Vickie Palmer Passes Board of Trustees Gavel
By: Palmer Communications, Press Release
(February 4, 2008) – Davenport, IA –
After an illustrious 20-year legacy as
chairman of the Palmer College of
Chiropractic Board of Trustees, Ms. Vickie
Palmer announced to Board members on
Jan. 15, 2008, that she would officially
conclude her tenure as chairman at the
Feb. 1-2, 2008, Board meeting in San Jose,
Calif. Ms. Palmer continues serving on the
Board as a Board officer and member of
the executive committee. Read More
An Intern’s ‘Day in the
Life’ ... This Stuff Really
Works!
By: Jonathan Lazar, 9th Trimester StudentWhile getting my massage from Jessie,
I was discussing the fact that my 35 year
old brother, Doug, had recently died from
an interaction of pain medicine. I told her
the drug he was taking was Lyrica and that
it was prescribed off-label (it is a
fibromyalgia drug that was prescribed to
my brother for a herniated cervical disc).
When she heard this, she got very nervous
and said her mother-in-law had been diagnosed
with fibromyalgia and was prescribed
Lyrica. Interesting. Read More
A Day in the Life
Vol. XII
By: Jack Stockwell, DC, Palmer Alumnus Class 943I have been submitting articles for the
Beacon, on a monthly basis, for one year.
There is an agenda behind my efforts, as
must be apparent by now. So let's cut to the
chase. I am a fan of and a proponent for, a
reconsideration of what propelled chiropractic,
with such volcanic energy, into the
health care arena over 100 years ago. I am
a well-witnessed believer in what BJ
Palmer believed and gave his life to. I am
devoted, full time, to what spread chiropractic,
in its early days, from one county
to the next, until North America was baptized
by immersion, with doctors who
understood health emerges from a healthy
spine. Read More
Worth the Trip: Future
Health Clinic Tour
By: Kristin Lichty, PSAF RepresentativeDespite the weather conditions and the
long trip to Carroll, IA, the clinic tour with
Dr. Kraus on January 12th was a huge success.
Twenty Palmer students attended
and were able to experience Dr. Kraus'
state-of-the-art healthcare facility. Family
& Specialty Medical Center is an integrated
wellness clinic that offers chiropractic,
family medical care, physical therapy,
massage therapy, nutritional counseling,
acupuncture, and even laser hair removal!
The 20,000+ square foot facility houses all
of the above and a fitness center. Read More
Get Along? Are You
Kidding?!
By: Katrina Neyer, 8th Trimester StudentI was sitting here reading the January
issue of the Beacon and, keeping in mind
the December issue, wondered where the
idea of civilized debate disappeared.
When we as humans are confronted with
an emotional situation, we become
engrossed and emotional in that situation.
We tend to defend ourselves and our opinions,
to the death if necessary. We close
ourselves off to outside influences and
ideas in order to believe in the one contained
within our own minds. We do not
realize that in avoiding the debate, we
mimic our immune system and wall off the
offending entity. Once that entity/organism
is walled off and surrounded by
fibrous tissue and calcium, our immune
system is no longer required to build up a
defense against it; this leads our body
toward complacency against the offending
organism. That complacency will, in the
end, allow that organism to injure us
repeatedly. It is when we open ourselves
(inside and out) to an offending entity that
we strengthen our fight against it. It is for
this reason, that I commend everyone who
is now engaged in the debate set ablaze by
Scott Chamberlain's commentary. We all
know the pink elephant is in the room, it's
about time we talk about it. Read More
Palmer Chiropractic Clinics
Intern Recognition Award
By: Julie A.Schrad, M.S., D.C., Associate Dean of Clinical EducationAnnouncing the Palmer Chiropractic
Clinics, Intern Recognition Awards for the
Fall/ Winter Trimester 2007-2008! The
Intern Recognition Award is granted to
specially selected 9th and 10th trimester
interns who demonstrate ongoing excellence
and integrity in their daily interactions
with patients, faculty clinicians, clinic
staff, and fellow students. Recognizing
the multi-levels of professional and caring
behavior that an intern should embody, a
variety of competencies are considered
including, but not limited to: communication
skills, excellence in providing patient
education, patient rapport, courtesy, voluntary
service, record keeping, role modeling,
and general helpfulness in the clinical
setting. Faculty clinicians in the Academic
Health Center “pods”, the Rock Island
Clinic, and the Community Outreach
Clinic, may nominate and then choose one
intern from their area. Nomination time
periods are held once each trimester and
are not announced to interns; the process is
handled through the clinics/pods and the
Department of Clinical Education. Award
recipients receive recognition in the
Beacon, a certificate signifying this honor,
and a special lapel pin. Read More
The Apprenticeship: A Success Model
By: Timothy McFadden, The New Sheriff in TownI've just completed 7th trimester, and
have enjoyed the opportunity to work with
patients who are also my peers. It's been a
great learning experience for me. The
upcoming months, I
will have the
opportunity to
increase my
skills in the
main clinic,
and acquaint
myself with
patients a little
more
removed from
the Palmer
world. I'm looking
forward to this
opportunity. Read More
Philosophy Lite: The Origin of my Indigestion
By: Ryan Yates, Assistant EditorI promised myself that upon my maiden
voyage as assistant editor of the Beacon, I
would avoid heavy subjects,
but I cannot
resist. Perhaps
it's my love of
w I s d o m .
