Jaime Medina, recent grad, lands an associateship

Posted on by Dana Schatz
Jaime Medina, recent grad, finds an associateship
UWS alumns Jaime Medina, DC, and Ken Delp, DC.

The University of Western States (UWS) community is made up of more than 7,000 students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends. This past spring, the university created an online space for meaningful, actionable and supportive connections between UWS community members. This trusted community is called UWS Switchboard.

UWS Switchboard is a digital space to connect with the UWS community by asking for what you need and offering what you want to share. Early members have taken advantage of the platform, showcasing jobs, shadowing opportunities, patient referrals and practice management advice. Members have also posted asks and offers for housing and goods.

Jaime Medina, DC, a recent graduate searching for associateships opportunities connected with UWS alumnus Ken Delp, DC, of Delp Chiropractic and Massage through a Switchboard post and began working with Dr. Delp this summer.

Dr. Medina relocated from Portland to the Yakima area with his wife, Chantel, and their two young children.

“Delp Chiropractic and Massage is located in a rural area 20 minutes south of Yakima, Washington,” explained Dr. Medina. “I will be working closely with the Hispanic population of the city and surrounding towns. I am looking forward to using my Spanish more actively and to becoming a close part of the community. My family and I are generally city people, so moving to a town with a population of 3,000 will be a bit of a culture shock, but a welcomed one.”

Through the UWS Switchboard, UWS clinicians and faculty are able to actively engage and help facilitate meaningful relationships between students and the UWS community.

“The UWS Switchboard is definitely a valuable tool and it helped me meet a colleague I feel will help me be successful in my practice and someone I feel has the same standard of care after graduating from UWS,” said Dr. Delp.

UWS Switchboard is open to the entire UWS community: alumni, students, friends of the university, faculty and staff, and Dr. Medina encourages everyone to be involved.

“I wouldn’t have this new opportunity following graduation had I not discovered the UWS Switchboard,” said Medina. “Getting to know the alumni services department at the school was such a great thing for me. They are always actively looking to connect doctors with students who could benefit from their expertise and knowledge–all you have to do is ask.”

UWS alumna, attending physician and clinical educator, Amanda Armington, DC, has also loved using Switchboard.

“As a UWS faculty clinician, I am working directly with students that are constantly looking for shadowing or practice opportunities. Switchboard has been great for these kinds of connections, and I have found myself making them more often than before I used the platform,” Said Dr. Armington. “I really do prefer this to other forms of social media for professional connections and I love the app because it’s super easy to use, just like the website.”

Would you like to get involved? Sign up today.

Elizabeth (Liza) Goldblatt, PhD, MPA/HA Named Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs

Posted on by Dana Schatz

University of Western States (UWS) is pleased to announce the hiring of Elizabeth (Liza) Goldblatt, PhD, MPA/HA, as the university’s vice president for academic affairs (VPAA). Dr. Goldblatt will begin her tenure in early October 2018 and will serve for two years.

Well-known in the integrated health care world, Dr. Goldblatt brings extensive experience to the university. She is a founding member of the Academic Collaborative for Integrative Health (ACIH) and representative to the National Academy of Medicine Division of Health and Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) Global Forum on Innovations for Health Professional Education. Dr. Goldblatt was a co-facilitator representing ACIH on the development of a national academic course with the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health that supports the advancement of interprofessional, collaborative, team-based and patient-centered care.

“I am honored and delighted to be part of the UWS team,” said Dr. Goldblatt. I am sure we will all learn from one another as we create harmony and progress in this time of significant change for the university. I am both humbled and excited at the prospects of working together.”

Dr. Goldblatt also served as the education committee co-chair of the North American Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Council from 1993 to 2003, and was the president of the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (OCOM) from 1988 to 2003.

Dr. Daniel Redwood, director of the human nutrition and functional medicine program at UWS, who has worked with Dr. Goldblatt believes her past professional experiences will ensure her success at UWS.

“Dr. Liza Goldblatt has long been one of the most accomplished and widely-respected leaders of the integrative health care movement,” said Dr. Redwood. “I was a member of two working groups at the Academic Consortium for Integrative Health, when she served on its executive board, and I witnessed her insightful and unifying leadership. It was appreciated by one and all. I have no doubt that she will bring these qualities to her work at UWS and that our university will be the better for it.”

