


America's Most Read Chiropractic Magazine…
Be sure to contact Dr. Patrick Gentempo at Action Potential Holdings, Inc., by e-mail through his Executive Assistant, Lisa Marie Vasquez, [email protected], 201-345-3370. www.ActionPotentialHoldings.com
Also for more information about the products and services that Dr. Gentempo describes see below a list of companies and contact information for your easy reference.
Action Potential Holdings 201-345-3370, email: [email protected], www.ActionPotentialHoldings.com
Free Form at: www.freeformchiro.com
Chiro Business Finishing School: www.ChiroBusinessFinishingSchool.com, 214-954-0302; [email protected]
Chiropractic Leadership Alliance (CLA): [email protected] & Creating Wellness Alliance (CWA): [email protected], 800-285-2001
SHINE for Doctors: www.shinefordoctors.com; Email to: [email protected] 800-285-2001, ext. 118 or 973-998-8670, ext. 118
On Purpose Monthly Audio News Program: http://chiroonpurpose.com 800-892-6463, ext. 211, [email protected]
:dropcap_open:I:dropcap_close:n 1900, men’s water polo became the first team sport introduced at the modern Olympic Games. The rules of the game were different in Europe, so in the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis the Europeans refused to participate. As a result, the USA won the gold, silver and the bronze. Ironically, this is the only gold medal that the US has won in Olympic water polo competition. Historically, the sport has been dominated by the Europeans. Hungary leads all nations with nine Olympic gold medals.
The USA won bronze medals in the Olympic Games in 1924, 1932 and 1972. The US team was one of the best in the world in the 80s. With Terry Schroeder as the team captain, the USA won silver medals in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea. In 1991, Schroeder led Team USA to the World Cup title in Barcelona, Spain.
After the 1988 Olympic Games, Team USA spent the next 20 years struggling to get back to the medal podium. In June of 2007, with the team ranked 9th in the world, USA water polo hired Dr. Terry Schroeder to be the head coach.
Schroeder led the Men’s National Team through a resurgence in 2008, garnering silver medals at the FINA World League Super Final and Beijing Olympic Games. The team’s success in Beijing was one of the great stories of the 2008 games.
Dr. Schroeder is considered one of water polo’s all-time standout players. He captained the National Team from 1983-1992 and coached Pepperdine University’s men’s team for 20 years. Under Dr. Schroeder’s leadership, the Pepperdine Waves had a record of 307-195 (.612), attended the NCAA Championships eight times, and claimed the NCAA championship in 1997. Schroeder was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1998 and was recently inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
A graduate of San Marcos High in Santa Barbara, CA, Schroeder earned All-American honors at Pepperdine in 1977, 1978 and 1980. He graduated with honors in 1981 and then completed his doctorate studies at Palmer-West Chiropractic School. Schroeder and his wife Lori (who celebrate 25 years of marriage in 2012) reside in Westlake Village, CA, with their daughters, Leanna and Sheridan.
TAC: How do you see the U.S. Water Polo Team developing this year?
Dr. Schroeder: Since January 2012, we have been training full-time. All the players agreed to stay at home this year and give up their opportunity to play professionally overseas. Each and every player realized the potential benefit of training together full-time for 7 months (January – July). We began the year with a trip to Australia for training and to compete in the Pan Pacific tournament. The training went well and we ended up beating Australia in the finals to win the gold at the tournament. After returning home, we have been training nine times per week.
