Be able to teach! I think the most important thing you can do as a spine professional is master the ability to convey honest, evidence-based care and advice to patients in a way that makes sense to everyone. Patients are generally ill-informed and can be very susceptible to our influence. It is paramount that we are using our platform to provide honest and ethical advice to patients.

When I was a young boy, I started having recurrent back pain episodes that were truly debilitating. I would be in such pain that I could barely walk. This was happening to me as early as 5th grade. As an athlete throughout my young life, these spinal issues plagued me. My dad’s best friend was a chiropractor, and he would take me in to see him when I was amid these episodes. He provided me with straight-forward treatment that worked and showed me how to do exercises that were so very helpful. He was a soft-spoken man that spent his days helping people. I knew early on in my life that I wanted to help other people that might be dealing with problems like I had experienced.

I joined NASS because I wanted to be involved in an organization that was seriously and actively pursuing evidence-based spinal care. In today’s world of disinformation, conspiracy and nonsense are everywhere, especially in health care. NASS promotes honest, research-driven knowledge. I love being able to review prospective research and see all the great avenues of care that are developing. The efforts put forward by NASS encourage safety and advancement in spinal care and health care in general.