BC 28: Gerry Clum – Rubicon, Chiropractic In Australia

Today’s BACKchat is a BACKchat podcast with a difference… as I am discussing an area of Chiropractic that influences the professions politics and education in Australia.

I will preface by releasing a Facebook post I sent to some Australian FB forums :

The Rubicon conference is coming to Melbourne on April 8th and 9th, 2017.

Rubicon states :
“We invite you to join your colleagues from around the world as we gather in Melbourne for the annual conference of The Rubicon Group. We are pleased to be visiting Australia as we support the efforts related to the development and implementation of the Australian College of Chiropractic in Adelaide, South Australia.”

For some, there is uncertainty about the role of the Rubicon group . BACKchat podcast has asked to interview an Executive Director of Rubicon -Dr Gerry Clum – for an open discussion, transparency and look to answer some misconceptions. Gerry has kindly accepted.

I asked some forums – from all persuasions – to submit some questions and I have included some in the podcast. We have made the final call on this based on the duration of the podcast – we can’t be here for hours – and keeping this to relevance to Australia.

So firstly, a Biog of Dr Gerry Clum

Dr. Gerry Clum is a 1973 graduate of the Palmer College of Chiropractic who has been active in the educational and infrastructure aspects of the chiropractic profession throughout his entire career. Dr. Clum served for 30 years as the president of Life Chiropractic College West in the San Francisco area and presently holds a faculty appointment at Life University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA and serves as the Executive Director of a collaboration of seven chiropractic institutions from three continents known as The Rubicon Group. Dr. Clum has served as an officer or member of the board of directors of the Council on Chiropractic Education (US), the Association of Chiropractic Colleges, the World Federation of Chiropractic, the International Chiropractors Association, the Integrated Health Policy Consortium and the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress.
Q1 For some background, thirty years at the helm as the president of Life Chiropractic College West will tell me you have seen Chiropractic flourish – struggle and everything in between in the USA. What’s your view on the way that Chiropractic has been like in the USA over these decades and heading as we speak?

Q2 What’s been the win/losses for Chiropractic in the USA and what can we learn from this in Australia?

Q3 We have all heard of the Sackett triad to improve patient outcomes that include clinical experience AND patient values and expectations AND best available clinical evidence. How do we reconcile the paucity of Chiropractic research between these other two elements?

Q4 For Chiropractic students in first year Chiropractic , who probably don’t understand the divisions in chiropractic , the profession has had its splits. Historically, it was the straights vs mixers and now I guess we have the hard core evidence based Vs the hard core vitalists and the rest of the profession , somewhere in between. With your career in education , what’s your interpretation of this chiropractic landscape , Gerry?
Q5 With the formulation of Rubicon – what was the trigger in its creation?

Q6 If we turn to the Australian landscape, we have a situation of the four universities with RMIT, Macquarie ,Murdoch and CQU . Why do you think there is a need for the development of a private college in Australia?

Q7 Chiropractors have been criticized with not being collaborative…I think some comes that our teaching clinics for students are not in settings that necessarily involve podiatrists, psychologists, exercise physiologists or even physiotherapists or even GPs etc .What is your view of chiropractors being collaborative vs working in silos?

As we know in life we have supporters and adversaries, when anyone takes a strong strand on something. What I really appreciate here Gerry is that we have met only once very briefly years ago when you were in Australia. Hence there is no background connection.
I have said to you there is uncertainty by some Australians chiropractors and groups on the objectives of Rubicon and you have said to me you would like these questions answered.

These are the questions – unedited with the name of the author attached – as I mentioned would happen on the post.

Q8 From Chiropractor – Stewart Ward. Why does the Rubicon feel it has the mandate to interfere with Australian educational standards?

Q9 From Chiropractor – Alex Fielding. What is Rubicon’s definition of subluxation and what high impact research does it know of discussing its impact on human health

Q10 From Chiropractor – Andrew Fielding. What is Rubicon’s views of the biopsychosocial model of health care?

Q11 From Chiropractor – Andrew Fielding. Why does Rubicon attempt to limit chiropractic’s scope to purely subluxation, given the paucity of evidence regarding the subluxations existence?

Q12 From Chiropractor – Andrew Fielding. What has Rubicon done to improve the educational standards of chiropractors?

Q13 From Chiropractor Mike Swain. Does the traditional principles of Chiropractic mean to advocate practice/education standards from 1895?

Q14 From Chiropractor – Matthew Bulman. What is the Rubicon’s position on commonly accepted public health measures, specifically vaccination? Does the new school in Adelaide plan to incorporate commonly accepted public health measures, such as the benefits of vaccination, into its curriculum.
If it views vaccination as a non-chiropractic issue, does it support the government’s position that vaccination according to best evidence is an effective means for promoting public health?

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