We train Monday through Saturday. A typical week looks like this: Monday – 8 am – 9:45 weights/cardio in the gym, 10 – 12 noon swim/legs conditioning in the pool at CLU, 7 – 9:30 pm tactics in the pool at Oaks. Tuesday – 8:30 am to 11:45 am in the pool at CLU for swim/legs/tactics. Wednesday – 8 am – 9:45 weights/cardio in the gym, 10 – 12 noon swim/legs conditioning in the pool at CLU, 7 – 9:30 pm tactics in the pool at Oaks. Thursday – 8:30 am to 11:45 am in the pool at CLU for swim/legs/tactics. Friday – 8 am – 9:45 weights/cardio in the gym, 10 – 12 noon swim/legs conditioning in the pool at CLU, 7 – 9:30 pm tactics in the pool at Oaks. Saturday 9 am – 11:30 am in the pool at Oaks/CLU or Pepperdine. Obviously, this is all the players do right now. They are not working and they are sacrificing a great deal of time with their families to make this dream a reality. Some are living with “host families” in the Conejo Valley and others have rented apartments. We have six married players and three of those have kids. Our team is really a large family. Mixed in with the training has been common training with other teams. We hosted Germany, Italy and Montenegro in March and then recently went to Serbia and Italy for training. Later this month we will host the World League Prelims with Canada and Brazil and then in late May Croatia and Hungary are here for a series of games and training. In June, we will travel to Kazakhstan for the World League Super Finals before we return home for our final preparations. The Olympic Games opening ceremonies is July 27, 2012. The training has been going very well and we are improving every day and becoming a better team.
TAC: Has there been an increase in the use of chiropractors at the Olympic level that you’ve noticed as a result of some of your past successes?
Dr. Schroeder: I do believe that chiropractors have continued to become more and more popular with Olympic athletes and teams. I would like to say that I had some small part of that increase; however, it is chiropractic itself that deserves all the credit. Athletes are looking for anything to give them an edge and more and more they are realizing that when your body is finely tuned and aligned you have the best chance to perform at your best. Only chiropractic offers the athletes a “hands on” natural approach to maximizing their potential. This is, after all, what the Olympic Games are all about – reaching your human potential, and what better way to do that than with chiropractic!
TAC: Is this specifically only within the U.S. or more with international teams and competitors as well?
Dr. Schroeder: The popularity of chiropractic has grown throughout the world. Through my travels at various international competitions (Pan American Games, World Championships, etc.), I have met chiropractors who are working with many different countries and most all sports. It has been a joy to see this profession receive the attention and credit it deserves.
TAC: Do you feel like a chiropractor without advanced preparation specific to the sports world is at a disadvantage, or not equipped to treat Olympic athletes?
Dr. Schroeder: While it is true that many Olympic athletes are looking for a chiropractor that does some soft tissue work (ART, Graston, etc.) the adjustment is still our most powerful tool. I would certainly recommend to any chiropractor who desires to treat Olympic athletes to develop as many adjunct skills/tools as you can to help your athletes; however, first and foremost become the best adjuster you can be.
TAC: Are there certain training programs that you’d recommend chiropractors pursue to become equipped to treat athletes at this level?
Dr. Schroeder: To become an official chiropractor for the USA Olympic Team one must follow the criteria that is outlined by the USOC medical staff. You must be in practice for at least 5 years, must have experience working with a national team and must go through a two-week program at the Olympic training center. As I said, if your desire is to work with Olympic athletes, I would recommend learning some soft tissue techniques to add to your skills.
Currently, we have a new chiropractic graduate working with our team who came from an athletic training background. Her name is Karen Bloch and she is doing a wonderful job with our team. If you are just going to be working with a specific team then it would also be a good idea to learn as much as you can about that specific sport. You must know how the body is stressed and the potential injuries to look for in each different sport.
TAC: Have you treated any of the athletes that you are currently coaching? Explain please.
Dr. Schroeder: When I started coaching this team in 2007, there were two or three guys that were familiar with and utilized chiropractic care. At this time, I have treated each one of our athletes. Every member of our Olympic water polo team is a regular chiropractic patient. They know the benefits and I am convinced that it is a part of our success. I have also been asked on numerous occasions to treat an athlete from one of the teams that we have been competing against. On our most recent trip to Italy, we were training against a club team called Pro Recco. This team is like a world all-star team.
