Who makes a good representative for SI with regulatory boards and legislators?
The most important character traits for an SI representative advocating at state meetings are listening and humility. Keeping an open mind, listening to what the board, agency, or other state officials are saying and observing what they are doing will allow you to engage them in a meaningful way on behalf of our profession.
Lawmakers' and regulators' prime responsibility is to protect the public. Members of regulatory boards are in the position of balancing the best interest of the public against the facility of their own practices. This may put them at odds with those they regulate. Keeping this in mind can help as you build mutually respectful relationships. We can best represent our profession by finding ways to achieve appropriate regulation for SI while helping regulators accomplish their goal of protecting the public.
Keep in mind: our work is different than other manual therapies; not better. It is these differences that call for different and appropriate regulations.