Perhaps it's
my love of
this great
p r o f e s s I o n .
Whatever it
is, I feel compelled
to write. Read More
SUPPLEMENT: Kinematic (Functional and Positional)
Imaging of the Lumbar Spine
By: John R. Bomar, DC, Beacon ContributorCurrent research (recently gaining support
by third party payers and workman's
compensation groups) continues to document
the poor correlation between certain
imaging features pertaining to “static” discovertebral
pathoanatomy (i.e. abnormal
disc height, signal, and contour, ect) with
clinical syndromes in patients with low
back pain (LBP). However, new research
is emerging documenting that abnormal
kinematic behavior (not just isolated static
pathoanatomic features) of the lumbar
spine is highly associated with low back
pain (LBP). Both abnormal limitation
(rigidity) and abnormal excessive sagittal
vertebral displacement (instability)
through range of motion constitute the
lumbar segmental mobility disorders
(LSMDs). The LSMDs most commonly
referred to in the literature are lumbar segmental
rigidity (LSR) and lumbar segmental
instability (LSI), respectively. In addition
to LSMDs having been found to be
associated with the presence and severity
of LBP, LSMDs have been found in significantly
higher prevalence in patients
with recurrent chronic low back pain
(RCLBP) (compared to the numbers
expected within a normally distributed
asymptomatic population). The impetus
for the growing evidence that LSMDs are
in fact valid diagnostic entities is primarily
due to the emergence and understanding
of upright, weightbearing, and
positional/functional imaging techniques
(pushed to the forefront by the growing
documentation in the literature of the poor
correlation between clinical findings with
imaging findings obtained from existing
and ubiquitous recumbent/static, non
weight-bearing imaging techniques). Read More
An Interview with the Upper Cervical
Research Foundation
By: Zach Ward, NUCCA Club RepresentativeThe following is a transcript of an email
exchange between NUCCA Club and Dr.
Jim Palmer, the director of research for the
Upper Cervical Research Foundation
(UCRF). As a result of the attention generated
by the NUCCA blood pressure study,
as well as writings of Dr. Jack Stockwell in
this paper, many of you have taken a
greater interest in the atlas. In the interest
of our education, we asked Dr. Palmer (no
relation) to answer some of the common
questions that students often have about
NUCCA and similar techniques. Read More
OUM to Hold New
Series of Free Practice
Management
Teleclasses for 2008
By: Rebecca Adamson, Marketing Coordinator, OUM Chiropractic ProgramBrentwood, Tenn. The OUM
Chiropractor Program, offered by one of
the top national providers of chiropractic
malpractice insurance, will host a series of
new financial management teleclasses
instructed by Stanley Greenfield, RHU,
the nation's leading chiropractic financial
management consultant with nearly 50
years of experience. Read More
You are Great!
By: Dr. Gary L. Tapper, D.C., Palmer AlumnusI graduated from Palmer in 1975. I left
Davenport, Iowa with an abundance of
energy and motivation to help everyone
find true health through chiropractic. Over
the past 33 years, I have seen the wonders
of chiropractic working to restore
proper balance and
function to thousands
of patients
from all walks of
life. My practice has
evolved around the family
practice, treating new born
infants as well as children and
adults. There are so many cases of
colic, recurrent ear infections, digestive
problems, and on and on that have
been resolved with chiropractic adjustments
in my clinic. Read More
Palmer Responds to
NIU Tragedy
By: Larry G. Patten, Palmer CC ChancellorDear Palmer College family,
In April 2007, the terrible tragedy at
Virginia Tech shocked us all. Today, with
great sadness, we deal with a similar loss
at Northern Illinois University. On behalf
of the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff and
students of Palmer College, I have sent a
letter of condolence to the president of
NIU offering our deepest sympathy,
prayers and support.