They have players from Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Italy, Hungary and Spain. Two of the very best players in the world, Andrija Prlainovic from Serbia and Thomas Kasas from Hungary, asked me to adjust them. Of course, I did and they too were introduced to the benefits of chiropractic care. One of our players, Merrill Moses, who is considered by many the best goalie in the world, is planning on going to chiropractic school and becoming a chiropractor when he is done playing.
TAC: Thank you and good luck Dr. Schroeder.
Todd Singleton, D.C., is an author, speaker, consultant and a practicing doctor. He graduated from Los Angeles College of Chiropractic in 1990. For many years he ran the largest MD/DC/PT clinics in the state of Utah, until he switched to an all-cash, nutrition model in 2006. Dr. Singleton has a busy nutrition practice in Salt Lake City, Utah where he specializes in Weight Loss, Neuropathy, Fibromyalgia, Diabetes and other nutritional problems. He also speaks around the country and holds a monthly seminar in his office teaching other chiropractors how to add Weight Loss, Neuropathy and other nutritional programs into their offices. In an interview with The American Chiropractor, Dr. Singleton shares some of the perspective he has gained over the years, working within his own clinic, as well as consulting others on theirs.
Dr. Singleton: Well, my experience has been that insurance companies don’t always play fair. So after years of dealing with the headaches that come along with an insurance-based practice, I became passionate about practicing without insurance. I decided I wanted to develop my dream cash practice. In order to do that, I knew I’d need to help more people than just the patients who seek chiropractic care. We know that only 7% to 12% of the population utilize chiropractic, and I wanted to attract the rest. My real passion has always been nutrition, but I had never really made great money doing it. It was actually my wife who suggested that I take the things I loved about nutrition and help patients with specific conditions like weight loss.
Dr. Singleton: I opened up a weight loss practice in 2006. I made terrific profits from the very first month and had overwhelming success with my patients. I knew right off the bat I had to share this discovery. So I did my first weight loss presentation at a Parker Seminar in 2008. I was surprised to see how receptive doctors were to adding additional services to help their patients. Doctors said things like, “My patients have been asking me how to lose weight for years, but I haven’t had anything organized to give them.” That is probably the biggest hurdle to overcome…having a system that works. It seems so easy, right? Just eat less and exercise more. But if it were that easy, we wouldn’t have 66% to 86% of our country that is overweight. Patients need help! They need a system that works. There are many things that need to be addressed in a weight loss program, like finding the cause of their weight gain, what foods should they eat, what supplements should they take, the services we perform to aid in the process, how they can overcome their emotional eating, and the best exercises for them.
:dropcap_open:Some chiropractors say they are afraid to do anything but adjust, feeling that they’ll lose credibility. :quoteleft_close:
TAC: What is the common problem you see among chiropractors today?
Dr. Singleton: I’m on the phone daily with chiropractors and there are definitely two camps out there…those who are thriving and those who are really struggling. The good news is that many chiropractors have figured out a way to serve more people, and that has caused their practices to expand. Some chiropractors say they are afraid to do anything but adjust, feeling that they’ll lose credibility. My experience has been that you actually become much more credible as a doctor when you can solve the health problems your patients have in addition to their back or neck pain. In fact, I am making a much bigger impact on my patients’ lives now treating patients nutritionally than I ever did in the past.
TAC: How is a busy chiropractor supposed to add something new into his or her practice?
Dr. Singleton: Some doctors are very intimidated by the work they think they’ll have to do or everything they’ll have to learn or relearn by adding a weight loss program, neuropathy program or some other nutritional program. The ironic part is that they’ve already spent many, many years to become a doctor, and they already know how the body works. Anything new they add will be easy compared to what they’ve already done.
TAC: It doesn’t seem like weight loss and neuropathy would be practiced out of the same office. Why that combination?
