA was formed by B.J. Palmer at Palmer School of Chiropractic in 1906; members ultimately helped form both the ICA and ACA.
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.
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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.
