NCMIC last week announced the recipients of two Ivy League, chiropractic fellowships — the first of their kind — funded by the NCMIC Foundation.
• Sarah Graham, DC, a graduate of Cleveland University, Overland Park, Kan., has been chosen for the Innovations in Musculoskeletal Pain Administration, Analytics, and Care Training (IMPAACT) post-doctoral fellowship at Yale University. Dr. Graham will begin her fellowship in August and will enroll in the Master of Public Health at the Yale School of Public Health.
The IMPAACT fellowship provides advanced training in health care policy, administration and informatics related to the management of musculoskeletal pain disorders. The program aims to develop chiropractors into leaders in the analysis and administration of health care system programs related to musculoskeletal pain disorders with a focus on innovative nonpharmacological approaches. The goal of the NCMIC Foundation fellowship is to prepare graduates for future careers in health care policy and/or administration.
• Wren Burton, DC, a graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic-West Campus, San Jose, California, has been chosen for the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine Chiropractic Research Fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Burton begins her fellowship in July and will enroll in the Master of Public Health program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The Osher Center fellowship advances chiropractic research through cultivating and mentoring an exceptional candidate focused on the development of research skills to support a career as an independent researcher in clinical musculoskeletal health or pain management research. Secondary opportunities will also be provided for advanced clinical training within a multi-disciplinary academic medical clinic.
Both fellowships are being funded by NCMIC’s non-profit entity, the NCMIC Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization. Founded in 2003, the NCMIC Foundation provides financial support for clinical, scientific and educational research that demonstrates the need for chiropractic and alternative care. Since its inception, the foundation has awarded nearly $7 million in scholarships, grants, fellowships and research dollars.
NCMIC Foundation President and Advisory Committee member, Louis Sportelli, DC, said by funding fellowships, the Foundation is investing in the advancement of the chiropractic profession by helping doctors of chiropractic obtain advanced degrees that boost their future research potential. In short, opportunities like these not only change the profession, they change lives.
“When I was in practice some 50 years ago, chiropractic was under this stigma that it wasn’t a valid form of patient care, but today there are doctors of chiropractic in hundreds of interdisciplinary facilities across the country,” he said. “Not only has the global image of chiropractic been enhanced but the entire change in the health care model has made chiropractic mainstream in the minds of the scientific community, the eyes of the public and the confidence of the patient. It’s because of the enormous potential of emerging researchers and leaders like Drs. Graham and Burton that we continue to make such strides. Because of them, we are now looking at a world we could only imagine just a short half century ago.”
NCMIC Foundation Advisory Committee member and NCMIC President, Wayne Wolfson, DC, said having two chiropractic fellows at institutions like Yale and Harvard is also significant.
“The chiropractic profession has greatly changed over the years,” Wolfson said. “We know that research is going to drive the future, as is public policy. Having the opportunity to be elbow-to-elbow with influencers and leaders is exactly where we want to be. If we can get in the right places and be part of the conversation and the decision-making, that gets us there. These fellowships are a step toward that goal.”
About NCMIC
NCMIC was formed in 1946 by a group of doctors of chiropractic with the express purpose of offering malpractice insurance to DCs when no one else would. Delivering on its promise, We Take Care of Our Own® , NCMIC has grown to become the largest provider of chiropractic malpractice insurance in the nation and has expanded its offerings to include business and personal insurance, equipment loans, credit card processing, business credit cards, and premium financing. With more than 75 years of experience and an “A” (Excellent) rating from industry analyst A.M. Best , NCMIC is a company that DCs can rely on today and in the years to come. Visit ncmic.com for more information.
About the NCMIC Foundation
As part of NCMIC’s long stance of supporting complementary and alternative approaches of health care in clinical practice, research and academia, NCMIC founded the NCMIC Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization. Since its founding in 2003, the NCMIC Foundation has collaborated with organizations, institutions and doctors worldwide to fund chiropractic research that is comprehensive, as well as far-reaching. Visit ncmicfoundation.org for more information.