In her role, Dr. Goldblatt will focus her time on supporting faculty, overseeing all academic programs, and helping to ensure a seamless transition to a new campus location. “Dr. Goldblatt brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to UWS. She is highly respected in the integrative medicine world, nationally and internationally,” said Dr. Joseph Brimhall, UWS president. “We are fortunate to include her on the UWS team.”

Why Attend the National Chiropractic Leadership Conference (NCLC) as a Chiropractic Student

Posted on by Dana Schatz

NCLC 2018 UWS Cohort
Every year, the best chiropractic physicians from across the United States come together in Washington D.C. at the National Chiropractic Leadership Conference (NCLC). The conference is hosted by the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) with the intent of professional collaboration and promotion within the chiropractic field. One day is dedicated specifically at the conference to lobbying for increased chiropractic scope of practice and increased access to chiropractic care for patients. The ACA understands that students are the future of the chiropractic profession and invites students from colleges across the country, that are involved in the student arm of the ACA called SACA (Student American Chiropractic Association) to come and be involved at NCLC.

At UWS, we have a very active SACA chapter. Each year, the executive board works hard to empower students to attend the conference and have their voices heard in regards to laws that will one day affect them as chiropractor physicians. NCLC and participation in SACA give students the opportunity to become involved before they graduate and develop into the future leaders of the chiropractic profession.

“When I was approached about going to D.C. to talk to senators and state representatives as only a second quarter student, I thought ‘no way!,’” said Christeen Perkins, UWS SACA chapter president and SACA national communications committee vice chair. “I wondered why anyone would care what I had to say about things like scope of practice and patient care. After all, I’m not yet a chiropractic physician and at the time, I had barely even had begun the journey to graduation. Luckily, my good friend Taylor Kerschner, fellow UWS student and SACA national vice legislative chair, looked at me and said ‘if you go, I’ll go,’ and we have both been participating in SACA at the chapter and national-level ever since.”

Students that attend NCLC have the ability to network with chiropractic physicians and fellow students from all across the country and gain further insight into their future careers.

“As the current UWS SACA chapter president and national communications committee vice chair, it is an honor to be involved in SACA and continue advocating for my future patients and future career,” said Perkins. “I am looking forward to NCLC 2019 being my third year in attendance and seeing what kind of progress we are able to make this year.”

The 2019 NCLC will be held January 16-19, 2019 in Washington, D.C.

Top Five Reasons to Become More Involved in SACA

1) Networking with evidence-based chiropractic physicians

2) Lobbying for the progression of the chiropractic profession

3) Connecting with chiropractic students from across the country

4) Building leadership skills

5) Learning about different specialties

 

 

UWS Students Represent SABCA at National Conference

Posted on by Dana Schatz

SABCA national conference
University of Western States (UWS) doctor of chiropractic students Shenee’ Lawson and Tim Williams were sponsored to represent the UWS Student American Black Chiropractic Association (SABCA) chapter at the 37th Annual American Black Chiropractic Association Conference (ABCA) in St. Louis, Missouri.  The newly formed UWS SABCA chapter is recognized as the first SABCA chapter of the Pacific Northwest region.

Bobby Westbrooks, DC, founded the ABCA organization more than 30 years ago with efforts to recruit, encourage and support Black persons to study chiropractic. His mission was to promote the research and development of the science, philosophy and art of chiropractic, and to improve the standards in the profession by advancing the technical and professional knowledge. The ABCA seeks to donate time and services to neighborhood health clinics and perform community education.

In a talk by Dr. Xavier Tibler, founding partner of Evoke Chiropractic in Overland, Missouri, Lawson and Williams received insight on the transformation from a student to chiropractic physician. Dr. Tibler attended chiropractic school while he was enlisted in the military. When he was deployed, he had to leave school and his family to serve his country in Afghanistan. While overseas, Dr. Tibler realized that what chiropractic physicians do is what the country needs. A question was raised asking, “Who are we and who do we represent?”

Statistics show that:

  • African Americans ages 18-49 are two times likely to die from heart disease.
  • African Americans ages 35-64 are 50 percent more likely to have a high blood pressure.
  • The leading causes of death in the African American population are heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and homicide.

“It is our responsibility as African American doctors of chiropractic to transform our people to understand the innate; the innate is something inborn such as love,” said Dr. Tibler. “When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied. As chiropractic physicians, we have all this potential right now to change our community and the way they think.”

