Although the culture of health care is shifting and complementary and alternative options are being implemented in hospital and primary care settings, many allopathic practitioners are not necessarily familiar with chiropractic. My biggest take-away from being exposed to interprofessional collaboration on a day-to-day basis in the VA is the need for chiropractors to prepare answers to questions regarding what chiropractic care is, common conditions seen, neurophysiological effects of treatment, and the incidence of adverse events.

The World Health Organization (WHO) held its 71^st Assembly May 21-26, 2018 at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. WHO is the directing and coordinating authority on international health, and uses the annual Assembly to set norms and standards for ethical and evidence-based healthcare policy. I had the honor of attending the Assembly this year as part of the World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) delegation. Over four days of plenary sessions, committee meetings, and technical briefings, I observed an impressive breadth and depth of operations at WHO—and a chiropractic profession that is primed for more meaningful engagement with the broader public health community.

It was at the National Chiropractic Leadership Conference that VA resident Stephanie Halloran, DC, began to appreciate the necessity of communicating chiropractic clearly and accurately to outside audiences. Today, she presents information on chiropractic, both formally and informally, to addiction/pain fellows, neurosurgeons, and internal medicine residents within the VA’s integrated healthcare setting. Each presentation Dr. Halloran gives, as well as the many she attends in the VA, helps her to become a better communicator. 

Last month, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) Board of Governors elected N. Ray Tuck, Jr., DC, of Blacksburg, Va., as the association’s new president. He assumes the helm after a period of major transition at ACA, highlighted by key projects intended to better position the association to respond to challenges and opportunities and to leverage the talents and expertise of its members. ACA Blogs editor Annette Bernat sat down with Dr. Tuck recently to discuss the impact the recent changes have made on ACA’s operations as well as its ability to meet members’ needs.

The public primarily perceives the chiropractic profession as a healthcare discipline involved with the management of spine-related pain and disability. Unfortunately, the current state of spine care in the United States is dominated by specialists, who tend to function in isolation, with minimal communication between providers. While this may have been the way it has been in the past, we feel it doesn’t have to--and shouldn’t--stay this way. Regardless of the practice setting, we believe all DCs have opportunities to improve patient care by adopting a more interprofessional approach to care.