“I am thrilled with this new partnership, which signals that Capilano University’s Bachelor of Kinesiology prepares students to successfully enter health-related doctoral programs such as the chiropractic doctoral program at UWS,” said Caroline Dépatie, dean, Faculty of Global & Community Studies at Capilano University.
The MoU helps establish a pathway for undergraduates to further their studies in chiropractic health care.
Barbara Davis-Leigh, vice president, global engagement, The Community Solution Education System, Caroline Dépatie, dean, Global & Community Studies, Capilano University, Dana Sims, provost, University of Western States (UWS), and Martha Kaeser, dean, College of Chiropractic, UWS, sign a memorandum of understanding Dec. 16, 2024, that formalizes a pathway for CapU kinesiology students to enter the Doctor of Chiropractic program at UWS. (photo Capilano University)
“We are proud to collaborate with CapU to create new pathways for students to pursue careers in chiropractic health care,” said Nathan Long, president of UWS. “This partnership reflects our shared commitment to advancing whole-person health education and preparing the next generation of health-care professionals to make a meaningful impact in their communities. It’s also a clear example of the value our university receives as a proud member of The Community Solution, allowing us to expand opportunities for students and foster more collaboration across institutions.”
The agreement also outlines additional opportunities for collaboration, including supporting the exchange of materials, faculty and students, and professional development and research activities. Additionally, CapU kinesiology students enrolling in the chiropractic doctoral program at UWS are eligible to receive transfer credits for four courses (11.5 credits) and can complete some practicums in Canada.
“This partnership exemplifies The Community Solution’s commitment to building strong relationships that benefit both students and institutions,” said Michael Horowitz, chancellor of The Community Solution. “By collaborating with forward-thinking universities like CapU, we’re expanding access to high-quality education and advancing students’ professional goals. We look forward to creating similar partnerships throughout our System.”
Applications are now open for the four-year Bachelor of Kinesiology (BKin) program at CapU, which is expected to graduate 40 students this year. The degree focuses on developing students’ knowledge of how to assess, design and implement programs to facilitate health behaviour change, leading to improved lifestyles and prevention of chronic diseases. A two-year diploma program in kinesiology is offered exclusively at CapU’s new Squamish campus.
The UWS Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) program is a rigorous, 12-quarter doctoral program that is designed to be completed in three years. Students learn from experienced faculty with practice experience and clinical training at the UWS campus in Portland, Ore. The UWS DC program qualifies graduates with the coursework required for licensure in the U.S. and Canada.
“Our vision: Inspired by Imagination is grounded in co-creating a distinct university experience,” Dépatie says. “A sincere thank you to the team at The Community Solution and to our School of Kinesiology for making this partnership happen for our students and graduates.”
Chiropractic Week brought together faculty, students, alumni, and practitioners to learn from each other and grow the profession.
University of Western States opened its fall quarter with the inaugural Chiropractic Week. The brainchild of Martha Kaeser, DC, dean of the College of Chiropractic, the event highlighted current aspects of theory and practice in the profession. The result was a series of activities that brought together experienced professionals in the field, including alumni, to provide students with a window into their professional futures.
Scheduled during the student lunch hours, the weeklong event featured food, presentations, information tables for student clubs and organizations, hands-on demonstrations, guest speakers, all culminating with a white coat ceremony on Friday.
A Homecoming for Some
Opening the week was a panel discussion by long-time doctors of chiropractic Daniel Mutter, DC, and UWS alumnus Jason Young, DC. Dr. Young saw the panel format as an opportunity to inspire students and future chiropractors about the journey that they have embarked on.
“It immediately sparked memories of all the things I was excited and insecure about when I was sitting in their position,” Dr. Young says. In the weeks leading up to the event, he reflected on how far the profession has come in the 17 years he has been practicing. “UWS has had no small part in the recent evolution of chiropractic because of the people working in the institution as well as those who have been educated there.”
Faculty member Rebecca Bell, DC, who gave a hands-on presentation during the week, says her students enjoyed the event for the sense of community it fostered.
“They especially enjoyed the Community Day activities and the chance to hear about subjects they get less exposure to in the regular curriculum,” Dr. Bell says.
A Glimpse of Future Opportunities
For UWS student Colin Paradis, the week’s activities served two purposes.