Dr. Singleton: Actually, I just wanted to help patients nutritionally. Initially, I just wanted to help people who weren’t healthy, to get healthy. But patients are driven by their conditions or symptoms. So I initially targeted weight loss and that was a slam dunk. Then, we actually started helping so many overweight patients get relief from their neuropathy problems, that it was a natural market to help. The bottom line is, as chiropractors, we know that the body will heal itself given the proper environment. So helping people nutritionally gives you the opportunity to help all types of people…those suffering from obesity, neuropathy, fibromyalgia, diabetes…and the list goes on! Adding nutritional systems into the chiropractic office just expands the people in the community that can be helped.
TAC: Aren’t there already a lot of weight loss programs out there? Why weight loss in a chiropractic office?
Dr. Singleton: I agree that you’ll see a lot of ideas about losing weight out there. The reason for all the weight loss hype is that currently 66% to 86% of the population needs to lose weight. The number increases year after year. It’s a huge problem for the majority of Americans.
:quoteright_open:The reason for all the weight loss hype is that currently 66% to 86% of the population needs to lose weight. :quoteright_close:
TAC: What advice would you give doctors who want to start doing nutrition out of their office?
Dr. Singleton: I would advise them to go on a nutritional program themselves. They need to find out if something really works. Unfortunately some doctors use products simply because they can make money on a down line. It seems wrong to me that a doctor would be selling something in his or her office that a patient can get from their neighbor who also sells Tupperware and Avon out of their garage. I am very careful to sell only supplements that are pure and available to doctors only. I use one line more than any other because it is made according to Japanese standards.
:dropcap_open:I am very careful to sell only supplements that are pure and available to doctors only.:quoteleft_close:
TAC: Can you think of one change that a chiropractor can do to significantly impact his or her practice’s growth immediately?
Dr. Singleton: Absolutely, there is a goldmine in every doctor’s practice! That is, almost all patients have additional conditions chiropractors could and should help them with such as; weight loss, insomnia, depression, fibromyalgia, diabetes, neuropathy, skin problems, low energy…the list goes on and on. There are nutritional systems for all of these things already available for chiropractors so they don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Chiropractors can help all of their patients with so much more than just back and neck pain! Patients want help, they just don’t know where to turn.
TAC: Do you have any recommended marketing strategies that chiropractors can do to attract new patients?
Dr. Singleton: Because 66% to 86% of Americans are overweight, I thought weight loss would be ideal to market. And I was right! Every year, the percentage of states where the obesity increases goes up. People get busier and busier, so they eat more food from boxes, bags and cans…and they just don’t get the nutrition their bodies need. People feel nutritionally starved and eat more and more. The problem affects all age groups…from children all the way to senior citizens. Most of the solutions available don’t work, so while there is other competition, the competition is typically not the answer. The best thing is that patients already trust their doctors.
:quoteright_open:That means in addition to adjusting the spine we need to be paying attention to what our patients do nutritionally.:quoteright_close:
TAC: Where do you see the future of chiropractic headed?
Dr. Singleton: I’ve never been more encouraged about chiropractic! As chiropractors our belief system is that the body can heal itself given the proper environment. Our job is to help patients get healthy and stay healthy. That means in addition to adjusting the spine we need to be paying attention to what our patients do nutritionally. Patients are looking to their chiropractors for the help they need. I see this role that we have keeps expanding. It’s an exciting time to be practicing! I don’t ever wake up dreading to go into the clinic to see my patients.
TAC: Any final words for our readers?
Dr. Singleton: Yes, if you are in practice and you are not passionate about what you are doing, stop and re-evaluate. There are so many wonderful ways you can help your patients; and in helping them, you will find fulfillment in your work, and you’ll be well compensated for it. Don’t settle for a practice that doesn’t motivate you and your patients. Your patients are looking for direction and advice that will change their lives, and you can give it to them!
Andrew Cheesman is Sr. VP Marketing and Sales for RF System Lab North America, based in Lincoln, Nebraska. Their head office is based in Nagano, Japan. They are now the largest digital retrofit company in the world. You can reach them at 800-905-1554 or visit www.rfamerica.com or email [email protected]
Integrated Practice Solutions, Inc., creator of ChiroTouch™, has been named as one of America’s fastest growing companies by Inc. Magazine.
