On January 18, 2018, Palmer College chiropractic student Amanda Berkley testifies in favor of 2017 AB 834 before the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Regulatory Licensing Reform.
Read a transcript of Amanda’s testimony below.
Read more about 2017 AB 834 here.
Honorable Assembly members,
My sister Angela and I graduate from Palmer College of Chiropractic next month, it has been a lifelong dream that we have been working very hard to achieve for the past eight years. Chiropractic College is not easy; the curriculum is challenging and expensive. There is a certain sense of relief and excitement as your dream of graduating and practicing draws near. For my sister and me, I like to think it will be espically gratifying since our family has been serving the La Crosse area for over 90 years in the chiropractic profession. Our great-grandfather Fred Barge was one of the most well-known chiropractic leaders, authors, clinicians, and teachers in the profession. Our parents are both chiropractors, and we will be fourth-generation chiropractors, perhaps the only fourth-generation chiropractors in the state.
I hope you can understand why we are excited to join our family’s legacy as chiropractors, community leaders and small business owners. So you can’t imagine the emotional toll this National Boards issue has taken on me personally. My sister and I both passed part three of the National Boards, both the National Boards score and the higher Wisconsin score. However, part four was a different story. The National Boards requires a 375 as passing, and Wisconsin requires 475. My sister Angela passed with a score of 500 but I did not. My score was 470, five points short. I could practice in virtually every state in the country, except my home state where my faminly has practiced for over 90 years. Needless to say, I was crushed. What makes matters even worse is that the 475 passing score is a completely arbitrary picked for who-knows-what reason. It is not based on science, fact, or by anybody with the background, experience, or authority to recommend such a standard. This fencing-out number has caused emotional and financial hardship on too many people for far too long. It harms not only the chiropractors but the communities they could be serving and the jobs they could be creating. I urge the honorable members of this committee to strongly support the passage of Assembly Bill 834.
Thank you for your time, consideration and service to our great state.