“One, it exposed me to several doctors and their perspective on practice, which helped guide me in how I see myself practicing in the future,” Paradis says. “Two, I was able to learn many practical chiropractic skills regarding assessment, adjustments, and soft tissue treatments from highly skilled professionals.”
Paradis, one of several Canadian students at UWS, found the presentation by Board of Trustees member Jennifer Forbes, DC, who lives and practices in British Columbia, to be particularly informative.
“Her presentation, which was very candid and straightforward, shifted my original opinion of initially practicing in the U.S. after graduation and then moving back to Canada,” Paradis says.
Jake Salaz, DC, concluded the week with a presentation on how to create a comprehensive exam that establishes a framework for world-class treatment and management of the patient.
Says Dr. Salaz, “I was hoping to inspire the students to understand that the school gives them a great initial framework, and that by layering in other world-renowned techniques into that framework, they would be able to elevate their understanding of the functional deficits in the patients they are working with.”
The Privilege and Responsibility of the White Coat
Chiropractic Week coincided with a white coat ceremony at which students in their eighth quarter were formally recognized and inducted into the Connected Whole Health clinic to begin patient care.
Nikita Vizniak, DC, who addressed the students, says, “I was honored to be part of the white coat ceremony, which marks such a significant milestone in the lives of these students. My remarks focused on encouraging graduates to embrace their new roles with confidence and humility, highlighting the importance of evidence-informed, patient-centered care, as well as to emphasize the power of empathy in clinical practice.”
The consensus among the participants both at UWS and in the community was that Chiropractic Week exceeded expectations in attracting students, practitioners, and faculty.
“The event provided us with some great practical strategies for patient assessment and treatment, and it was inspiring to hear from individuals who are genuinely passionate about their work,” student Alexandra Nelson says.
Dr. Young recognizes the importance of alumni providing guidance to current students. “The future of the profession is only as bright as our commitment to mentorship, cooperation, and collaboration,” he says.
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Since its earliest days, University of Western States has pioneered a vision of health care that situates the patient in their environment and seeks to heal from within.
As far back as the late Middle Ages, as superstition and primitive practice gave way to more practical and proven methods of patient care, healers understood that wellness depends on a range of factors, including mental, physical, and spiritual health and is influenced by one’s environment. Modern Western medicine has largely forgotten these lessons, focusing instead on treating symptoms of patients. Beginning at the dawn of the last century, however, there have been some institutions focused on an integrated approach to the general wellness of the individual, including finding balance in our physical selves, learning how nature can heal us, and understanding what to eat to prevent illness instead of making it go away.
Since its opening 120 years ago, treating the whole person and not just their symptoms has been the mindset at University of Western States, first in its chiropractic instruction, then naturopathy, and later a range of programs, all of them committed to addressing the patient within their larger world. The concept of whole health isn’t new, but the university has always been at the forefront of the movement.
“Whole health to me is truly that,” says alumna Montserrat Andreys, DC, who runs a community-based practice in Portland. “It’s treating the entirety of the person, their household, the community that they live in as well as the spiritual, emotional and physical self.”
SUBHED: 120 Years of Evolution
As the early doctors of chiropractic moved west along the with Western expansion of the late 1800s, they found remote communities in need of a range of services. In contrast with the rising medical beliefs of the day, commonly called “germ theory,” which held that diseases were caused by germs and needed to be treated with medicines approved by the fledging Food and Drug Administration, the chiropractors of the West were attuned to the physical and environmental realities of their patients.
Drs. John E. and Eva Marsh, founders of University of Western States (originally named the Marsh School and Cure) were building upon the work of chiropractic pioneers back East. One of the leading reasons why the university has been a leader in whole health in Portland is that the Oregon legislature passed the Chiropractic Practice Act in 1915. This allowed chiropractors and naturopaths a “broad scope” of care that included a wider range of treatment than was permitted in most other states. This law served both the residents of the Pacific Northwest, where doctors were rare, as well as the chiropractic and naturopathic practitioners alike as they were able to apply their theories of general wellness to the public at large and pioneer techniques that would later gain broad acceptance.
“Many years ago, there was a lack of primary care physicians,” says University of Western States Board of Trustees member and adjunct professor Leo Romero, DC, “so the chiropractors served a role in OB-GYN work, minor surgery, and primary care.”
