Executive Director’s Report

John Jannese

Annual General Meeting 2003
COCA held its AGM in Sydney this October. It was pleasing to note that COCA declared a small profit for the financial year, in line with our expectations.

At the AGM our President Dr. Peter Werth, had the honour of presenting awards for life membership to Dr. John Reggars and Dr. Bruce Walker. Both John and Bruce were acknowledged by their colleagues with a standing ovation, testament to the measure of esteem held by the membership, for both of these gentlemen.

COCA signs library agreement with the RACGPs
In an agreement reached with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, their electronic library ‘doors’ are now open to COCA. In order to access the service, simply complete an application for library registration and you will receive a monthly electronic table of contents service. The RACGP Library service enables you access to over 400 journals electronically from the library’s on-line journals and to the web based catalogue and other services.

Just some of the titles that may be of interest to Chiropractors and Osteopaths include:

• ACP journal club
• Alternative therapies in health & medicine
• American family physician
• American journal of sports medicine
• American rehabilitation
• Annals of allergy asthma & immunology
• Annals of internal medicine
• Annals of nutrition & metabolism
• Bulletin on the rheumatic diseases
• CMAJ
• Current medical research & opinion
• JAMA
• Journal of bone & joint surgery (British & American editions)
• Journal of hand surgery
• Journal of knee surgery
• Journal of nutrition
• Journal of orthopaedic research
• Journal of rehabilitation
• Journal of rehabilitation research & development
• Journal of sports medicine & physical fitness
• Journal of the American dietetic association
• Lancet
• Mayo clinic proceedings
• Men’s health
• Nutrition reviews
• Occupational health & safety (WACO)
• Occupational medicine (Oxford)
• Orthopaedics
• Paediatrics
• Physical therapy
• Physician & sports medicine
• Postgraduate medical journal
• Prevention
• Quality management in health care
• Royal society of medicine journal
• World health organisation bulletin

Other library services will be provided by the RACGP on a 10% discount fee for service basis. Services include literature searches, supply through an inter-library loans system of journal articles not available from the RACGP collection and distance borrowing.

An application for registration with the RACGP’s library service is included elsewhere in this edition of COCA News.

Chiropractors Practicing Acupuncture in Victoria
With the establishment of the Chinese Medicine Registration Board, it is now a necessity for all Victorian Chiropractors who wish to practice acupuncture (or who are already practicing acupuncture) to either, register with the Chinese Medicine Registration Board, or seek endorsement of their registration with the Chiropractors Registration Board of Victoria.

The Chiropractors Registration Board of Victoria have advised, that whilst the requirement does not come fully into force until January 2005, endorsement will need to have been obtained well before that date. All Chiropractors practising acupuncture should contact the Registration Board’s office to obtain an application form for endorsement as soon as practicable, as the cut off date for application is early in the New Year.

Contact details for the Board are:
Chiropractors Registration Board of Victoria
Level 17, 150 Lonsdale Street,
Melbourne 3000
Telephone: 03 9639 8652
Email: chirobd@chiroreg.vic.gov.au.

COCA Website developments
COCA’s website is continually under review. It is our objective to maintain an up-to-date site that is easy to navigate, enhances the benefit of COCA membership and is of interest to non-members.

Early in 2004, COCA members who have provided our administration with an email address will receive a dedicated password. This password will enable you to access the “member’s only “section of our website.

This section of the website section will include items such as the RACGP’s library application for registration.

Compliments of the Season
I wish all COCA members and supporters a safe and happy holiday break – and a rewarding year during 2004.