Las Vegas was once again the setting for the annual meeting of the Association of Chiropractic Colleges and the Research Agenda Conference (ACC-RAC), held March 17-19, 2005.
Nearly 400 individuals were in attendance for ACC-RAC 2005, which has evolved into a meeting on the status of chiropractic research, held in conjunction with a series of meetings whereby administrators of chiropractic colleges gather and discuss common concerns. The combination of the two programs provides an ideal opportunity to nurture the relationship between chiropractic scholarship and education.
Numerous peer-reviewed platform and poster presentations were featured, covering such topics as: evidence-based practice and health care; the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine's new Strategic Plan; rubrics in the teaching of chiropractic technique; wellness; funding; statistics; scientific writing; and preparing grants for submission.
In addition, four researchers were invited to revisit the "white paper" documents that emerged from the first Research Agenda Conference in 1995, and trace how far the profession has come and the direction in which it should be headed. Each researcher was responsible for a presentation focusing on a specific area:
- Gregory Cramer, DC, PhD - basic science
- Gert Bronfort, DC, PhD - clinical science
- Robert Mootz, DC - health services research
- John Mrozek, DC - educational research
Prior to ACC-RAC 2005, the four papers slated for presentation were posted on the ACC-RAC Web site for public review and comment. The authors then modified their papers in response to the feedback. At the conference, the audience was encouraged to make recommendations and comments during the researchers' presentations. A final draft of each paper will be published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics.
Dana Lawrence, DC, associate professor, Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research, explained the importance of ACC-RAC:
"The ACC-RAC conference has become the pre-eminent conference for chiropractic research and academia," said Dr. Lawrence. "It allows individuals to merge the academic with the scientific, to gain new skills and new knowledge, to share research with colleagues and friends, and to come away with new ideas that may be implemented in whatever setting in which one works."
This year marked the 12th year of the ACC meeting, the 10th year of the RAC, and the fourth consecutive year that the two have shared a single stage. The Bureau of Health Professions of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, the Association of Chiropractic Colleges, the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research at Palmer College of Chiropractic, and Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College sponsored the event. For more information, visit www.c3r.org/accrac05.
Written by Karen Stretch, assistant editor at MPA Media.