This is a story from The Tower – Volume 2, 2024
Aubrianna Jones, DC (‘23) began her role as the first chiropractic fellow at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) in July 2024. This fellowship is a one-year, full time faculty position housed in the Department of Neurosurgery that is designed to provide fellows with advanced training as a spine and musculoskeletal focused member of a multidisciplinary healthcare team.
Dr. Jones was no stranger to MCW. Her path to this role began with a four-month chiropractic student preceptorship at the college. Working with a team that included physical therapists, pain psychologists, nurses, physician assistants, physiatrists, neurosurgeons and chiropractors, Dr. Jones was exposed to diverse spine-related cases.
She also gained valuable experience working in interdisciplinary settings during her clinical rotations as a student at Logan University. Her work at Affinia Healthcare influenced her vision of how chiropractors can and should work to meet the needs of society within the broader healthcare landscape.
“My experience within these settings shaped my standards and expectations not only for myself as a future clinician and educator, but for the future of our profession as well,” she said. “And the education I received from Dr. Patrick Battaglia and Dr. Kelsey Lewis during my time at Affinia provided me with the fundamental knowledge to appropriately manage musculoskeletal conditions through a lens of high-quality, person-centered care.”
Dr. Jones has observed that many patients fall through the cracks due to “discipline-specific silos” that chiropractors often confine themselves to. This leads to fragmented care that often has a negative effect on patient outcomes. As a part of a diverse care team that includes physicians, mental health professionals, advanced practice providers and therapists, Dr. Jones has witnessed the opposite throughout her fellowship.
“I have seen clinical encounters where the multidisciplinary collaboration between a team of diverse healthcare professionals changed the trajectory of a patient’s life,” she said. “My intentions are to continue to surround myself with mentors and colleagues who advocate for interprofessional collaboration and clinicians who continually raise the standards of healthcare.”
Dr. Jones is also working alongside fellow Logan alumni who share her passion for integrated care. Jeffrey King, DC (‘11), MS (‘12) has served as MCW’s director of chiropractic and associate professor of neurosurgery since 2014. He shares Dr. Jones’ belief in the importance of taking a collaborative approach.
“Providing comprehensive spine care requires the full complement of healthcare providers to take care of patients with spinal pain,” Dr. King said.
Dr. Jones has her sights set on becoming a clinical educator in an academic medical center. She views this fellowship as the first step toward that goal.
“Being granted this opportunity not only allows the clinicians at MCW to pour into my education but also to pour into the education of all the students I may teach someday,” she said.Bottom of Form