When we started AzCA in 1988, there was a pressing need for a change in our state. The "mixers" of CAA and the "straights" of FSCOA were fighting so much that our legislative program was endangered. Our insurance equality law was so weak that we desperately needed a change, yet association leaders were adamantly opposed to new legislation. The personal animosity between many of the politically active chiropractors was at the breaking point.
These crises led to the birth of AzCA. In the last three years, the straight-mixer battle has ended, quality legislative lobbyists were retained, and a major new insurance equality law was passed. All of AzCA's goals have been achieved; we are all back together in one unified association.
I do not believe in regrets. Nonetheless, I have some advice about what to do when the crises seem overwhelming and leaders seem backward and inadequate: Change the association from within and do not start a new organization.
In 1988, we determined that it would be easier to change the course of chiropractic in Arizona by starting a new association. In retrospect, I think we underestimated our strength and abilities. Today I would not hesitate to attack the problems from within.
The impact of splitting the profession is too negative. In 1988, the CAA had 370 members and the FSCOA had 30. At the time of the recent merger, AzCA had 110 members and CAA had 90. Nearly 200 chiropractors just dropped out in the last three years because they either did not know which association to support, or because they were traumatized by the battle between the two groups. So even though we have made a lot of positive progress, our association is weaker than ever.
Also, we wasted too much energy fighting one another. I would rather have seen this energy support chiropractic progress rather than civil war.
The greatest criticism, of course, is reserved for chiropractors that refuse to join any association. I would love to find a way to enact laws that would only benefit members. I have very little respect for the doctors who sit on the sidelines and benefit from association work, but refuse to help support the effort. In biology, the word "parasite" was used to describe such creatures.
Association work gets though sometimes. We have to work with doctors who we consider ignorant, arrogant, and even dishonest. But the solution is not a new group. Roll up your sleeves and change your current association from within. You and your profession will benefit in the end.
Alan M. Immerman, D.C.
Scottsdale, Arizona