The 500th issue of DC carves a significant milestone. When Dynamic Chiropractic first hit the chiropractic streets, the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards was 58 years old.
The profession then registered roughly two thirds of its present numbers (currently 84,000 licenses in the hands of about 62,000 practitioners).
Twenty years ago, the landscape had some of the same points of professional pride that we have today. We had a significant cadre of colleges graduating good doctors; the FCLB had regular educational conferences; and with the support of the licensing boards, the CCE of 1984 had enjoyed USDE recognition for 12 years. The NBCE had just celebrated its 20th anniversary, and the vast majority of U.S. boards accepted Parts I and II. The two national professional associations were active. While chiropractic had a strong foothold in Canada, Australia and England, it was also just beginning to be more visible in the rest of the world.
On the other hand, conspicuously absent was a chiropractic presence in managed care programs, hospitals, and the U.S. military system. There was no Internet to find a DC in your area. Regulatory boards did not have the levels of accountability they operate under today. The CIN-BAD database of public board actions had not yet been envisioned. Ethics commissions were in their infancy.
Today, doctors of chiropractic live in a world that seems to spin faster. There are opportunities for quality continuing professional development delivered like room service, whenever and however the hunger to learn strikes. Research opportunities are mushrooming, knowledge is shared instantly, and chiropractors are esteemed experts in the public courtroom and the medical school classroom.
Opportunities for patient-centered collaborative care are exploding as patients take charge of their own health. People are no longer satisfied by a pill and a pat on the hand - they want to feel healthy, participate in their care options, and understand how things work. In the absence of coordinated care, patients assume the center role themselves - aggressively seeking alternatives to drugs and surgery. In short, it's the perfect time in history for a health care profession that focuses on achieving and maintaining maximum wellness and flexibility.
However, it's also a perfect time for professionals to focus on themselves. Fraudulent schemes proliferate at an alarming rate, sloppiness in record-keeping hasn't been eliminated just because computers are in every office, and national leaders model inappropriate sexual relationships. Temptations are timeless.
But so are the qualities of human commitment, self-sacrifice and creativity. Twenty years after Dynamic Chiropractic began reporting to the profession, the standards of the publication have been raised, and the expectations of our doctors and their patients have also been raised. Both practitioners and regulatory boards are more accountable. The curiously invasive news media "see and tell" - in a nanosecond. The Internet reports news, abuse and rumor with equal detail.
Putting the best interests of the patient before self establishes the only real safe haven for practice. The successful doctor of chiropractic today is one who creates the basis for the profession tomorrow. A strong foundation is built on a commitment to lifelong learning, eagerly embracing opportunities for change. It demands honesty and clarity of thought. It requires self-control, self-sacrifice, and generous sharing of the healing touch of chiropractic, without regard to dollars or the clock. We recognize it by the determination and ability to kindle a spark of curiosity in oneself as well as in patients and co-workers.
Professional regulation isn't fun. It is the hardest way that an individual can love chiropractic. It is heartbreaking to review case after case of abandoned values. It is easy to proclaim the great joys of chiropractic - it's much tougher to balance the weight of a fellow practitioner's license against the innocent trust of the public.
May 24, 2004, marked the 100th anniversary of the first legal license to practice chiropractic in the U.S. State-based, professional self-regulation is a fundamental right and obligation for health care professions. As the FCLB embarks on our own fourth quarter of a century in service to high standards of public protection, we do not foresee state-based licensing shifting to central or federal control.
What we do foresee are increasing demands by the media and the public for accountability and ethical performance by their health care practitioners. At the touch of a button, patients can learn about the benefits of the positive interventions you offer. And just as quickly, they can learn about the tragic performance of doctors who forsake their patients for their own personal benefit.
As chiropractic steadily gains support worldwide, the eyes of the world may be focused on how you decide to practice. International opportunities will be based on trust and limited by skepticism generated from relationships, experiences and stories. Each doctor makes a difference.
Some who celebrate the 500th issue of Dynamic Chiropractic will go on to be leaders in chiropractic regulation; some will be leaders in promoting the profession. More will just go to work, faithfully and honestly, with the simple goal of healing real people. This publication and others will produce hundreds of issues, marked by good news and bad. Whatever our niche, let's recommit to performing ethically and transparently, placing the good of the patient squarely at the forefront.