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Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Chiropractors Receive Warning

 
The McTimoney Chiropractic Association of Great Britain has issued a waring to all it members. You can read the entire thing on The Quackometer. The bottom line is that the members are supposed to remove all references to treatment of "whiplash, colic or other childhood problems."

The association is worried about lawyers and citizens who are on the lookout for false claims by chiropractors.
The target of the campaigners is now any claims for treatment that cannot be substantiated with chiropractic research. The safest thing for everyone to do is as follows.

1. If you have a website, take it down NOW.
Sort of makes you wonder what they're afraid of, no?

I'm interested in another warning ...
If you use business cards or other stationery using the ‘doctor’ title and it does not clearly state that you are a doctor of chiropractic or that you are not a registered medical practitioner, STOP USING THEM immediately.
On a completely unrelated note, one of the MPs in our area is Ruby Dhalla a Liberal1 from Brampton-Springdale.

Here's something from her website.
Dr. Dhalla brings extraordinary experience, passion, and perspective to her role as the Member of Parliament for Brampton Springdale in Canada’s Parliament. As a community activist, doctor, and entrepreneur she is one of the leading progressive voices in parliament and works tirelessly in Parliament on behalf of those that struggle to be heard. Dr. Dhalla made history in 2004 as the first South Asian Women to be elected to federal parliament in the western world and was subsequently re-elected on January 23, 2006 and again on October 14th 2008 by the support of her constituents. She is one of the youngest women in Canadian Parliament.

Her experience in politics started at a young age, beginning as a volunteer with her local MP, to knocking on doors in numerous liberal campaigns at the age of 12, to writing a letter advocating for peace to the late Prime Minister of India, Indira Ghandi, at the age of 10.

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and graduating with her Doctor of Chiropractic in 1999 in Toronto, Dr. Dhalla has had the fortunate opportunity of listening, learning, connecting and working with people from various socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. Her journey and experiences have served as her own inspiration in advocating for women, fighting for youth and promoting Canada’s role in the international arena.

As a doctor and an owner of multidisciplinary health care clinics prior to seeking public office, Dr. Dhalla has witnessed first hand the complexities and the challenges of Canada’s health system, especially those faced by patients and front-line health care providers. It is with this firsthand knowledge and insight that Dr. Dhalla has been able to contribute to her former role as the Critic for Health for the Official Opposition and as Vice- Chair for the Standing Committee on Health.


1. I know she's a Liberal. I know some of her Liberal supporters. I originally typed "Conservative" just to see if anyone was paying attention! :-) (Not.)

[Hat Tip: Pharyngula]

4 comments :

Veronica Abbass said...

"If you use business cards or other stationery using the ‘doctor’ title and it does not clearly state . . . that you are not a registered medical practitioner. . . .,"

brings me to one of my pet peeves: professors with a Ph.D who use the title 'doctor' outside of the university/academic community. My first week at a (new to me) university and before classes had started, I received a phone call at home on a Saturday from a woman who identified herself as Dr. __. Her last name was pronounced very differently from the way it was spelled and my immediate reaction was "why is a doctor(MD)calling me at home."

Jason Oakley said...

Hey! Ruby Dhalla is not a Conservative. Dr. Moran is the one with a Conservative MP, not me. :)

Larry Moran said...

Veronica Abbass says,

brings me to one of my pet peeves: professors with a Ph.D who use the title 'doctor' outside of the university/academic community.

Sorry, that objection doesn't fly.

People with a Ph.D. are perfectly entitled to use their title. In fact, it's a much higher form of "doctor" than the M.D. degree.

Most people with a Ph.D. don't use their title. They don't feel the need to advertise their achievements. Other types of "doctor" feel differently.

Bryan said...

"Sorry, that objection doesn't fly."

Not to mention,Veronica's objeciton flies in the face of history. The term "doctor" is derived from the 'D' in PhD - as in a doctorate of philosophy. PhD's were doctors long before modern medicine was even conceived of.

Not to mention, originally most MD's had PhD, which is where I suspect the term "doctor" came from.

Perhaps us PhD's should be complaining that MD's (most of whom have a bachelors) are mis-using the term "doctor" (except the MD/PhD's, of course).

I suspect that would be an uphill battle.