:dropcap_open:N:dropcap_close:othing succeeds like success. It’s as true today as it was when Sir Arthur Helps of England first printed it in 1868. And even in the face of a badgered economy it has been just as true for Integrated Practice Solutions (IPS), which has seen phenomenal growth in the past three years. Inc. Magazine has just named IPS the 105th fastest growing company in the health sector, and the 25th fastest growing company in all of San Diego. Robert Moberg, sat down with The American Chiropractor to talk about the rapid growth they are experiencing.
TAC: Can you tell us a little bit about that and the process to get qualified?
RM: Sure. We were invited to submit our company’s performances. In the last couple of years we’ve been recognized in our own city, San Diego, as one of the fastest growing companies in San Diego, and as a result of that we were invited to submit our results to Inc. Magazine to see how we would rank nationally. They put out a list every year of how the top 500 to 5000 companies are doing, based on growth over a 2-year period. We submitted our numbers and we were pleased to see we were around 1300th out of the 5000 fastest-growing companies, and the 105th company in the health care industry.
TAC: Congratulations! So that’s a chiropractic company that’s achieving very explosive growth. What would you attribute this growth to?
RM: You know, I’ve been asked that question a lot. Since we’ve been in the article folks have come back and said, “What is it you’re doing now that has created that growth?” And what I try to make them realize is that it has very little to do with what we’re doing now – it really has to do with what we’ve done in the last 2 or 3 years that’s been consistent. In a staid or trying economy, we’ve continued to be visible in the marketplace and continue to keep ourselves in publication, and continue to keep ourselves in front of events and tried to do the best we could to maintain an active presence. So we really just try to do what we’ve consistently done for a while, and as a result of that last 2 or 3 years of being consistent I think we’re experiencing those results now. As others tended to fade away, we chose not to, and it’s put us in a position where we can experience growth. With the stimulus package out there, and the move to an EHR system being mandated, chiropractors are trying to become more progressive, and are seeing us as a company that is giving them a fully-certified solution that makes a lot of sense.
TAC: Considering the current economic environment, how do you see ChiroTouch progressing with regard to Medicare and the moving target that health care reform has for the future? Is that going to change how ChiroTouch works? Are you going to be able to provide service to those that need it should anything happen at the federal level?
RM: Yeah, I think it’s really important for us, and we’re staying very much in tune to it so we know what’s going to be necessary, and we feel it’s our responsibility. We believe that where Medicare has created a footprint, other insurance companies have tended to follow. We believe the mandates Medicare is making today will transcend into other environments. It’s very important for us to prepare the doctors. On the adoption scale, Medicare didn’t feel that most of the doctors would adopt the software till the third year, so we still feel there’s a great 2 or 3 years of growth for both us and also the doctors in chiropractic.
TAC: Is there any advice you’d like to give a chiropractor out there who is considering purchasing a note system? Maybe they’ve used hand-written notes their entire life and they’re intimidated by using a touch screen or by saving information and the IT costs associated with it…could you talk about that a little bit?
RM: Sure. We recognize and know there is a fear, but at the end of the day what we’re trying to give the doctors back is time. If you can save them time, you’re going to save them money, and the time saved can be spent on more aggressive patient care and more aggressive marketing, both of which helps them really grow their practice. Ultimately, doctors that transition from a paper-based practice to an EHR system will find an eased burden in running their practice. What I’d suggest to them: Get a software that fits you from a company you know has been around, and will be around, for a long time. The best software will make the biggest difference, and where many of the software systems have the right features, not all of them have the features right. It’s a key distinction, and we’ve taken a lot of time in the last 10 years to understand what helps make chiropractic software right, so that when they’re using our software they can practice with confidence.
TAC: Thanks for your time. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
RM: I just appreciate it and we just enjoy being part of this profession.
TAC: Thank you.
