Northwestern Graduate Working at World Health Organization

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. —Molly Meri Robinson, DC, is a pioneer at the World Health Organization (WHO).

Dr. Robinson, a November 2007 Northwestern Health Sciences University graduate, is serving as the first chiropractic intern at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. After a push from outside organizations to have a chiropractic representative at the organization, the position was established and Dr. Robinson applied after gaining international experience in other roles.

In 2006, Dr. Robinson represented chiropractic students as the Student American Chiropractic Association (SACA) National Legislative Chair. After attending the SACA conference with other national officers in 2007 in Greeley, Colo., Dr. Robinson was invited to attend the 2007 Congress held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on behalf of SACA, Northwestern and the United States.

“While there, I became very involved in working with other schools and assisting with proposal writing, editing and revision of paperwork from all around the world,” Dr. Robinson said.

At the end of the Congress, Dr. Robinson was elected to be the regional representative for the eastern half of North America. It was then she was invited to apply for the WHO position. Upon her return to the U.S., Dr. Robinson received support from administrators at Northwestern for her pursuit.

“The school was incredibly supportive, and I am grateful for everything they did to accommodate me and assist me in pursuing this opportunity,” she said.

After accepting the position and moving to Switzerland, she's been adjusting to Swiss life where things are often expensive.

Dr. Robinson said she is grateful to all of her sponsors for their generous support which is allowing her to live in Geneva, and made special note of the help from the Office of the President at Northwestern and the Alumni Association, among others.

Dr. Robinson is now hard at work at her many tasks at the WHO headquarters.

“In some respects, I am a jack of all trades,” she said. “I do a lot of writing, editing, and revisingof press releases, announcements and Power Points.This isparticularly important to me because these documents represent and speak about the chiropractic profession, as well astraditional medicine,herbal medicine and other manual practices such as osteopathy. As the first representative from our profession, it falls to me to make sure that the words used to describe whatwe do are correct, and appropriately represent the chiropractic profession globally, and not just in the U.S.That's quite a big responsibility, and one that I do not take lightly.”

In addition to her daily work, Dr. Robinson is assisting with planning the first ever WHO Congress on traditional medicine to be held in Beijing, China in November 2008, which is expected to draw more than 5,000 attendees. She is also working on issues related to the WHO Global Survey on National Policy on Traditional Medicine/Complementary/Alternative Medicine and Regulation of Herbal Medicines. She is specifically working on a draft of a new section called “Practice, Regulation of Providers, Education and Health Insurance.”

“It’s a lot of research and paperwork and sitting at a computer, but it is so incredibly important, and I really love doing it,” Dr. Robinson said. “Plus, when I look up from the computer, I see a beautiful back drop of the Franco-Swiss Alps, and that view is enough to take my breath away everyday.”

Dr. Robinson said her time at Northwestern – both in education and support – prepared her for the challenges she faces now.

“The classes prepared me to intelligently discuss chiropractic issues and practice with some of the most knowledgeable individuals in health care, while also teaching me to be open to other ideas,” she said. “The close association I had with students and facultyfrom all the programs has been of huge helpnow that I am in a position required torepresent them all.The faculty was, and still is, an invaluable resource on information above and beyond the curriculum.”

Dr. Robinson’s initial contract with WHO was for three months, meaning her duties will end in June 2008; however she said there has been discussion about extending her contract for a year or more.

“I have so many goals that I know I will never accomplish them all before I leave, not even if I were here for a few years. My biggest goal is to create an environment in which other doctors of chiropractic and chiropractic student interns are invited to come and work here, continuing the progress,” Dr. Robinson said. “There is certainly enough work for all of us, and having that variety of opinion can only serve the profession well. If I can make it so that when I am done, they say ‘Wow, if chiropractors are like Molly, we need to bring more of them over,’ then I'll be satisfied.”

Northwestern Health Sciences University offers a wide array of choices in natural health care education including chiropractic, Oriental medicine, acupuncture, therapeutic massage, human biology, and integrative health and wellness. The University has more than 900 full-time students on a 25-acre campus in Bloomington, Minn.