Dear WOHO member,

At the recent Annual General Meeting of WOHO you may have volunteered to participate on the WOHO-Future Task Force. If you have not, as a concerned member you are now invited to either read or contribute to the work of this task force as it appears on the webpage forum. Anticipated specific topics of the task force’s work will be the following:

- to recommend to the Executive Committee if the organization continues to exist
- to define the new role of WOHO in the rapidly changing international osteopathic scene
- to reformulate the goals/mission statement of WOHO
- to define a future complementary roles and relationship with the OIA
- to find people who are willing to become members of the Executive Committee next year, when several of the founding members will step down. Your ideas and talent are certainly welcome.
WOHO is a structured membership driven group and the current members serving on the Executive Committee have learned a lot in the last six years. Although the primary aim of WOHO has not been advocacy, many individuals members choose to use membership and Ex Com consultation as a political tool. Osteopathy, especially international osteopathy, is indeed a complex game. If we decide to continue to include the aspect of advocacy in the future aims of the organization, certain attitudes apply. Among these is the need to function as a team in a league of other teams. So decisions as to how to proceed will necessarily be tempered by the experiences of current Ex Comm members.
WOHO has up until now required members to comply with the emerging consensus standards discussed by multiple groups. This is not an arbitrary decision but seen as a necessary requirement in maintaining credibility, and maintaining our advocacy position with governments and such groups as EFO, FORE, OIA. Remember, it is a game of league play.
Let me share with you that despite the difficulties involved, WOHO leadership has been a personally enriching experience for each of us who have participated thus far. Regardless of there we start, there is a lot to learn, and genuinely fine relationships to be made.
The current Ex Comm members look forward to working with you. A timetable and a note of the particulars regarding access to the forum in which task force communication will occur will be coming to you shortly. If your WOHO membership is not current, doing so now will simplify the communication process.
Collegially,
Zachary Comeaux, President
Raimund Engel, Vice-president

Posted for Jane Stark


Hi Zac
I'm sort of stuck, meaning I can criticize but not contribute. Here's my thoughts.
I understood that WOHO submitted something to WHO because the chiropractors and (other?) complementary medicine professions had done so.
Do we/did we need to follow their lead?
I am extremely put off by WHO's handling of this from the beginning - the beginning that I wasn't directly involved in.
If this was a potential marriage partner you would have had a spider sense about the relationship almost from the moment when you proposed. By now, if you weren't openly seeking a divorce you would secretly be doing so, or going to marriage counselling.
Why would this particular tiger change it's stripes now?
Drop them.

Having said that - we need a makeover.
A new name. World Osteopathic Health Organization - is misrepresentative. We don't deal with Health at any level. If we had put out a single health bulletin, I would be okay with the name but we haven't. We're not in that position.

World Osteopathic Network = WON
International Osteopathic Network = ION
ONE - can you think of something for ONE?

There is a need to provide a network of information - but not policy - not until there are #s and strength of workers within. Right now, there are only a few people who are doing/have done the work. Both and Rai (the worker bees) are on your way out - as is the other Jane - and Michael is already gone.
No one is stepping up to the plate, although I hold high hopes with Melvin.

Registry? not yet.

Have you gotten any really useful feedback or are is there just a general sense of Apathy?
J


Jane,

Michael seemed to think that communication between FORE, EFO, WOHO, OIA should continue. That’s it.
Are you able to put this reflection on the forum under the task force thread to see if any new folks have similar feelings?

The WOHO name choice was “directed from above” somehow through the members who were working on the start up of WOHO. I don’t know details. I was elected to the Ex Comm sort of by surprise at the kick off meeting. I think the naming had something to do with avoiding whatever OIA was going to be as we were about six months ahead them in development. It had nothing to do with WHO.

The chiros, in the development of their document, were proposing to governments that they were the only professionals trained competently to do manipulation. That was the context in which we saw the need for “Guidelines” from WHO.


We will see what our future is.

Zack

Jacob.Brainis wrote:
"...submitted something to WHO...", right or wrong- time will tell. On the other hand, why is that to become an associated member of OIA being celebrated, and to be part of WHO is seen as a sign of weakness?
" Don`t find fault , find a remedy; anybody can complain". H.F.
Jacob Brainis.