:dropcap_open:In his first year of practice, Dr. Singer was seeing more than 100 patients per day.:quoteleft_close:
:dropcap_open:D:dropcap_close:r. David Brady, a 1991 Texas Chiropractic College (TCC) graduate, is the first DC worldwide to break the “glass ceiling” within academia by being conferred vice provost of the health science division at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. He is the first and only chiropractor to attain that elevated status worldwide in a major university and, because of his extensive training in chiropractic, nutrition and naturopathic medicine, is now in a position to influence the educational direction of scores of minds, young and old, for years to come.
Chiropractors have broken into the politics, forensics, law enforcement, finance and academia, to name a few, and every time an individual chiropractor rises in the ranks of a specific field, it clears the path for others to follow. It also offers our profession a multitude of new opportunities to educate the public about chiropractic and, in the case with Dr. Brady, to create collaborative programs with various healthcare professionals offering greater avenues for access to chiropractic care.
The American Chiropractor salutes the great accomplishment of Dr. David Brady.
Interview with Dr. David M. Brady, Vice Provost for Health Sciences at the University of Bridgeport
TAC: Dr. Brady, can you tell us what your title is at the University of Bridgeport (UB)?
Brady: Well, it is quite a mouthful, but I am currently the Vice Provost for the Health Sciences Division, the Director of the Human Nutrition Institute, and an Associate Professor of Clinical Science.
TAC: What exactly is a Vice Provost?
Brady: Thanks for asking, as people outside of academia are often confused by what the word Provost actually means. Many are familiar with a university President, but not a Provost. While a university President leads the entire institution, including overseeing the fiscal operations, community relations, and overall governance, it is the Provost that really oversees and leads the academic operations of most universities. For example, Deans of colleges within a university generally report to a Provost. At UB, as in many other universities, we are broken up into divisions related to fields of study, including our Health Sciences Division. As the Vice Provost for Health Sciences, I oversee the colleges and schools related to the health sciences and I guess you can say that I am positioned between the Deans of those programs, including Dean Frank Zolli of our College of Chiropractic, and the university Provost.
TAC: So what exactly do you do as Vice Provost of the Health Sciences at UB?
Brady: The position of Vice Provost for the Health Sciences is essentially the coordinating administrator for the College of Chiropractic, College of Naturopathic Medicine, Fones School of Dental Hygiene, Nutrition Institute, Acupuncture Institute, Physician Assistant Institute and any academic programs added subsequently to the Division of Health Sciences. I also oversee the operations of the UB Clinics, our public clinic system located within our Health Sciences Center. A big part of my job is to facilitate communication among the programs and to enhance efficiency in addressing and advocating for our needs in the Division of Health Sciences to the University as a whole, and to the President and Provost. This involves a lot of different issues, including developing new academic programs, interfacing with hospitals and medical centers where we send students and interns, developing collaborative relationships with other academic institutions, advocating for and planning facilities improvements, working with program Deans in improving academic quality and assessment, and assuring compliance with accreditation standards, and overseeing the community outreach, marketing and quality assurance for our public clinic system.
:dropcap_open:Keeping with the mission of the UB Division of Health Sciences, we now have the only PA program in the world that has an integrative medicine theme running through the entire curriculum:quoteleft_close:
TAC: Can you give us some examples of some initiatives and projects at UB that would likely not have happened before you were appointed Vice Provost of Health Sciences three years ago to provide coordination amongst the programs within the division?
