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Chiropractic Residency Program

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STL, VA, Chiropractic, Residency, Program
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The Mission of the VA St. Louis Healthcare System (VA STL HCS) Chiropractic Integrated Clinical
Practice Residency is to prepare chiropractic residents for clinical practice in hospitals or other integrated medical settings, and/or academia, through hospital-based clinical training, interprofessional education, and research/scholarly activities.
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STL VA Chiropractic Residency Program

Accreditation: VA St Louis Health Care System Chiropractic Residency Program is accredited by The Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), receiving initial accreditation in 2016. In July of 2019, The Council granted reaffirmation (renewal) of accreditation to VASTLHCS through 2025. Our next site visit will be spring of 2025.

Program Duration: Full-time (40 hours/week) for 12 months, starting July 1 - June 30 annually.

Number of Positions: 1

VA ST Louis Health Care System

VA STL HCS is a Level 1a tertiary care facility that provides a full spectrum of inpatient and ambulatory health care services to over 65,000 unique patients annually. VA STL HCS chiropractic section is aligned under Whole Health and Primary Care Service line. Residents will rotate through primary care, physical medicine and rehabilitation, neurology, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, rheumatology, CARF- accredited pain program, and other specialties. Residents will learn from and participate in ongoing national research projects including CSP 2009 and wHOPE along with engagement in a variety of scholarly activities both within our facility and with our affiliate, Logan University.

VA STL HCS is a Whole Health Flagship site and the resident will grow as a Whole Health provider and ultimately become a Whole Health champion. Within our Whole Health Initiative, our residents will participate in a full spectrum of programs, classes, and rotate with complimentary and integrated health providers along with other residents from area medical schools Whole Health is VA’s approach to care that supports health and well-being. Practicing Whole Health as a VA clinician means t being part of a nationally-supported, grassroots movement that is bringing about system-wide transformation. More information on the initiative can be found here: Whole Health; What Matters to you

Program Goals/Objectives

Goal 1:

  • Residents will acquire postgraduate clinical experience in hospital-based chiropractic care.
  • Residents will provide supervised patient care at satisfactory levels of competence, to a broad population of musculoskeletal cases, most commonly spinal, in the context of collaborative team-based care.
  • Residents will gain experience in managing a range of complex/multimorbidity cases.


Goal 2:

  • Residents will engage in interprofessional educational experiences with relevant medical, surgical, and associated health specialties.
  • Residents will complete clinical rotations in Whole Health, Primary Care, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, other relevant medical or surgical specialties, behavioral health and other associated health disciplines.


Goal 3:

  • Residents will participate in scholarly activities to gain experience relevant to integrated practice and/or academia.
  • Residents will collaborate with other chiropractic residents to complete online didactic courses and group assignments.
  • Residents will attend scholarly presentations among available hospital and/or academic affiliate offerings.
  • Residents will engage in research activities and/or present scholarly material and/or clinical workshops to staff and/or trainees at VA and/or academic affiliate venues.
Program Faculty

Our program faculty have been involved in training of health professional students and residents for many years. Our academic affiliate Logan University is local to VA STL HCS and provides support and further expertise for our resident trainees. Program faculty hold academic appointments with Logan University and residents become part of the resident training and academia with VA HCS and Logan University.

 
Staff

Matthew Knieper, DC

Dr. Knieper received his BS degree from Michigan State University and DC from Palmer College of Chiropractic (Davenport). He completed his Integrated Clinical Practice Chiropractic residency at the VA St. Louis Health Care System. Dr. Knieper is certified in chiropractic acupuncture and battlefield acupuncture providing additional resources for treatment interventions. Dr. Knieper is adjunct faculty at Logan University (St. Louis). Additionally, he has a passion for teaching, learning and research.

Ross Mattox, DC, RMSK

Dr. Mattox received his BS from Missouri State University (2002) and his DC from Logan University (2007). After several years in private practice, he returned to Logan for a three-year residency in diagnostic imaging, followed by an additional year of fellowship focused on musculoskeletal diagnostic ultrasound. He received the Registered in Musculoskeletal Sonography certification through the Alliance for Physician Certification & Advancement in 2015.

Dr. Mattox spent the next several years overseeing clinical care and student/resident education as a Logan faculty member in a Federally Qualified Health Center serving un- and under-insured patients before starting with the VA STL HCS in 2020. He was assistant professor in the Doctor of Chiropractic program and taught through Logan’s postgraduate department. His clinical/research interests include multidisciplinary care of chronic pain, social determinants of health, enhancing chiropractic education in clinical settings, and point-of-care diagnostic ultrasound.

Jason Napuli, DC, MBA- Program Director

Dr. Napuli received his BS from Brooklyn College (1999), and DC from NYCC (2003). He completed a fellowship at NYCC in Integrated Care, gaining a master’s degree in Business Administration with a health care concentration from Binghamton University (2006). Shortly after finishing his fellowship in 2006, he began working in VA at the Bath NY VA Medical Center (‘06-‘14), Bay Pines VA HCS (‘14-‘18), and joining the residency program here at VA St Louis in 2018 where he now serves as Chief of Chiropractic and Complimentary & Integrative Health. Over the course of working in VA, Dr. Napuli has overseen clinical services, supervised health professional students and residents, and has contributed to scholarly activities including conducting research, publications, and national presentations. In addition, he has served on a variety of committees in VA including VA Field Advisory Committee, IRB and R&D Committees, and chaired a pain management committee. Furthermore, Dr. Napuli has been involved in the profession as Chair of the Chiropractic Health Care Section of the American Public Health Association, Member of the WFC Public Health Committee, and Site Team Academy member for the Council on Chiropractic Education. Most honorably, Dr. Napuli is a Major in the United States Air Force as a Medical Service Corps Officer and is a veteran of Operation Inherent Resolve and Enduring Freedom. Dr. Napuli brings extensive knowledge to clinical practice with the veterans he serves along with an excitement for excellence in education, patient centered approach to treatment, and a passion for service to the country and profession.

