This previous week, I had the pleasure of attending a conference in our nation’s capital. The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) has their national conference in Washington, D.C., every year. It is known as the National Chiropractic Leadership Conference, or NCLC for short. However, this year there were three conferences in one!

The World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) had their biennial conference and the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACA) had their Research Agenda Convention at the conference as well. The three associations combined for what was known as DC 2017 – Impact Spinal Health. As members of the Student American Chiropractic Association (SACA), my colleagues and I came to lobby for the American Chiropractic Association. We presented legislation to the House of Representatives as well as the Senate in order to advance the profession and advocate general health care bills that will also affect chiropractic. It is a great opportunity to network, learn, and advocate.

The first day in D.C., I lobbied on Capitol Hill with my colleagues from Florida as well as students from New York Chiropractic College (NYCC) part of Pinellas County where NUHS is located so our Dr. Joseph Stiefel, our president, joined us for the meeting. We discussed the issue briefs as well as the political climate in D.C. regarding health care and the upcoming proposed budget.

Congressman Charlie Crist was cordial and empathetic. He told us he would co-sponsor a couple of the bills we presented which made the meeting a huge success. I was delighted to meet him and even happier he decided to co-sponsor our bills. After meeting with him we met with a staff member of Congressman Vern Buchanan and then with Congressman Gus Bilirakis. I went on to lobby with students from NYCC with representatives from my home state of New Jersey. I ended up running from building to building to make the meetings because I wanted to meet with as many representatives as possible. It ended up working out because one of the groups didn’t have anyone from New Jersey and it really helps when you have a state resident in the room. 

Following the lobbying, we had a reception with beer, wine and appetizers. We then went to the ballroom to listen to speeches from the keynote speakers. The keynote speakers were innovators in the chiropractic profession who came from all around the world to present their work. There were other speakers such as U.S. lawmakers and people who were helped by chiropractic telling their story and why it was important for chiropractic to continue to grow in health care.

It was an amazing experience to listen to one of the top researchers in biomechanical medicine from Denmark as well as a researcher in neurophysiology from New Zeeland. Those two were the most profound talks of the conference but listening to U.S. legislators and the aides to the surgeon general talk about chiropractic in the solution to the opioid epidemic was awe-inspiring. The conference was a life changing experience filled with cutting edge information and passionate speeches about the past, present, and future of the chiropractic profession. The conference not only inspired me but also helped educate me on different mechanisms I was unaware of.

I also enjoyed the city of Washington, D.C. while at the conference. Dr. Guadagno and I woke up early the next day and went for a 6-½ mile run from our hotel around the national mall and back. The ACA Sports Chiropractor of the year not only treats elite athletes, he stays healthy by living an active lifestyle. He is a great example of who to be as a health care practitioner because he practices what he preaches. It was great to be able to run through the beautiful city of D.C. taking pictures at every site with one of my professors and someone I have grown to admire.

Later that day we had the breakout classes – 10 classes offered in each two-hour time slot. I chose to go to one that was given by the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, which discussed marketing and how to relay our profession’s message to the public. I then attended a class with Dr. Arland Fuhr, the founder of the Activator technique and had an abbreviated activator seminar. Activator Methods is the second most popular technique behind diversified technique, which is hands on-manipulation. It was a really cool class because Dr. Fuhr was taking people from the class, and I needed an adjustment after my run. I was a bit skeptical of Activator because it is instrument-assisted manipulation, but it worked well. My tight low back was alleviated immediately after the treatment. After the classes, we all went out for some food and drinks before our flights back to Florida.

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