Training and intellectual rigor were core elements of the intuition’s operating philosophy from its earliest days. By 1919, the school’s curriculum required 3,400 hours of instruction, 1,000 more than the state required, and what was at that point called Western States College became the first chiropractic college to offer a four-year degree.
By the 1980s, the college had established a reputation for its contributions to the community and its groundbreaking theories of practice. In 1983, the college was awarded a $250,000 grant for a summer program to support Native American students and in 1993, the institution received the first ever federally funded grant awarded to a chiropractic college. The study assessed allopathic and chiropractic approaches to back pain.
This success in the research sphere reflects how University of Western States has long championed an evidence-informed approach, meaning practicing according to research and treatment methods based on results. Stanley Ewald, DC, MPH, associate dean of the College of Chiropractic, describes a “triad of evidence,” which includes evidence found in the literature, the evidence learned from the patients themselves in terms of what has worked for them, and the evidence of the practitioner in their experience of what makes for successful practice.
SUBHED: Serving Portland Where the Need Is Greatest
As a result of providing this range of integrated care, the university’s roots run deep in the city. Seeing how the region and its population have grown and changed over time has allowed the faculty and alumni to understand clearly the needs of the residents and develop means of addressing them. This has led University of Western States to establish and build on a tradition of care within communities where it was needed most. Nowhere is this bond more apparent than in the nationwide community-based clinical education program. Students can provide clinical care where it is needed in a range of setting depending on where they are based across the country.
By providing integrated care to at-risk populations, representatives of University of Western States hope to do more than putting a Band-Aid on systemic problems. One of the groups benefitting most from this program are unhoused veterans. “We’ve also built a really strong relationship with Veterans Affairs,” Dr. Ewald says. “We have quite a few affiliations across the United States so that students can complete their clinical education for six months at those VA locations.”
In the Portland program, a clinician and one or two interns from University of Western States travel to clinics in the area once or twice a week and provide care primarily for uninsured people and underserved populations. The services provided are tailored to the organization. For example, at Cascadia Health’s behavioral health centers, clinicians provide individuals in addiction recovery with training in drug-free pain management. Additionally, the university partners with groups, including Compassion Connect, Community Services Network, and Islamic Social Services of Oregon State that stage pop-up health clinics in houses of worship and community centers and provide a range of services such as chiropractic, dental, and medical care to the uninsured.
SUBHED: The Current State of Whole Health
Martha Kaeser, DC, M.Ed., dean of the College of Chiropractic says, “We recognize all of those who came before us—our history is what makes us—but we also recognize that we need to evolve and change to meet the health care needs of the patient of today.”
This commitment applies not just to the colleges of Chiropractic and Naturopathic but also to the full range of programs at University of Western States, including Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine and Sports Medicine. All share a commitment to an evidenced-informed, student-centered instruction that advances theories of practice based on a whole-health philosophy. The objective is to treat the patient’s mental, physical, and spiritual well-being, and what is taught to the students represents the culmination of decades of research, teaching theory, and practice.
A 2008 Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Physical Medicine Pilot on Quality study, a one-year pilot program designed to measure patient quality of care, suggests “significant clinical outcomes and health care cost reductions attributable to the use of chiropractic and other physical medicine services.”
The effectiveness of complementary forms of medicine is a leading reason why the philosophy is expected to grow in popularity exponentially over the next decade, and the university is already training the next generation of clinicians to meet this demand.
Marcia Prenguber, ND, FABNO, dean of the College of Naturopathic Medicine, believes the university’s focus on integrated forms of health care and its commitment to serving the community is well-suited to the students the institution attracts, and the university is attentive to those students’ changing needs. This results in graduates who are well-positioned to serve their communities. “You don’t move forward without tuning into what the needs are,” she says, “and I think we’ve done a great job of balancing student needs and the community needs. We’re addressing a patient’s needs, using the least toxic, least harmful approach. We bring them back to health and restore them through the mind, body, and spirit.”
According to Christopher Browne, DC, program director of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine and Doctor of Clinical Nutrition, the objective of a whole health approach is to improve health care, specifically understanding the individual needs and issues that a patient exhibits and crafting a more personalized care plan for everyone. “We look at how can we use nutrition focused interventions to improve the health of human beings; that is the lens through which we view all of the clinical work that we do,” he says.
