Student Experience The American Chiropractic Associations’ annual conference was held virtually in 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions. We connected with Caitlin Jones to give us the scoop on her experience. By: Caitlin Jones, DC and sports medicine student
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ith everything going virtual, the American Chiropractic Association’s annual conference ENGAGE 2021 was no different. In past years, people would fly from all over the country to Washington, D.C. for a long weekend conference to meet with their representatives on Capitol Hill to advocate for the chiropractic profession and take pictures in the middle of the night at the Lincoln Memorial. Though I missed the opportunity to meet and network with chiropractic physicians and students in person, I was still able to make those meaningful connections virtually! There was a mix of pre-recorded sessions and Zoom discussions. For me, being the legislative representative for the UWS Student American Chiropractic Association (SACA) chapter, it was wonderful because I was still able to watch the cool sessions that I normally would have missed for a very long business meeting. And trust me, I really did not want to miss Dr. Howard’s session on “Treating a concussion beyond the adjustment in a chiropractic practice!” I was even able to watch it a week after the conference 24
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since we have access to the sessions for a whole month. Next on my list is to check out Dr. Ortega’s session titled “Reframe the brain to rethink the pain” – yes please! Though we missed out on my favorite part of advocating on Capitol Hill, they still held a discussion giving everyone an update on the Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act. We were able to gain some additional support before the new Congress took over, which means that this year we should have an easier time moving this legislation forward. I am honored to announce that I was selected to be the vice legislative chair for SACA National Executive Board (SNEB), so you will definitely hear more about our progress! The ACA is currently working on reframing the bill, but it still keeps to the core of updating Medicare from the 1972 limitations on chiropractic physicians – which still states chiropractor as “he” – that’s how outdated it is. If you want to keep up to date with what the ACA is advocating for – check out www.ACAtoday.org.
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