Brady: Well, one of the main tasks I had when taking on this role was to break down the former silo-mentality that tends to take root in an institutional setting with many different individual programs. Here, we had all of these really great programs in far ranging health-related fields but, for the most part, each of these colleges or schools was doing its own thing and trying to advocate for just its own needs within a complicated university structure and system. Once we started working much more collaboratively with a plan that harvested the inherent synergies between us and pooled our efforts and leverage within the university system, we were able to achieve many things not previously possible. These included obtaining from the University significant investments in facilities upgrades, including the updating of classrooms and teaching technology, general facelifts for buildings, and significant investment in a brand new state-of-the-art anatomy dissection lab being built this summer. We have also been able to introduce a new sophisticated clinical information system (CIS) into our UB Clinics that brings with it full electronic medical records, scheduling, billing, and clinical data mining capability for conducting interdisciplinary research. With this tool, we can seek research grants and funding to perform much needed complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) research that compares different approaches, such as chiropractic, acupuncture and naturopathic medical interventions for a host of disorders and conditions seen in our clinic system. We were also able to develop new academic programs, such as our Physician Assistant program, which required reaching out to the medical community in our region and establishing relationships at almost all of the medical centers and hospitals in Connecticut. Keeping with the mission of the UB Division of Health Sciences, we now have the only PA program in the world that has an integrative medicine theme running through the entire curriculum, which will result in primary care providers who are not only extremely competent in their discipline, but also have an understanding of various complementary approaches, including chiropractic, naturopathic medicine, nutrition and acupuncture, which they can ultimately discuss with their patients as treatment choices. We have also developed new undergraduate programs in the health sciences, including a collaboration with the University of Connecticut (UConn) on pharmacy education, a medical laboratory sciences program, and we are also developing a new Masters in Public Health and a Doctorate in Health Sciences that are minimum residency programs, allowing students and health professionals from around the country and world to experience what is happening here at UB. It also allows our students to cross-train and to participate in dual programs, leaving UB with multiple degrees and career opportunities.
TAC: Wow, all of that sounds wonderful. How do you have enough time in the day?
Brady: It is sometimes not easy, but it is a labor of love, as I have gotten to see the strides we have made and what we have become over my 14 years here at UB. I also just love to see positive changes for the students that study here. We have really moved this division forward by virtue of our collaborations. One example is how we were able to open up new clinical experiences for our chiropractic and naturopathic medicine students in the form of hospital-based rotations, which were made possible by the relationships that were formed during the development of the Physician Assistant program with St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport.
TAC: How does being Vice Provost at a comprehensive university and a chiropractor at the same time help the UBCC program?
Brady: I think that my training as a DC helps me to better understand the needs of the College of Chiropractic as we devise strategies for the continued development of the Division of Health Sciences. It should be noted that I came from the ranks of the UBCC faculty and worked in that capacity for almost 10 years. My chiropractic background also helps me to articulate what chiropractic is all about to many different decision makers within and outside the University, as well.
TAC: How is the exposure to chiropractic to UB students from all around the world affect the future of global health care?
Brady: It definitely helps increase the awareness of chiropractic globally. Through collaboration with UB, we have seen international programs in chiropractic developed by our UBCC graduates, such as the chiropractic program at Hanseo University in Korea. We also have UBCC faculty members involved in helping chiropractic programs flourish in Spain. As more people are exposed to chiropractic from around the world, it helps raise the profile of awareness of chiropractic internationally. That is a good thing.
TAC: Do you know of any other person trained as a doctor of chiropractic that is in a position such as you? That is, overseeing an entire division of health sciences representing a multitude of health care disciplines, at a full spectrum university such as UB with programs as diverse as engineering, education, music, business, design, etc?
Brady: To my knowledge, I am the first and, at present, only. However, I believe my training in multiple disciplines, and not only chiropractic, has allowed me to prepare for this responsibility and to do a better job as a result.
TAC: Tell us a little more about your training across these various disciplines?
