National University DC student Erik Korzen will give a podium presentation at the 2013 Chiropractic Sports Sciences Symposium held April 18-21 in Colorado Springs. Erik’s presentation is titled: “Practical Innovation: The Development of a Physical Medicine Checklist for the Improvement of Patient Outcomes.”

“I was inspired by the book The Checklist Manifesto by Dr. Atul Gawande,” says Erik. “My review of research literature shows how a surgical checklist developed by the World Health Organization significantly reduced complications in surgery. It also shows how veteran professionals in many fields rely on checklists to increase safety and improve performance. It seems apparent to me that since chiropractic physicians must often communicate and co-manage cases with other physical medicine professionals, our patient outcomes could be improved if we adopted a physical medicine checklist as a foundation to work from.”

Dr. Kevin Curtin and Dr. Thomas Solecki co-authored the study, helping Erik revise his proposed checklist and helping him submit it to the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians who sponsors the symposium. Dr. Grant Ianelli provided faculty mentorship for Erik’s project through an independent research elective at National University, which allowed Erik to earn academic credit for his work.

Erik says that Dr. Barbara Sullivan, project manager for the evidence based practice program at National University, summed up the best advice for students who would like to get involved in research: “She said that if you have a question about a topic that would make a good research project, chances are that others in the field have similar questions. Use that as a springboard to contact others involved in research, and talk to faculty members. You might find that the perfect project comes together.”

Erik, who also served as an anatomy fellow at National University, was initially heading for a degree in physical therapy. Instead, he chose a career in chiropractic medicine after shadowing a chiropractor who had graduated from National. “Spending time with him got me excited about all that I could do as a chiropractic physician,” says Erik. Erik will be graduating with his DC degree on April 18th, right before he flies to Colorado for the symposium. He plans to practice in Joliet, Illinois.