The Chiropractors' Association of Australia (CAA) has announced the formation of a professional college for chiropractors that will represent DCs throughout Australasia. The CAA made the announcement at its annual general meeting.
According to a paper published in the association's journal and co-authored by five Australian DCs who spearheaded initial efforts to investigate and develop an outline for the college, the CAA board initiated efforts to develop the college in an attempt to "foster a culture of research and scholarship that would support professional development," and expand the association's existing continuing professional development programs.
Purpose
"The theme behind the establishment of the College is the need to assist in the ongoing development of the chiropractic profession in Australia and a continual striving to better understand the practice of chiropractic and the mechanisms by which it operates. The College will recognize academic achievement in general, and research-based achievement in particular, with acknowledgment of the clinical value of [continuing professional development]."
"Development of the governance processes and structure of the membership categories have been designed to focus on the core purposes of developing the base of evidence and professional environment for the discipline, with the ultimate goal being enhanced patient care.
"The College will facilitate this by nurturing, encouraging and recognising contributions to the knowledge, understanding and evidence base in four specific fields [professional activity, research, teaching and clinical practice]."
Governance
"The Board of the CAA ... is the administrative board of the College. The CAA Board has devolved its authority to an operating group that is a subcommittee of the CAA board; this operating group is known as the College Management Committee (CMC)." The current structure and membership of the CMC includes the CAA president (convenor/chair), two CAA national board members, a journal representative, a college representative and an academic representative.
"Following the formal announcement of the College and the establishment of its inaugural members, the College membership will be invited to elect one representative to the CMC. As the College grows to include the professional associations in other countries, each will similarly be entitled to elect from its membership a representative to the CMC."
Membership
College membership regognizes the following categories: associate member, member, fellow, honorary fellow, emeritus fellow and scholar. Effective Nov. 1, 2006, all CAA members actively pursuing continuing professional development are associate members of the college; requirements for membership, fellowship and scholarship have additional requirements/criteria.
"Over the past three years the [CAA] Board has been working on the concept of promoting ongoing development of the base of evidence for chiropractic while improving the professional environment for Australian chiropractors," said Dennis Richards, DC, president of the CAA. "The heart of the matter has always been our desire to live up to our Core Values and to enhance the chiropractic experience of those we serve. ... The College will create a professional environment that nurtures, encourages and recognises individual contributions to the knowledge, understanding and evidence base of chiropractic. In this process we have been joined by the Chiropractors' Association of New Zealand and the Chiropractic Association (Singapore). ... The College will continue to evolve and to recognize the achievements of those who work hard for our profession. We are now in the process of developing the infrastructure of the College so it can achieve its goals."
Resources
- Ebrall P, Quigley K, Parkinson D, et al. Establishment of the Australasian College of Chiropractors. Chiropractic Journal of Australia, September 2006;36(3):109-115.
- Statement from CAA President Dennis Richards, received via e-mail Nov. 8, 2006.
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