Brady: Well, believe it or not, my undergraduate training was in electronics engineering technology and I worked for the computer division of the aerospace company McDonnell Douglas. I worked with computer aided design systems, including those used in the biomedical design and production of total joint replacement technologies. This brought me into contact with orthopedic surgeons and biomedical engineers at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City and sparked my interest in applying my engineering knowledge to the human body. This eventually led me into chiropractic, as the biomechanical education in chiropractic training is substantial. I trained at Texas Chiropractic College in the Houston area, graduating as Valedictorian in 1991. During my time at TCC, I was able to participate in a multitude of hospital rotations in the colossal Houston Medical Center. This allowed me to learn a lot about not only chiropractic, but also allopathic medicine, from many different specialists’ perspective. I learned how to work and talk with medical doctors, nurses, physical therapists, and hospital administrators and experienced a model of collaboration and cross training that I believe helped me in creating some of what we have accomplished at UB. During these experiences, I always felt that I was able to bring a positive message about chiropractic and what it has to offer in the health care system to other medical professionals and decision makers. I was also very lucky to train at TCC, which was the only chiropractic program offering such a hospital experience at that time, and where I also picked up a passion and appreciation for the power of therapeutic nutritional, which then became my new area of interest. I subsequently went on to my nutritional training and became a diplomate and nationally board certified in nutrition. Ultimately, I went on the complete my academic and clinical training in naturopathic medicine at the University of Bridgeport.
TAC: Is that why you came to UB, to train as an ND?
Brady: I was practicing and teaching in the Houston area for about seven years after completing my chiropractic internship and diplomate programs in internal disorders and nutrition. I was then recruited to join the faculty in the College of Chiropractic at UB. I was brought in because of my training in internal diagnosis, laboratory medicine, and nutrition and quickly found myself also teaching classes for the students in the College of Naturopathic Medicine at UB. It was at that point that I knew I wanted to complete my training as an ND, as well. It took me quite a while, as I was completing this rigorous program while still teaching and practicing.
:quoteright_open:I practice one full day a week and feel that it is really necessary to keep me connected to patient care.:quoteright_close:
TAC: Do you still practice?
Brady: I do. I have been in continuous clinical practice since 1991. I have practiced for the past 8 years or so as a licensed naturopathic physician here in Connecticut within an integrative internal medicine group that has MDs, NDs, DCs, nutritionists, and various therapists and counselors. I focus on chronic disease management using the functional medicine model, which includes the integration of nutrition and nutraceutical intervention, diet therapy, herbal medicine, physical medicine, lifestyle modification, and pharmaceutical therapy when necessary. I practice one full day a week and feel that it is really necessary to keep me connected to patient care and the issues that our students at UB will face upon graduation. I also do consulting work in the nutraceutical and nutritional supplement industry, as well as for medical laboratories, and travel quite a bit, presenting on functional medicine and nutrition around the US and internationally at various scientific symposiums and conferences.
TAC: Oh, is that all?
Brady: I forgot to mention that I also have two little guys as home: Ian, who is 5, and Owen, who is 3 and a half. You could say that they keep me quite busy as well.
TAC: In closing, do you see yourself staying at UB and what do you see UB becoming in the future?
Brady: Oh, I see myself staying at UB if they will have me. I want to see this through. It is really simple. We want UB to continue to develop into the academic center of excellence for integrative health care in the US and to provide opportunities for students to come and study in a place where there exists a pallet of health care professions and approaches to choose from where collaboration, appreciation and respect exists amongst these professions. We are all about health care choices for patients, as is evident by the approximately 20,000 patient visits that take place in the UB Clinics annually across a multitude of disciplines and approaches. In order to provide those choices to patients, we need to continue to train qualified, competent, and compassionate professionals in all of these fields. This is a commitment shared by President Neil Salonen and Provost Hans van der Giessen, as well as the entire University of Bridgeport and, without this vision and commitment to health sciences, what we have done so far would not have been possible. We also know it is working, since we have alumni doing incredible work all over the world treating patients as private clinicians, as well as former graduates in very important positions within prestigious institutions, including the medical schools and hospitals of Yale, Johns Hopkins, NYU, and Vanderbilt to name a few.
TAC: Thank you, Dr. Brady.
Brady: Thank you, for the opportunity to let the chiropractic profession know a bit more about the work we are doing here, which has had a profound positive effect on chiropractic. At UB, we have witnessed that, the more we integrate complementary healthcare disciplines in our clinics, hospitals and educational processes, the more patients have gained access to chiropractic care.