The integrative approach to health care is on display in the university’s Sports Medicine program, which brings together a wide variety of teaching clinicians and practitioners, including certified athletic trainers, doctors of osteopathic medicine, and doctors of chiropractic. This comprehensive, team-focused approach is appropriate for the field of sports medicine, but it’s also emblematic of the philosophy that guides the colleges and programs at University of Western States today.
Also essential is hands-on experience, a core tenet of a University of Western States education, given that many graduates of the program will be working the sidelines during practice and on game day and assisting in rehabilitation. “For individuals looking to go into the sports medicine field, our program here at University of Western States allows them to gain a deeper understanding of their clinical knowledge and skills than they would develop through their first professional degree,” program director Brent Marshall, Ed.D., says.
SUBHED: University of Western States Looks to the Future
Patrick Battaglia, DC, assistant vice president of Community-Based Clinical Education, sees this tradition of chiropractors playing a growing role as providers of whole person health. “Health care is evolving into a system that’s patient-centered, consumer-oriented, and team-based,” he says. “I think the demand for this type of whole person conservative nondrug type of therapy has never been higher,” he says.
A student or patient who walked through the doors of the Marsh School and Cure at SW 5th and Hall Street would have found a college that looks very different than the University of Western States does today. Yet the foundation of integrated care was already in place as the first graduates of the program fanned out across a frontier where practitioners were almost nonexistent, and the vision of whole health was there from the beginning at an institution that has endured, thrives, and looks to the future.
“It’s because of that group of individuals that have dedicated so many years that now we can look back and say, wow, 120 years,” Dr. Romero says. “It’s an honorable thing to have reached 120 years. I look forward to 120 more.”
Stephanie Fryer, Ed.D., says whole health care is the ‘undercurrent of my whole experience.’
Having graduated from UWS in 2023, Stephanie Fryer, Ed.D., found a new role in February when USRowing hired her to be its new learning and development associate. Now Dr. Fryer is living the vision she saw when she applied to UWS: innovating how coaches work with athletes by applying a whole-health philosophy to coaching.
Despite learning remotely through one of UWS’ online programs, Dr. Fryer didn’t hesitate to network in physical space. After meeting and talking with UWS professors at the annual Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) conference, she changed course—literally. Having started in the Sport and Performance Psychology Ed.D. program, she decided after the conference that the Ed.D. in Sport and Performance Psychology with Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) Specialization was a better fit.
Dr. Fryer says she pivoted to this program “partially because it opens up so many doors professionally,” but also due to the inspiration of UWS professor Michelle Rose, Ph.D., director and clinical coordinator of CMHC.
“I was so impressed with Dr. Rose’s teaching and leadership,” Dr. Fryer says. “Dr. Rose had such a clear vision. You feel confident and supported with a leader like that.”
Given her passion for coaching, it’s no surprise Dr. Fryer has an extensive background as an athlete. She spent 16 years as a gymnast. Then, in college, she took up pole vaulting, a sport she pursued for six years after college until an injury ended that part of her career. A bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in sports science paved the way for her interest in coaching education.
Just as whole health in medicine means treating a patient as a whole person instead of a collection of body parts or a suite of symptoms, Dr. Fryer says coaching education is about teaching coaches how to treat athletes as people, not just vessels of athletic ability.
“Future teachers learn how to teach, but athletes who become coaches aren’t taught how to coach,” Dr. Fryer says. “So they teach rules and techniques, and they often focus only on the goals, the outcomes. As a result, athletes are often treated as expendable, to be replaced when they no longer perform. This mindset damages not only athletes’ performance but their mental health.”
It was already Dr. Fryer’s goal when she started at UWS to change coach development. She says, “Throughout my experience, I was purposeful in talking to my professors, using my role as a student to reach out to researchers and professionals in the field about coach education. It was an undercurrent of my whole experience.”
In her new role with the Learning & Development department at USRowing, which houses coaching education and development, Dr. Fryer is helping to change the paradigm.
For example, Dr. Fryer worked on USRowing’s newly retooled Level 1 certification for rowing coaches. “I got to help revamp it and make sure it doesn’t just teach coaches the technical aspects of the sport but also how to be good humans, how to coach the human and not just the athlete,” she says.
For now, Dr. Fryer is happy to be working in the field, pursuing her passion. “I’m on the ground doing a training camp for some of our U19 athletes,” she says, referring to trainees under 19 years old. “I’m doing mental performance with them several times a week. I get to work with the coaches as well, because we’re also developing our coaches through this camp process. I’m excited to get to do that more in the future and work more directly with coaches and athletes.”