Additional multidisciplinary adjunct faculty will be part of the program as providers during internal rotations and externally through Logan University.

Sarah Jane Pavlik, DC

Dr. Pavlik received her BS in Exercise Science from Lindenwood University (2016) and her DC from Logan University (2019). She completed her clinical rotation at Scott AFB in Shiloh, IL treating active duty military personnel in an integrated setting.  She joined the VA St. Louis Health Care System in 2021 as part of the clinical team in Whole Health along with training health professional trainees from Logan University and residents. In addition, she is certified in both acupuncture and battlefield acupuncture and supplements this within her current practice.  She also has an interest in Women’s Health conditions and Chronic Pain Syndromes. Dr. Pavlik also serves as adjunct faculty at Logan University and her research focus is on integrated care training and clinical outcomes from collaborative care.  

Locations

Training takes place at multiple locations throughout the VA St. Louis Health Care System. Currently there are seven sites of chiropractic care provided within the VASTLHCS. Two medical centers Jefferson Barracks, John Cochran and 5 Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC): Washington Avenue Annex, St. Clair CBOC, St. Charles CBOC, St. Louis CBOC, Franklin County CBOC. VASTLHCS has academic affiliations with Logan University, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine and Saint Louis College of Pharmacy. Residents will be assigned to both medical centers and will have an opportunity to rotate in our CBOC’s.

Clinical and Scholarly Activities

The VA St. Louis Health Care System is composed of seven different sites of care throughout the greater St Louis region. Each location has state of the art exam/treatment tables, computers, and other necessary equipment. One of the unique features of VA STL is our ability to offer our residents a variety of patient demographics from the city, to suburban, and rural. Additionally, we are a Whole Health Flagship site that is slowly transforming health care in VA. Our residents become knowledgeable in Whole Health as they learn through the lens of our veterans as they rotate through the different components of whole health and VA ST Louis HCS. Later through opportunities to recommend and deliver classes our resents become champions of Whole Health and fully understand the importance of this healthcare transformation Residents will have library support through VASTLHCS, VISN 15 Online Library, and through Logan University. In addition, the resident will rotate through Logan University health care systems, participate in didactic activities throughout their trimesters, and post graduate course work.

Residents carry a 65% caseload with time devoted to clinical rotations, didactic coursework, professional presentations, scholarly projects, and mentorship of health professional trainees.  Primarily, this is a clinical residency as part of Whole Health, however, the resident will spend considerable time on rotations across VA St Louis and in the classroom setting at  Logan University.  One of the features of the VA ST Louis residency is our rotations and immersion in resident life.  Each resident will have the opportunity to rotate with other residents through various departments including, Whole Health, Primary Care, Specialty Care (Orth, Neuro, Rheumatology), Palliative Care, Emergency Dept, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.  Additionally, residents will spend time being mentored and putting together research projects and scholarly work for submission to conferences and for presentations throughout VA ST Louis and Logan University.  This combination of experience will ensure residents are successful in transitioning to a VA position, Private hospital, or academia.  

Compensation

The resident stipend is set annually, based on geographic location, by VA Office of Academic Affiliations. For the Academic Year 2022-23 the stipend for a VA STL HCS chiropractic resident was $37,648. The resident receives paid federal holidays, and accrues 13 days of vacation and 13 days of sick leave. The resident is also eligible for life and health insurance. The resident is protected from personal liability while providing professional services at a VA health care facility under the Federal Employees Liability Reform and Tort Compensation Act, 28 U.S.C. 2679 (b)-(d).

Certificate of Completion

Upon satisfactory completion of program requirements, the graduate will receive an official Certificate of Residency, and records will be maintained at the VA STL HCS and the VHA Chiropractic National Program Office. To date, all of our residents have placed in VA Medical Centers around the country.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible applicants must be a US citizen and:

  • Have graduated from a CCE accredited institution by June 1, 2023
  • Be eligible to hold a license by July 1, 2023 or currently licensed to practice chiropractic in the U.S. -Have at least a 3.0 GPA in the Doctor of Chiropractic professional program
  • Have capabilities and goals consistent with the mission and rigor of the program

Application Process

The program follows the VA chiropractic residency match process. Selection is through a competitive process considering factors such as academic background, relevant experience, personal statement, letters of recommendation, and telephone and/or in-person interviews. A call for applications will be issued each year on the first business Monday in January. Applications are only accepted during the open call. Applicant rankings are made by a review committee of the residency director, program faculty, and current resident.


Forms and instructions can be found at
https://www.rehab.va.gov/PROSTHETICS/chiro/Residency_Programs.asp.

If you have any questions, please submit them to
STLChiroResidency@va.gov