Keen reflects on first year with state board

As he reflects on what 2012 has been, Dr. Peter Keen will undoubtedly find the year to have represented one of the most professionally-satisfying 12-month spans of his career. For Keen, 2012 marked the first year of a four-year term on the Alabama State Board of Chiropractic Examiners.

“It has been great. It has been an eye-opener to what is going on in the state and legislation-wise also. In terms of government, it has been really good,” Keen said of the widening knowledge base and perspective he has been able to gain through his first year on the board. “Up to that point, I had looked into it just a little bit but nothing like I am now because it is everyday e-mail after e-mail after e-mail about what is going on with our profession in the state, with individual practices, doctors and so on.”

Established in 1960, the Alabama State Board of Chiropractic Examiners carries out a number of functions including the promotion of the profession within the state and the establishment of accountability for chiropractors practicing within Alabama among other endeavors.

Other members of the board are from Daphne, Montgomery, Anniston, Decatur, Northport and Birmingham, places much more densely populated than Demopolis.

“I feel like it is a great honor. I’m in Demopolis and on the board, so I think that it is a privilege,” Keen, who has been practicing in Demopolis since 1995, said of the opportunity.

His time on the board has also helped to reiterate Keen’s belief in the necessity of chiropractors working alongside doctors in other forms of medicine to better serve patients as well as the profession itself.

“I think working together with the doctors – especially the ones here in town, I get along with all of them – it is good for the future if we can all work together,” Keen said, pointing to the importance of chiropractic doctors working with other physicians for the good of the patient and the industry itself.

As the state medical community becomes increasingly receptive to chiropractic medicine and the legitimate benefits it provides its patients, the growth of the profession Keen has witnessed in his 18 years of practice will only exponentially increase.

“It has been tremendous. With the number of chiropractors that are being produced in schools, it is exciting to see the field grow because it is a wonderful profession,” Keen said before turning his attention to the three years he has remaining on his term and what he hopes the future holds for the profession. “Hopefully to strengthen our state and to be a part of it. A couple of my kids are showing interest in it. Maybe they’ll be able to come back to the state and (chiropractic medicine) be on the top.”