We spoke with four of our current students about their lives, how their paths led them to UWS, and how their studies are building bridges to their personal and professional futures.
Micayla Batchlor, Doctor of Chiropractic Program
What jobs did you have before UWS?
I worked as a certified nursing assistant in nursing homes for a while, then in-home care. After I graduated, I ended up joining Teach for America, and through AmeriCorps, I taught in Southern Arkansas for two years.
How did your path lead to chiropractic?
My mom was seeing a chiropractor, and she loved it. So I was like, “You know? I’ll shadow her.” I vibed with the relationship she had with her patients, how she interacted with them, how they felt when they left her clinic. I loved that.
Why UWS?
I had honors in research [during my] undergrad, so evidence-based research, evidence-informed practice, is very important to me. I really saw that represented at UWS. It just seemed like the perfect fit.
Hunter Ward, Ed.D. in Sport and Performance Psychology Program
What jobs did you have before UWS?
It was an on-site facility doing individual training for special populations. [I guided clients] through individual training in lifestyle and nutrition, having consultations every week to navigate them through their health and fitness journeys.
How have you grown and changed since starting the program?
I feel a lot more confident. I’ve cultivated this sense of intuition that’s led to confidence for me. I feel like I’m offering services that match the needs or maybe even exceed the needs of some individuals.
What are your personal hopes for the future?
The overall goal is to be able to work with a professional or collegiate [sports] team during the season and have a private practice in the off season when I can come home, wherever home is, and be able to serve and work with the community.
Ori Barak, M.S. in Sport and Performance Psychology Program
How did your path lead to UWS?
There are two things I’m good at: I was a competitive swimmer in my youth and early adulthood, and I’m good at instructing. I took a course to become a certified swimming coach, and one of the classes was a very basic touch on sports psychology. It was like, “This is what I want to do. This is what I want to study.” I learned about UWS through the AASP website, and that started my contact to see how I could start school there.
How have you grown and changed since starting the program?
Learning about psychology in general and learning about sports psychology, I’m sure it’s making me a better person. It’s making me a better parent. It’s making me a better coach.
What are your personal hopes for the future?
I would love to combine my work as a coach and as a practitioner in sports psychology. I would love to be able to help both elite athletes and recreational athletes who need assistance and guidance in their endeavors in sports and performance.
Cameron Earle, M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program
How have the important people in your life influenced your career goals?
As it pertains to the program and all my desire to do counseling, work with people, and develop relationships: My mom is a preschool teacher, and I grew up helping her doing a lot of child care work. That was my intro into care service. She was a great educator of young kids and believed in allowing people to be themselves and express themselves. That had a big impact on me.
How have you grown and changed since starting the program?
Counseling is a career in which you’re not only developing professionally, but you’re being asked to develop personally. The way to be the best counselor is embodying [an empathetic worldview] in a way that is genuine. I think the program has done a really good job of keeping that in the forefront, not making this just an educational venture but something that propels your growth as a human being.
Psychologist Matthew Condie, Ph.D., led exercises for stress reduction and strategies for rethinking the nature of mental distress.
The second annual University of Western States Seminar Series was held on April 30, 2024. Visiting professor Matthew Condie, Ph.D., presented “Soothing the Stress: Advancing in Ambiguity Through Resilience, Belonging, and Post-Traumatic Growth.” Through his interactions with athletes and patients, Dr. Condie understands the symptoms of stress and is committed to finding strategies for coping.
Dr. Condie experienced his greatest levels of stress as mental health expert providing the Australian government with clinical recommendations regarding asylum seekers and refugee children. His 72-hour work weeks contributed to his stress. Even more stressful was Dr. Condie’s constant concern for the refugees whose fates were up in the air.
“Stress impacts our functioning, and our body responds by sending neurochemical reinforcements to our brains,” Dr. Condie said during the webinar.
As a clinician who deals with the interaction between physiological and neurological responses, Dr. Condie delved extensively into these realms during the webinar, including an exercise in which he bit into a raw lemon, peel and all.
“Notice what emotions came up for you,” he told the audience during this demonstration. “Disgust releases serotonin, shock releases cortisol, and empathy release oxytocin.” The message of the exercise is that humans have the power to influence each other’s physiology. Thus, we’re resposible for affecting others’ already stressed systems.
