Imploring you, encouraging you and empowering you

By Sharon A. Vallone, DC, FICCP
Editor, Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics

As I sit and watch the snow falling here in the woods of Connecticut, I reflect on how we New Englanders have “had it easy” the last handful of winters. The sturdy (some might say stoic) and prepared nature of New Englanders has softened under the gentler hand of Mother Nature and this winter’s storms have taken us by surprise again. Yes, schools are closed for the third day in a row! Imagine!

We as pediatric chiropractors need to reflect on the same potential to sit back and allow time to pass without maintaining our due diligence as to what is going on in our profession and the world. As some may have noticed, there have been no issues of the JCCP published for the last two years. I’ve asked myself “Why?” as I’ve poked, prodded and begged colleagues to share their research, experiences and knowledge with others by submitting a manuscript for consideration. There seems to be an alarming sense of ennui about the state of affairs both in chiropractic and in the world at large and an overwhelming “busy-ness” keeping everyone otherwise occupied.

I’m here to implore you, to encourage you and to empower you once again! We can’t give up! We can’t succumb to the temptation to sit back on our laurels and let someone else do the work for us.

Kudos to those of you in the field working diligently every day to keep our children healthy. Dr. Celeste Krawchuk and Amanda Hartman teamed up to share clinical tidbits about Witteveen-Kolk Syndrome in a three-year-old. We are often challenged to expand our knowledge base to understand how to best offer our skills to support our patients. How heartening would it be to find another colleague who has published information about your next challenging presentation? May you continue to learn and may your offices be your heart-space that sustains you as you care for those who enter your doors. May you receive the gifts each child brings you that will empower you to help the next child.

Kudos to those of you who leave their office and represent us in the halls where decisions are made about everything from our scope of practice to our inclusion in the national healthcare program and private insurance industry reimbursement. And to those who defend our rights and the rights of our patients to retain control of our health care choices.

Kudos to those in the field of education and research that are not only providing education on an undergraduate level but also participating in programs leading to a pediatric certifications and diplomate programs. There are now even several excellent opportunities to pursue a Master’s Degree in pediatric chiropractic available in Europe, Australia and the United States.

Most recently, Dr. Lora Tanis, president of the ICA Council on Chiropractic Pediatrics has announced the latest opportunity for board certified graduates of the DICCP program as well as other interested students in a degree program associated with McTimoney College. As one of the editors of the JCCP, I am hoping this will be another group of enthusiastic candidates who will be invited to consider our journal as an outlet for their publications.

Many of JCCP’s most prolific authors have been participants in the long standing stellar Master’s program offered at AECC under the tutelage of one of our editors, Dr. Joyce Miller. In this issue, Dr. Sue Weber, an AECC graduate, authors an update on her previous paper on pediatric headaches. Dr. Aurélie Marchand another contributing author, graduated and is now pediatric faculty at AECC. Dr. Marchand continues Dr. Miller’s tradition of encouraging her students to contribute to the well of knowledge the rest of us need to constantly drink from to satisfy our thirst for knowledge.

Another one of our editors, Dr. Cheryl Hawk, whose gift is to gather colleagues to work together from around the world, continues to pursue opportunities for research and publish retrospectives, surveys, reviews, clinical practice guidelines and research papers on topics pertaining to maternal health and chiropractic pediatrics. Dr. Hawk, at one time faculty of the ICA Post grad program, has encouraged and supported many of the faculty and graduates of the ICA Council on Pediatric Chiropractics Diplomate Program (DICCP), to publish valuable case reports and case series as well as knowledgeable commentaries.

I recently received a book to review written by Dr. André Saine and was enthralled with the compilation of clinical anecdotes of a less publicized but clinically effective technique that I could immediately relate to a number of children and their clinical pediatric presentations I had cared for in my own practice that failed to resolve under my care. You know, those cases that get under your skin and despite your best efforts a puzzle piece still seemed to be missing. Reading this tome revived my enthusiasm about broadening my own knowledge of available techniques, exploring new information and expanding my skill set (or finding another colleague with this skill set to refer to!) to serve these children whose parents recognize the tremendous service chiropractors can provide their children and their families on the path of their chosen healthcare journey. This book reminded me that we must stay open, curious and willing to grow no matter how long we have been in practice. But this book, and my conversations with its author, Dr. André Saine, also reminded me how important it is for our community to raise the interest and support our schools and graduate programs with the funding to support research on techniques like BNS, which, like so many techniques, have vast clinical anecdotes to support them, but fall by the wayside when they are scrutinized for publishable data.

Journaling our efforts and submitting a manuscript for publication is one of the easiest way to support each other in our quest for knowledge and new experiences, ever honing our skills and developing our “innate” ability to listen, observe, palpate and examine, and assemble sometimes obvious and sometimes random pieces of information and come up with a plan to help our young patients reach their goals of optimal health by employing the skills we offer our patient in the form of a specific, effective adjustment. Dr. Joyce Miller’s offering in this issue (“Writing for publication: helpful hints for clinicians to write for the Journal Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics”) can help guide you in organizing your material and writing a paper to submit.

We are the ones. We are the ones who can provide the unique perspective we bring to health care. It is my sincere hope that we will remain curious, motivated and committed to staying current, remaining active and productive and staying present when things are challenging.

Without remaining present, we may miss the giggles, jokes and gems that our delightful young patients bring to us in exchange for the guidance and support they know they will receive when they come to our offices!

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“The work is to not let the burdens of the world close you.
The work is to not let the hardships of the world harden your heart.
The work is to not withdraw your care simply because life is difficult.
The work is to become gentler and more compassionate
despite the troubles plaguing the planet.
That is true strength, and that is what begins to turn the tides to love.”

— Jack Kornfield