From: Ingrid Kaptein, a Senior Intern at the New Zealand School of Chiropractic, Auckland, New Zealand

Vision for Chiropractic into the new Millennium

As a student as the NZCA School of Chiropractic my vision for chiropractic revolves around education of the general public in terms of the true meaning of health and how they can reclaim the ability to consistently have better health and performance by adopting the chiropractic health care paradigm

We as chiropractors have an amazing profession that allows us to facilitate peoples health in a powerful way, but we are only just beginning to educate the greater public as to the benefits of chiropractic care. The environment for chiropractic care to have unprecedented demand is forming. I feel that people want a non-interventionist form of healthcare that optimises there health at an early stage. Slowly the realisation that headaches and other manifestations of dis-ease are not the result of a lack of aspirin or antibiotic within the body. The wellbeing of our communities lies in education and access to proactive healthcare. It's a great time to be a chiropractor!

Re-educating people to respect and care for their bodies from an early age is fundamental in chiropractic care. Targeting education toward parents and their children is the avenue chiropractors need to be taking not only the athletes and people who naturally are looking for ways to enhance their performance. I hope to see families taking their children to the chiropractor when born and regularly as they develop being the norm rather than the exception. Getting checked for vertebral subluxation will then become as routine as brushing your teeth.

To facilitate the spread of the chiropractic in communities the profession needs to continue to aim for a united and consistent message. The public need to have a consistent view of what chiropractors seek to achieve by adjusting the spine, and what this means to the bodies ability to cope with the daily stresses of life. With the increasing number of chiropractors out in our communities I expect to see people with more dynamic bodies, and renewed impetus for regaining their health potential.

I also see research playing a key role in improving our relationships with both health care practitioners and the general public. Amazing things happen everyday within chiropractic offices around the world, and this needs to be presented in the form of case reports and structured research to strengthen the chiropractic message. Open encouragement for practitioners to contribute to research and play a role in raising the profile of the effectiveness of chiropractic care needs to come from our governing bodies and within the profession.

The future of chiropractic is very exciting, and I'm looking forward to practising and educating patients along side an inspired profession.

Ingrid Kaptein
Senior Intern 2001
New Zealand School of Chiropractic
Auckland, New Zealand