One key to stress reduction that Dr. Condie advances is to “foster a sense of belonging across the five selves,” i.e., self-care, self-compassion, self-regulation, self-reflection, and self-awareness.
“When we encourage and promote the five selves, our ability to tolerate distress increases, so our window of tolerance can support us in the future as we navigate stress,” Dr. Condie said.
According to Dr. Condie, this individual resilience and system resilience is a two-way street. In other words, we can’t expect an individual to adapt to changes in society’s systems if our culture and organizational systems can’t or won’t adapt to individuals.
“A sense of organizational belonging can make individuals more willing to support others, and, therefore indirectly, the organization,” Dr. Condie said. “They have a collective sense to share the vulnerability around times of stress and change and have higher levels of well-being. This in turn leads to greater productivity.”
This year, University of Western States honors two Alumni of the Year: Lauren Castle, PharmD, M.S., AFMC, and Eric Roseen, DC, Ph.D.
Lauren Castle, PharmD, M.S., AFMC – Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine, Class of 2018
Dr. Lauren Castle is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, and the founder and CEO of the Functional Medicine Pharmacists Alliance (FMPhA), one of the first associations representing pharmacists in functional medicine. FMPhA supports members practicing functional medicine across all pharmacy settings by uniting leaders in the field to provide continuing education, training, networking, and advocacy. In addition, Dr. Castle serves as secretary of the board for Con Smania Costa Rica – Transformational Retreat Center and a member of the Psychedelic Pharmacists Association. She and her husband Seth live in Dayton, Ohio, with their cats, Olive and Pickle.
What made you decide to attend UWS?
After discovering functional medicine in 2015 through my husband’s own life-changing health journey, I was convinced that functional medicine was the future of health care. At the time, I was still working as a retail pharmacist for a large chain, so travel was not an option; it needed to be fully remote. I had also been considering enrolling in an MBA or MPH program to further differentiate myself within the pharmacy profession. When I came across the Master of Science in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine program, I knew I had found the solution. I wanted a program that was more than just a certification or more letters behind my name; one that would give me a deeply scientific understanding of functional medicine and position me as an expert in this emerging field. The fact that UWS was a top-ranking, regionally accredited university with a long, rich history of excellence gave me even more confidence that it would be a rigorous program my peers in the conventional medicine field would respect as well.
What does being an Alumnus of the Year mean to you?
Being named Alumnus of the Year is an incredible honor, and I’m proud to represent the profession of pharmacy. As a pharmacist, I recognize that “a pill for every ill” is not the solution to the chronic disease epidemic, and that functional medicine is a more viable path. It’s my hope that this recognition will highlight and accelerate the collaborative work we are doing within Functional Medicine Pharmacists Alliance to make functional medicine the standard of care through pharmacist-led clinical services.
What do you love about your current role?
FMPhA got its start as an online networking group in 2017, through which I could stay in touch with pharmacists whom I met through my functional medicine speaking engagements at state pharmacist association meetings. I also began blogging about functional medicine and how to get started in this growing field. The group grew from just 30 members in 2017 to more than 4,000 pharmacists today. In 2020, we launched our official membership program, as well as partnerships with organizations such as the Institute for Functional Medicine and the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. In 2023, we launched our flagship training course, the Functional Medicine Pharmacists Bootcamp. What I love most about my work is knowing that we are truly changing health care, one pharmacist, one practitioner, one organizational partnership, and one patient at a time.
Eric Roseen, DC, Ph.D. – Doctor of Chiropractic, Class of 2011
Dr. Roseen resides in Massachusetts where he is a researcher and clinician within the Family Medicine Department at Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine. He is involved in multiple ongoing research projects within BMC’s Program for Integrative Medicine and Healthcare Disparities, and he recently opened a chiropractic clinic at BMC, training students of various backgrounds while also developing his own knowledge as a CARL II Research Fellow. Dr. Roseen continues to expand the roles chiropractors have within the health care system, and he does it in a way that facilitates more doors opening to new generations. His relevant and timely research into whole-person care in underserved populations demonstrates Dr. Roseen’s commitment to working in areas that go underexplored by many chiropractors.
What made you decide to attend UWS?
