With a stroke of a pen on April 16th, Governor Walker signed into law the final piece of legislation to remove the barriers facing young Chiropractors who simply wanted to practice in Wisconsin.
Surrounded by CSW members, including many recent graduates who testified at the hearings, Governor Walker removed the arbitrary, higher NBCE exam scores and in the process completed the six-year project by the members of the CSW to end the efforts to block young chiropractors from entering Wisconsin.
"I am very proud to welcome all of the young doctors to join us in Wisconsin. It was an honor for the CSW to champion the removal of both the “Wisconsin exam" and the subsequent higher NBCE scores,” stated CSW president Dr. Lona Cook.
“This is a big day not only for all of the young chiropractors who suffered under this very unfair system, but to all chiropractors and citizens in Wisconsin. When you think in terms of abundance rather than scarcity, keeping young doctors out was exactly the wrong action step for the WCA to take in 2009 when they introduced the legislation that led to the fencing out of all of these capable, young doctors,” expressed Past President Dr. Jay LaGuardia. “We as a profession need to consider and adopt the CSW’s more positive thought process. Chiropractors used to be a powerful, statewide team. Unfortunately, because of fear and lack of action by the previous state association, many have fallen to a place of believing other chiropractors are competitors needing to be barred from coming to Wisconsin. It is time for all chiropractors to join the CSW members in a bigger game to change healthcare in Wisconsin
instead of focusing on the concept of other chiropractors being competition.”
According to Dr. Steven Conway, Executive Director of the CSW,
“I personally believe the most important moment of this six-year project for the entire chiropractic profession in Wisconsin can be summed up with one of the key and deciding moments related to the first efforts by the CSW to remove the Wisconsin exam. I vividly remember a meeting with our legislative champion. The WCA had put on a very successful, full court press using all of their resources to stop the CSW’s efforts. I was told that the game was essentially over as the WCA had convinced the legislative leadership to keep the flawed Wisconsin exam and that the CSW should stand down. However, I knew that as an organization we could not quit on these young doctors or quite frankly our profession, so I let him know that the chiropractors associated with the CSW never quit on what we believe in and instead of folding we did just the opposite and increased our efforts. At the time, we didn’t know how we were going to win; we just knew that losing was not an option we could accept. That underlying purpose to fight against all odds resulted in a victory for the chiropractic profession and the hundreds of young chiropractors who had to suffer through the failed Wisconsin exam.”
“What was especially happy for me was to see the young chiropractors, who were affected by and worked with us to remove the initial Wisconsin exam 5 years ago, come back and help the new group of young doctors remove this final barrier. I believe this bill signing finally brings closure to their experience as well,” shared Dr. Rob Cadwallader, the first President of the CSW.
