Klingensmith RD, "The Year of SOTO-USA"
The close of the HOT Conference in San Diego, March 4, 2001 marked the completion of a full year’s cycle of events for SOTO-USA. And what a dynamic year it has been! First, SOTO-USA's first Clinical Symposium held in Chicago received rave reviews on the evaluations. This annual event is designed to be the multidisciplinary forum for sharing information and exchanging ideas. It is through this open dialogue with like-minded professionals that an effective network and association can be embraced for the ultimate benefit of our patients’ care.
Then, the SOT Level I and Level II regional course programs were offered in various locations all over the United States. We are proud to say that over 90 additional doctors and students now have a working level of knowledge of SOT to offer their patients after having participated in SOTO-USA courses. The Level I SOT Cranial course, offered for the first time at this year’s HOT Conference, received a resounding thumbs up on the evaluations.
The Winter HOT (Hands On Teaching) Conference is the SOT training ground conference for chiropractors of ALL levels of practice experience.
This year’s event offered the basic introductory course work in SOT as well as SOT Cranial. For more advanced doctors, there was even a section entitled "eSOTeric." Here, presentations from a variety of experienced doctors offered correlative information on SOT and other techniques. The warmth and enthusiasm was palpable and comments were repeatedly made about "how exciting the conference was" and how they "couldn’t wait" for the next event (the Clinical Symposium in August).
This past year offered more than just a series of phenomenal educational opportunities. We also established amazing inroads with numerous companies willing to offer professional discounts on their products and services for SOTO-USA members. These relationships will result in cooperative efforts in such areas as research and information sharing. On a professional level, several of colleges will soon offer post grad education credit through NUHS and NYCC for our courses.
Another major accomplishment of this past year was the acceptance by the IRS of our non-profit 501(c)3 tax deductible status. This permits the organization and persons wishing to make charitable donations to avail themselves of many great opportunities for which they may reduce their tax burdens. We look forward to many other great events. The Clinical Symposium for this year will be held at the Oak Brook Resort in Oak Brook, Illinois, featuring an impressive faculty including Dr. David S. Denton, the developer of Vector Point Cranial Analysis, as our special guest speaker.
Professional Certification in SOT will be offered for qualified candidates. At present there are 6 locations for future SOT regional courses, with more planned. These courses will include Level I & Level II SOT and SOT Cranial, as well as new CMRT Level I and Extremities Level I courses. Next year’s Winter HOT Conference is even now in the planning stages and looks to be even more dynamic. I encourage everyone to keep abreast of SOTO-USA’s activities as there will be many great opportunities for both personal and professional growth. And as the organization grows, the need for persons wishing to take part in the development grows, too. Check out our web page (www.SOTO-USA.ORG): new developments are posted weekly with the latest news about the organization as well as seminars offered not only by SOTO-USA, but others around the country and the world.
The health care industry is evolving at a pace that promises to leave those who cannot keep up in the dust. SOTO-USA’s efforts to be inclusive are successfully forging bonds within the industry, research, and academic arenas. These bonds are the molding clay of adaptation and while this has been a great year with many great beginnings, our attitude is still:
“we’ve got a long way to go... and a short time to get there”.
Come on board; get involved! We are going places we’ve never thought possible because we never dared to dream of the possibilities .... before now, that is!