The RAC V speakers were a list of 'who's who' in chiropractic research and health sciences. Several of the expert presenters had nonchiropractic scientific backgrounds. It broadened my thoughts on what a DC can do. We are in great need of talented researchers to produce for our profession. It seems that we are exhausting the relatively few researchers we have.
Chiropractic students have virtually no practical research exposure during our training.
This conference can help develop the chiropractors' affinity to using and contributing to research. At least 12 chiropractic research journals were represented by their editors at the conference, and there was a great deal of discussion about the efforts of our scientific publications. The level of commitment and enthusiasm exhibited by all of the participants, including Bill Meeker, the RAC planning committee and the Palmer staff, was outstanding and contributes greatly to the success of these conferences. I am impressed by the incredible progress that the chiropractic profession has made during the past five years in beginning to develop a research infrastructure and future initiatives. I think the chiropractic profession benefits from what transpired because moving forward with a significant research agenda will ultimately lead to better quality patient care.