I grew up in North Dakota and was helped by a chiropractor in my hometown after an injury kept me from my sport in high school. Throughout my undergraduate studies, I was sure I wanted to pursue a Doctor of Chiropractic degree but unsure where I would go. When I visited Portland, I really enjoyed the city and its natural beauty. I liked that UWS emphasized evidence-based practice and that they had been involved in clinical research. I didn’t have any research training or experience at that point, but I appreciated that those skills would be important to making decisions in clinical practice.
What does being an Alumnus of the Year mean to you?
I’m honored by this award. Being on the other side of the country now, in Boston, makes it particularly meaningful to receive this recognition. I have a lot of great memories from my time at UWS and in Portland. I hope to reconnect with my colleagues there and share some of what we are doing over here on the East Coast.
What do you love about your current role?
I’m an assistant professor at the Boston University School of Medicine, and I provide clinical care at Boston Medical Center, a large academic safety net hospital, and it’s the mix of clinical research and patient care that I enjoy most. I develop questions in the clinic that I can try to answer through my research. My clinic is embedded in the general internal medicine primary care clinic, and I enjoy working in a multidisciplinary setting.
At Boston Medical Center, I direct the Program for Integrative Medicine and Health [JW1] Disparities, where I contribute to medical student education on integrative medicine, support integrative medicine clinical services, and lead several clinical trials. Through this work I have enjoyed learning about a range of nonpharmacologic treatments (e.g., acupuncture, tai chi, yoga) and their effectiveness for common musculoskeletal conditions such as low back pain and knee osteoarthritis.
Different viewpoints are critical for students to learn early in their education. The Community-Based Clinical Education (CBCE) program at UWS gives students experience working with a diverse set of patients in varying health care sites and systems. We spoke with Patrick Battaglia, DC, DACBR, assistant vice president of CBCE, about the ways CBCE enhances student training, patient outcomes, and community well-being.
What is community-based clinical education?
DR. BATTAGLIA: It’s a distributed model of clinical teaching and learning. Traditionally, health science students attend preclinical coursework then go through on-campus clinical education. Sometimes that includes a small number of community-based placements. Community-based clinical education makes that model more distributed. Students have opportunities to be in different health systems, private systems, hospital systems, and so on. With a distributed system, you can take advantage of a bigger network and diverse clinical experiences.
How is CBCE important for students?
DR. BATTAGLIA: It offers a lot of geographic flexibility. For example, students could return earlier to their hometown to engage in real-world clinical education. The opportunity to be back home or in whatever geography they choose gives many students a good career on-ramp. Imagine being an intern in a site where you’re going to be employed later. You’d get a chance to learn the culture, be immersed in the site, learn the patients and the people. You’re going to be more successful earlier.
Community-based education inherently offers students diverse clinical experiences. If you spent all your clinical education in one site, you would see an insulated patient base that might not be representative of the population. Breadth of clinical education makes a better physician, someone who’s going to have more cultural competency, someone who’s going to be able to provide better care.
How does CBCE support local communities?
DR. BATTAGLIA: Students interface with the community early and often. This increases access to services that otherwise couldn’t be provided. Students develop a sense for that community and will be more inclined to give back and participate in other community initiatives.
How does CBCE address inequities in health care and serve historically disenfranchised groups?
DR. BATTAGLIA: Health inequities are often characterized by an access issue. If you have clinical education opportunities in underserved areas, you’ve offered health care services that otherwise wouldn’t be available, whether it’s chiropractic medicine, naturopathic medicine, or other whole-health disciplines.
How does CBCE improve patient outcomes?
DR. BATTAGLIA: Community-based education gives students the opportunity to see significantly more people and diversity of conditions. Future patients are going to be better served by graduates of this program because they’re going to get someone with more experience, more context, and a better ability to provide care.
What other skills do students gain from the CBCE program?
DR. BATTAGLIA: Students develop soft skills that are important for success in practice, things like talking to patients and understanding patients’ perspectives. Students learn to cultivate more empathy, communicate better, and better problem-solve unique situations. It’s important that they get these exposures while they’re students, because it’s going to make them more successful when they get into practice.
How else will the CBCE program position graduates for success?
DR. BATTAGLIA: We’re proactive about cultivating rotation opportunities in private practice settings, in retail health systems, and in large integrated systems. Our students have that range of health system exposure. We know what health care looks like today, and it’s important to prepare our students for that. More importantly, we prepare our students to thrive in the health care marketplace of tomorrow, and that’s going to look very different.
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