If you haven't already done so, please read our top story in this issue, which reports on the lawsuit filed against the FCLB. That article gives you the "what" of how the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards; its president, Dr. Carol Winkler; and the current president of the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE), Dr. Karlos Boghosian (in his capacity as FCLB president and immediate past president), are facing a lawsuit accusing them of racial discrimination. This article attempts to explore the "why."
The Potential Damage
First, let me say that I am outraged. For the group of U.S. chiropractic licensing boards to be accused of racial discrimination in a lawsuit is an insult to every doctor and student of chiropractic not only in the U.S., but also worldwide. If Dr. Vanterpool was treated improperly, it should have been recognized, acknowledged and addressed without Dr. Vanterpool having to file a lawsuit. In my mind, the FCLB owes the profession an apology.
Should the FCLB, its president and the NBCE president be found guilty, it would cause irreparable harm to the credibility and integrity of our profession. It would destroy the hard work our chiropractic colleges and the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress have done to enhance the reputation of our profession; and would discourage potential students from exploring a career as a DC.
Why should anyone of diversity want to spend the time and money to go to chiropractic college when they might be facing the very people responsible for the FCLB's actions? If the organization is willing to suspend a member of its own board, what keeps it from suspending a chiropractor practicing in its state?
And if the president of the NBCE should be found guilty of racial discrimination, what will chiropractic students think when they take the exams? Will they fear racial bias?
The only way for Drs. Winkler and Boghosian, and the FCLB, to clear their names is for them to demonstrate that they are not guilty. Settling out of court will be seen as an admission of guilt by the world. No one with any integrity would do that.
Let's Get Into the "Why"
Dr. Keita Vanterpool has been on the FCLB Board since she was elected without incident as the district III director by her peers in 2016. Prior to that, she has served both the FCLB and the NBCE since 2010. Her lawsuit alleges that it wasn't until Dr. Boghosian became FCLB president in 2019 that she was "targeted" for mistreatment. (Prior to 2019, Dr. Boghosian did not serve on the FCLB board, nor was he an officer, until he was elected president in 2019.)
Dr. Vanterpool was elected vice president last year in what was probably the most hard-fought election in the FCLB's history. She won by a single vote. Had she not won, she would have been off the FCLB board entirely. There was an obvious effort to knock her off the board that I wrote about at the time, assuming the incident was politically motivated.1
The series of events makes more sense if we assume the lawsuit is correct. Under this assumption, Dr. Vanterpool faced discriminatory activity beginning in 2019. By 2021, those running for positions in the FCLB and NBCE knew she wouldn't be voting for the perpetrators. This made the 2021 FCLB election outcome critical, as the person elected vice president would also become a member of the NBCE board.
When she was allegedly suspended, her position on the NBCE board was filled by FCLB Treasurer Robert Daschner, DC. Drs. Daschner, Winkler and Boghosian represent three of the nine FCLB board members who allegedly voted to suspend Dr. Vanterpool. In addition, at its annual meeting on May 6, 2022, these three NBCE board members held three of the six votes (out of 11 total) required to elect Dr. Boghosian as the new NBCE president.
The lawsuit alleges that "FCLB failed to investigate any claims of misconduct on the part of Dr. Vanterpool as required by the Board's bylaws and policies. Likewise, FCLB could not cite the specific policy violations they alleged gave rise to the suspension." This is a statement of fact. There is either documentation of its investigation and the exact reasons for Dr. Vanterpool's suspension or there isn't.2
The lack of an investigation and specific allegations, if true, is the deciding factor for me. In the absence of a legitimate process and reason to suspend Dr. Vanterpool, I have to assume her lawsuit has merit.
This is liable to be a very sad and terrible revelation for our profession. But if it is true, it absolutely must be exposed and addressed.
References
Read more findings on my blog: http://blog.toyourhealth.com/ wrblog. You can also visit me on Facebook and Twitter (donpetersenjr, @donaldpetersen).
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