Read More
The Real Future of Chiropractic
By: Patrick Newhouse, Blair Club PresidentWatching the recent Frontline documentary
on PBS called “The Medicated
Child,” I couldn't help but be sick to my
stomach. This documentary portrayed kids
who were on dangerous anti-psychotic
drugs, and showed very clearly the dire
side-effects of their use. Read More
Orthotic Support for
Aging Joints
By: John Hyland, DC, Beacon ContributorThe frequency of degenerative joint
disease (also called osteoarthrosis and,
less accurately, osteoarthritis) increases
with age. Therefore, as our society gets
older, chiropractors will be faced with
more patients having painful joint conditions.
Whenever degenerative changes
affect weight-bearing joints (especially in
the spine and lower extremities) steps to
reduce the damaging effects of heel-strike
shock on the musculoskeletal system
should be implemented. The use of flexible,
custom-made orthotics can help alleviate
present symptoms in these patients,
while also reducing the potential for future
injury. Read More
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Philosopher?
By: Joseph Strauss, DC, Editor, The Pivot ReviewSherman College of Straight
Chiropractic presents an annual conference
called the
I n t e r n a t I o n a l
Research and
P h I l o s o p h I c a l
S y m p o s I u m
(IRAPS). It
has become
one of my
favorite seminars,
one in
which I usually
speak or
present a paper.
I particularly
enjoy the unique
opportunity
to see
p h I l o s o -
phers and
scientists/researchers get together and
share ideas. This is probably the only program
of its kind in the chiropractic profession.
For the first few years, the two
groups met separately and came together
for one or two keynote speakers. Then
some wise person decided it would be better
to have both categories of presentations
(philosophy and research) be given to the
entire assembly. Guess what happened?
Well, let me tell you first what did not
occur. The researchers did not walk out
when the philosophers got up to present
nor vice versa. For the most part each
group was respectful, attentive and interested
in the other's presentation. There
were interesting questions and discussions
as people attempted to integrate the philosophy
and science. That is not to suggest
that the usual academic disagreements that
would occur at any professional presentation
did not occur. However, they occurred
in a civil and respectful manner, a unique
phenomenon in chiropractic. Read More
Does Palmer Still Have a Hockey Team?
By: Dickey Dunn, The Voice of Palmer HockeyI've got two words for you people - "ROAD WARRIORS”.
After the stellar performance of last
year's team, management felt it was
time to move into the more competitive
MACHA Gold
Division. To prepare for
the jump General Manager
Mat Hahey decided to
beef up the squad by
adding a pair of goaltenders,
a defenseman,
and two forwards.
Read More
Do You Want a Free Trip to Washington, DC?
By: Jason Blackketter, SICA Legislative RepThere are no gimmicks or tricks
involved. We just want
as many students
as possible to
a c c o m p a n y
t h e
International
Chiropractors
A s s o c I a t I o n
(ICA) to a
N a t I o n a l
Conference on
Chiropractic in Medicare. The date of the
big meeting is Thursday, April 24, 2008.
Your local SICA chapter needs to finalize
transportation and boarding plans ASAP
so please contact us immediately if you
plan to attend…remember, I said the trip
will be free, but space is limited! This historic
event will be taking the place of the
traditional “Chiropractic Legislative Day
in Washington.” The purpose of this intensive
one-day forum is to discuss the future
of chiropractic and chiropractic patients
who are participants the Medicare program.
ICA plans to bring in many influential
people to facilitate the discussions
about the health of that massive federal
program and the health of our patients.
Many of our elderly patients across this
nation depend on Medicare funding for us
to care for them. Of course we can all
agree that chiropractic is cost effective,
true health care and much better suited for
maintaining a healthy population than any
of the other drug programs or “benefit”
o ffered by the medical industry and
bureaucracy of government. Read More
How Will I Market My New Practice?
By: Dr. Bart Anderson, DC, Beacon ContributorRemember a few weeks ago when
Palmer closed early due to the extreme
cold and a blizzard that never came? It was
January 29th. I know because I was in
town that day to speak. Despite the weather,
over 40 of you Palmer students made
your way to The Radisson hotel. We
packed into a tiny board room and went to
town on new practice stuff for 3 _ hours!
As always, the question in the headline
was a hot topic. Read More
Women Leaders Launch New AAUW Chapter at
Palmer
By: Lisa Trujillo, President, Palmer AAUWMy name is Lisa Trujillo and I am the
president of the AAUW student organization.
I would like to introduce you to the
American Association of University
Women. Since its first meeting in 1881,
AAUW has been a catalyst for change.
Today, with more than 100,000 members,
1,300 branches and 500 college and university
partners, AAUW contributes to a
more promising future and provides a
powerful voice for women and girls-a
voice that cannot and will not be ignored. Read More