Introducing the 2003 Independent Chiropractor of the Year
"Canadian Chiropractor" readers choose Dr. Brian S. Seaman

A true son of the Maritimes, Dr. Seaman enjoys the "warm and genuine" character of Atlantic Canada, and his geographical placement at its urban heart - central Halifax.

Finding high-level athletics to be an excellent avenue for increasing the profile of chiropractic, Dr. Seaman continues with extensive involvement in the CCSS(C).

Dr. Seaman was on the Board of Governors of CMCC for 12 years until 1996. That appointment provided national experience in protocol, procedures and politics, and a broad range of contacts that all proved beneficial when applied back at the provincial and regional level.

"Twenty-one years later, it (life as a chiropractor) is still a lot of fun," says a man who has witnessed his chosen profession's ascendance into the health-care mainstream. The evolution has been impressive: opportunities to positively portray the profession through the media; referrals from other medical professionals; multi-disciplinary provision of services at international sporting events; new research projects at respected institutions; a pro-active and well-informed general public making greater use of chiropractic; and the list goes on.

Brian S. Seaman, DC, FCCSS(C), FICC, member of the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC) class of 1982, has not merely lived through chiropractic's coming of age. His active participation on boards, associations, councils and teams almost too numerous to mention has helped set the course. This is why the readers of Canadian Chiropractor magazine have selected him to be the 2003 Independent Chiropractor of the Year.

"Nobody does it alone," says the doctor, crediting his wife Marg and their daughter CJ for "allowing me to take a lot of extra time for the profession over the years." His loyal Chiropractic Health Assistant (CHA), Joanne Pinch, has assisted with projects and presentations during a decade of service in his clinic; in the process, she earned the title of Nova Scotia's CHA of the Year in 2001. "Thanks to all the colleagues I've had opportunity to work with over the years," says Seaman, for they are the people whose efforts "benefit the profession as a whole."

A FORK IN THE ROAD

Back in the late '70s, as a student at Dalhousie University, Dr. Seaman faced a fork in the road. Would his continuing education be in orthopedic medicine or chiropractic? Athletes - focused on biomechanics, injury prevention, and performance enhancement - were turning to chiropractic, and so did Seaman. He wanted to engage in a practice that addressed "how to get the best possible advantage out of your musculoskeletal system."

Two years after finishing at CMCC, Seaman started in the first Fellowship program of the College of Chiropractic Sports Sciences (Canada) [CCSS(C)], passing the exams in time to play a role in host medical services at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Finding high-level athletics to be an excellent avenue for increasing the profile of chiropractic, Seaman continues with extensive involvement in the CCSS(C). A past president and current second vice-president, he also sits on the CCSS(C) Sporting Event Selection Committee, which evaluated the sports chiropractors seeking to make a contribution at next year's Summer Olympics in Athens.

REPRESENTING COUNTRY AND PROFESSION

Dr. Seaman had the privilege of representing both his profession and his country as a volunteer on Canada's core medical team at the Pan Am Games in Winnipeg in 1999. On the Team Canada core medical team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, he treated athletes from nine of the 11 different sports in competition. Scoring points with his daughter on the return home, Seaman was able to get a puck specially autographed for her by Canadian hockey captain Mario Lemieux and a T-shirt signed by figure skating legend Elvis Stojko.

Provincially, Seaman is Chair of the Council of Chiropractic Sports Sciences (N.S.), which maintains an active presence at regional events that are sponsored by the Sports Medicine Council of Nova Scotia. Additionally, he is on the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee of the Canadian Sports Centre (Atlantic Region), essentially a network of health-care professionals who work with elite athletes.

A true son of the Maritimes, Seaman enjoys the "warm and genuine" character of Atlantic Canada, and his geographical placement at its urban heart - central peninsular Halifax. His practice, Halifax Chiropractic Clinic, has since 1987 been situated right in the middle of the approximately 365,000 residents of the Halifax Regional Municipality, close to one of the bridges to Dartmouth and neighbouring suburbia.

In contrast to only four chiropractors in all of Halifax when he started his practice in 1982, there are now nearly 50. Seaman welcomes the younger practitioners who move in with loads of energy. Approximately 80 per cent of them are CMCC grads. Their presence in the chiropractic community has no doubt helped to put Nova Scotia proportionately into the lead for donations and/or pledges to CMCC's Capital Campaign. To date, over one-third of a targeted $30 million has been raised for the establishment of CMCC's new campus in Toronto. The campaign is co-ordinated provincially by the Nova Scotia Leadership Council, with Seaman as Chair. Noting the importance of backing CMCC financially and morally, Seaman told the alumni newsletter Primary Contact that "with the continued support of the profession, CMCC will be able to continue to provide excellence in education and research."

REGIONAL APPLICATION OF NATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Dr. Seaman was on the Board of Governors of CMCC for 12 years until 1996. That appointment provided national experience in protocol, procedures and politics, and a broad range of contacts that all proved beneficial when applied back at the provincial and regional level.

Vice-president of the Council of the Nova Scotia College of Chiropractors (NSCC), Seaman is also a consultant to its insurance committee, and acts as liaison between the NSCC and the Workers' Compensation Board. He is highly visible as one of the spokespersons for the college called upon by the media when chiropractic or general interest health issues arise. Under the new Chiropractic Act of 2000, the Nova Scotia College of Chiropractors came into being, incorporating the earlier association into one umbrella organization.

On the broader scene, Seaman is Chair of the Canadian Chiropractic Examining Board, which traces its origins to the Canadian Chiropractic Association (CCA). The CCEB is responsible for providing and administering the written cognitive and practical clinical skills examinations that a chiropractor must successfully complete in order to attain licensure in each provincial jurisdiction.

Along his busy way, Seaman has somehow managed to find time to give presentations and also to publish. "Chiropractic: Myths and Realities" was the title of a talk he delivered a few months ago to students in their senior year of physiotherapy school at Dalhousie. "Chiropractic: Scope, Education, Procedures and Practice" was an educational program presentation he made to physical medicine and rehabilitation residents. He was a contributing author of the CCA's "A Practitioner's Guide to Whiplash Associated Disorders," published in 2000.

In addition to being the recipient of a collection of prestigious awards, Seaman was designated a Fellow of the International College of Chiropractors in 2002.
To date, it has been a very full career indeed.
"At the end of the day, I hope I have made a difference," adds Seaman.

Re-printed with the permission of the "Canadian Chiropractor" magazine
(December 2003 issue)

download a printer friendly version