In addition to hearing inspiring talks from those excelling in the field, the students enjoyed the networking and career building opportunities and most enjoyed the outreach program opportunity SABCA interns held with Dr. Jennifer McClearly. Every year, SABCA puts on a fundraiser and outreach opportunity to a non-profit organization where the National ABCA Conference is held. This year, the conference attendees connected with the YMCA in St. Louis, Missouri to encourage and teach young individuals about the field of chiropractic.

After this workshop, the students had a broader enlightenment on what chiropractic brings to the community and some were even motivated to become a chiropractic physician one day. A young girl at the event said she was inspired by seeing so many black doctors and did not know so many existed.

The UWS SABCA students enjoyed meeting their SABCA peers in other regions, legendary black chiropractic physicians that have seen and made history, and look forward to bringing home their innovative and leadership skills.

The 38th Annual National American Black Chiropractic Association that will be held in Daytona Beach, Florida at Palmer University next year.

 

 

 

UWS Clinician Working to Navigate Language Barriers

Posted on by Dana Schatz

Learning how to utilize the health care system in a non-native country can be extremely difficult, especially when the language is foreign to you. To help curb the issue of language as a barrier to health care, Dr. Aaron Montgomery, chiropractic physician and assistant clinical director in the University of Western States (UWS) clinic system at the Gresham location, volunteers at public libraries in Portland helping with an English as a second language class (ESL) through the organization People-Places-Things.

“As a chiropractic physician at University of Western States, it’s important for us to give back to the community,” said Dr. Montgomery. “We hope that the people who come to this class know that they truly have a safe space both here and in the UWS clinics.”

navigating language barriers
Patrik McDade, founder and program director for People- Places-Things, and Dr. Aaron Montgomery, chiropractic physician and assistant clinical director in the UWS clinic system (Gresham).

The ESL classes around Portland vary in size, but generally have a minimum of around 10 students each class.

“Currently, there are about 15 classes around the Portland area and we’ve been going strong for seven years,” said Patrik McDade, founder and program director for People-Places-Things. “The people that come to these classes are actively looking for additional language and cultural skills, as well as to develop relationships and access to the civic system.”

In Oregon, where the majority of health care practitioners are Caucasian, some patients find it more difficult to reach across cultural and racial boundaries to access care.

“We need a way to train practitioners how to engage across differences so we can give culturally competent and respectful care,” said McDade. “Having practitioners volunteer at this class doesn’t solve all the problems, but it’s one way.”

While outreach programs and volunteering won’t completely correct systematic issues, it does start to build bridges within the community.

“Ultimately, this class is about developing relationships with people,” said McDade. “When you have that, it helps you understand why people are here, where they’re coming from and the specific needs they have. Those who come to this class learn how to communicate better – particularly with non-native English speakers – how to slow down, how to repeat a little bit and how to make that feel more natural.”

 

Student American Black Chiropractic Association at UWS

Posted on by Dana Schatz

SABCA

In spring 2018, six UWS students founded the first-ever Pacific Northwest chapter of the Student American Black Chiropractic Association (SABCA).

“The driving force behind the creation of this chapter at UWS was wanting to find more mentors for the minorities on campus, because in reality, there are only a handful of us,” said Shenee’ Lawson, UWS chiropractic student, UWS SABCA president. “Being able to have someone you can look to directly that also identifies as part of a marginalized group is great for the learning process and will help students that much more.”

By becoming a recognized chapter, UWS students become eligible to apply for and receive ABCA scholarships and can recommend that ABCA conferences be held in the region. The establishment of the official UWS SABCA chapter will also assist UWS when applying for grants supporting diversity initiatives or relating to health care outreach in underserved populations.

“Due to our demographics in this region, having groups such as SABCA on campus helps everyone gain more knowledge and understanding to what minority groups experiences and the different life challenges we experience,” said Lawson. “From a clinical education standpoint, it’s also important for future caregivers to be able to know what to do should someone from a different ethnic background comes into their office. It’s all about professionalism at the end of the day; we should be able to put ourselves professionally into a situation, even if we feel discomfort, and commit to providing the best care.”

According to the ABCA, many African Americans who would benefit from chiropractic care are unfamiliar with its benefits. Chiropractic colleges struggle to attract minority students into their programs, resulting in a significantly low number of African American chiropractic physicians out in the field. Ultimately, communities of color remain under-served by the benefit of chiropractic care. In accordance with the UWS motto, “For the good of the patient,” this must change, and UWS SABCA is Taking the Lead.