Vanessa Woosley, an 8th trimester student at Palmer’s Main Campus, is one of two Palmer students on a Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research, Research Honors team focusing on a current study, Safety Culture in Community-Based Clinics Offering Spinal Manipulative Therapy: A Qualitative Analysis. 

Palmer’s Research Honors Program gives students the opportunity to engage in research and enhance their educational experience while in the Doctor of Chiropractic program. It allows students to participate in faculty-mentored research projects.   

“Having this extra guidance in the Research Honors program is helping me with new skills for after graduation and I have met so many new people, the networking in this program is endless,” said Vanessa. 

Palmer Florida student Amanda Brown, an 8th quarter student also part of the research team, says “participating in the Research Honors program has given me better communication skills, keeps me up to date with the knowledge in this industry, and has allowed me to network with different doctors and students from other colleges. Having this experience will give me the opportunity to stay in contact with colleagues well after graduation.” 

The study is being led by Stacie Salsbury, Ph.D., R.N., who in 2022 was named American Chiropractic Association’s Researcher of the Year. 

“I hope this study will give students an inside look on clinic life and how they can help prevent concerns from future patients,” said Dr. Salsbury.  

As part of their Research Honors project, Vanessa and Amanda study survey results, gather any major issues they find in survey answers, and present a research paper with their findings. They also have weekly meetings following lectures and webinars. They will each  receive a Research Honors certificate recognizing their contributions to the research project. 

Palmer College of Chiropractic Research is the most highly funded and productive chiropractic research effort in the nation. Within this program, students have the opportunity to experience what it’s like to collaborate with researchers across campuses and in different parts of the country.  

Visit Palmer’s Research Honors program online to learn more.