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August 2010
In This Issue:
CCE Changing Standards, Moving Away from Chiropractic
The Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) has proposed standards that shift the profession radically away from chiropractic. In what many see as an obvious attempt to appease National College's self proclaimed "Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine" degree, the CCE's new proposed standards remove much of what makes chiropractic unique.
 The problems with the new standards are best summed up by Dr. Steve Welsh, Secretary-Treasurer of ICA and Past President of the Georgia Council of Chiropractic. In his letter to Life University, Dr. Welsh writes, "The proposed new standards from CCE appear to be extremely problematic and I, and many others, have many concerns ... most of which are related to what is being removed from the current standards. It does not appear to me that there will be any requirements for students to demonstrate a proficiency in "adjusting", and "X-ray". The definition of "Primary Care Chiropractic Physician" has been removed and once again, circa 2000, they are proposing "primary care physician", a term that is not well defined in the document. All references to chiropractic being a "drugless" profession have been removed."
In a July 14, 2010 letter to Lee Van Dusen, D.C., President of CCE, Dr. Christopher Kent notes that, "According to the U.S. Department of Education web site, the Council on Chiropractic Education is recognized as a specialized accrediting agency. The scope of recognition is: 'the accreditation of programs leading to the Doctor of Chiropractic degree and single-purpose institutions offering the Doctor of Chiropractic program'.” He then questions the CCE's authority to give accreditation to an institute that is rendering a DCM degree. Dr. Kent's letter can be read by clicking here.
The ICA also commented in a letter. Among their many concerns they raised the issue of lowering the standards for procedures normally thought essential to chiropractors. Dr. Gary Walsemann, ICA president wrote, "Also of concern is the removal of specific descriptions of coursework and clinical requirements from this draft document." Dr. Walsemann continued, "...we have some trepidation that the lack of a description of required areas of study and specific clinical competencies in the areas of diagnostic x-rays and adjusting techniques could lead to a gradual elimination in the curriculum of those subjects and skill sets that make the education of a chiropractor unique from that of other medical health care providers. ICA's letter can be downloaded here.
On August 5, 2010 the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Chiropractors (Board of Examiners) shot down the idea of a DCM degree. They stated, "Therefore, it is the Board’s position that a licensed chiropractor would be prohibited from marketing their services, qualifications or degrees by describing him or herself as a practitioner or doctor of “chiropractic medicine”. It is the Board’s position that the statute does not allow licensing of a person holding a Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine degree." This should mean that National graduates with a DCM degree are not eligible to practice in that state. With this ruling, other states are sure to follow. You can read the Mass Board's letter by clicking here. '
The proposed new CCE standards can be found here.
How Often Should I Change My Website?
This is a common question we get at NYK. There are really two meanings to this question that have completely different answers. With a Now You Know Adjustable website, you can instantly change the theme of your site to give it a new look. So if your question is, "How often should I change my theme?" The answer is fairly easy.
 Changing your theme with a NYK website is merely several clicks of a mouse away. But how often you do it depends on two factors, what's going on in your office, and what season it is. You should change your theme whenever you have a special event or occasion for your office. This draws interest and makes things look new. For instance, if you are sponsoring a sports team, our NYK sports theme would be a nice touch.
The other reason to change your theme is seasonal. Presently NYK has 10 seasonal and holiday themes. As the various holidays roll around, why not give your website a fresh look to match the holiday or the season. Of course, you can always just change your website theme because you just plain feel like it. That reason works the best for me.
It is an entirely different matter if your original question was, "How often should I change my website content?" For this question, the answer is, "As often as possible." Changing your website content should be an ongoing endeavor. I personally am always adding to and changing my clinic's site, www.georgiachiropractic.com. There are several good reasons to do this. First, I want to add new educational material as I find it. I also want to add things like video testimonials, great new articles and clinic events. This keeps the website fresh and interesting.
Changing and updating your site can also help you in the search engine rankings. Not only do I add the proper keywords to each page, (a unique feature NYK gives you with an ADJUSTABLE website), but I also like to change and freshen the front page regularly. Changing your website content is one of the biggest things search engines look for when ranking sites. Since most new patients are referrals, doesn't it make sense to give your current patients a reason to return to your site so they have more information with which to make a referral?
The nice thing about changing your site is once you get into it, it is actually fun. Seeing things you tweaked appear online, and knowing that thousands will be looking and learning, is a thrill for me. With the NYK Adjustable websites, you can do most of the updates and changes yourself. This makes getting that thrill as easy as possible.
Some Great Programs that are Growing Fast
One of the advantages of being involved with  Now You Know is that you get to go to chiropractic meetings and share the excitement and "spizz" of being a chiropractor. Having been on the road now for over a decade, I have noticed some trends in meeting attendance. There is a definitive growth among meetings where chiropractic philosophy is the cornerstone of the meetings.
I thought I might share with you some of my observations. I can not speak for the programs that I have not attended, (I have yet to get to a Chiropractic Jam in California), but these are the ones that I see growing in both numbers and excitement. (In no particular order.)
 DE - Dynamic Essentials is on a resurgence both in numbers and excitement. The meetings are bigger than they have been in years. Much of this is due to the local grass roots movements of the Band of Brothers. The Band of Brothers is a group of DE faithful that rallied around a talk given by Dr. Dick Santo several years ago. This group has regular local meetings and numerous conference calls. This is a strong support group, and a direct feeder into the DE meetings. As a result, the meetings are getting more exciting and larger. www.lifede.com
New Beginnings - New Beginnings is a group of dedicated, philosophically strong chiropractors centered in the northeast. However, recently they have branched out well beyond their region as doctors travel far and wide to attend these meetings. This meeting gives attendees a sense of family as they share the principles of chiropractic. Their meetings have grown to the point where they sell out their hotel long in advance, and continue to break attendance records with every meeting. www.nbchiro.com
 State & Local meetings - The states that have philosophy and principle meetings are growing. Recently the Georgia Council of Chiropractic just completed a convention that had a spirit so much more than just a CE credit program. They experienced a 70% increase in attendance. www.georgiachiropractic.org.
Similarly, the Connecticut Chiropractic Council is about to hold their yearly convention that they call their "X-TRAVAGANZA". This program is already showing a large registration, and will fill up. www.ctcouncil.com.
The point is that just when forces are trying to pry the profession away from our uniqueness, the meetings that support our principles are growing. I personally applaud these meetings and the others that support, defend, and promote the principles of chiropractic. And I intend to keep on going!
The Good, the Bad, and the Subluxated! - AKA - Chiropractic in the News
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