Dr Rick Ames

Dr Rick Ames is a senior lecturer in the undergraduate chiropractic double degree program in the areas of spinal and extremity injuries, their chiropractic treatment and primary contact management. He also show the students how to use specific chiropractic equipment, how to apply “hands-on techniques” for dysfunction of the joints of the extremities and spine, and arrange for their professional development and interaction with members of the profession.

Dr Ames is the coordinator of the Department’s postgraduate programs in sports chiropractic both from a degree based and continuing education point of view. I organise these programs, am responsible for the development and renewal/review of programs and am involved in lecturing within these programs. I also coordinate several courses in Years 3, 4 and 5 within the undergraduate chiropractic program.

He is the department representative on the Faculty of Life Science’s Occupational Health & Safety committee. Additionally, he is responsible for the acquisition, needs review and upgrade of equipment on behalf of The Chiropractic Unit for our practical technique classrooms and for our student clinics.

Teaching responsibilities

Dr Rick Ames currently teaches in the double bachelor undergraduate chiropractic degree program. For this program he teaches both lecture- and practical-based components to years 2, 3, 4 and 5 students. His main focus is on the clinical application of primary contact chiropractic diagnosis/treatment and management. This covers mainly the areas of spinal and extremity syndromes, spinal and extremity dysfunction diagnosis and technique application. He also present a class that allows students to be introduced to different approaches of clinical care by practitioners in the field and gives them the opportunity to present their approach to care that they have developed in the teaching clinics.

Dr Ames has been involved with clinical supervision and tutoring in our teaching clinics. He has also been involved in “teach-the teacher” programs for our clinical supervisors and our international educators.
He is coordinator of the postgraduate short course and degree programs in the area of sports chiropractic. He teaches in the areas of spinal and extremity syndromes, and spinal and extremity dysfunction diagnosis and technique application, as they apply to athletes and their injuries.

Research interests

Whilst Dr Ames is currently not involved in a specific research group he has previously been a supervisor for undergraduate student research projects in the areas of posture and joint dysfunction related to spinal syndromes. He is also a supervisor for postgraduate students involved in the sports chiropractic degree programs and the case-based literature reviews they must complete as part of their courses.

Educational development work

Dr Rick Ames was involved with the development of the Masters of Applied Science (Sports Chiropractic stream) program and the self-directed learning material for each subject. Besides developing the material for each of the post-graduate degree programs, he is responsible for the review and renewal of course work material and the organisation and educational program of workshops associated with these programs.

As a senior lecturer in the undergraduate chiropractic degree program he has been significantly involved in the development, planning, review and renewal of the program as it has progressed in its various forms since 1982.He is consistently involved in our staff meetings and in sub-committees set-up to review and renew the curriculum. These sub-committees involve all aspects of the course including the change over to the double bachelor degree, the current change over to the bachelor-master degree program, the curriculum change over to a self-directed based system and the subsequent rejuvenation of that curriculum, the protocols for use of radiology as a diagnostic tool in our teaching clinics and the management of our teaching clinics.

University management and administration responsibilities

Dr Ames has been the Selection Officer for the undergraduate chiropractic program. He is the staff representative on the staff-student consultative committee. He is responsible for the acquisition, needs review and upgrade of equipment on behalf of The Chiropractic Unit for our practical technique classrooms and for our student clinics.

Dr Ames has been involved in University wide processes including acting as the Bundoora Campus alternate representative on the RMIT University Occupational Health and Safety Policy Committee for 2000 to 2002, and the Department of Complementary Medicine representative on the Faculty of Life Sciences Occupational Health and Safety Policy Committee for 2002 and 2003.

• B.Sc., Loyola University of Los Angeles, 1976
• D.C., Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, 1980
• Diplomate, National Board of Chiropractic Examiners U.S.A., 1980
• State Board Certification, California State Board, 1981
• F.A.C.C.S. (Fellow of the Australasian College of Chiropractic Science), Australasian Council on Chiropractic & Osteopathic Education, 1989
• I.C.S.S.D. (International Chiropractic Sports Science Diploma), Federation Internationale de Chiropractique du Sport, 1999.

Community

• Dr Rick Ames has been the team physician/chiropractor for various sports teams including the Anaheim Hills Pop Warner Gridiron Teams, California, U.S.A. from 1981 to 1982; the Victorian State weightlifting team at the 1991 and 1992 National Championships and the Hawthorn Olympic Weightlifting Club and the Victorian weightlifting team from 1984 to 1997.
• He has been a member of the medical coverage team for the Australian Weightlifting Team at the 1984 Australian Games; the 1986 Weightlifting World Cup and the 1985 – 1992 Moomba International Weightlifting Tournaments and the World Police and Fire Games held in Melbourne during 1995.
• He has been on the organisational medical coverage committees for the 1994 World Weightlifting Championships, the World Police and Fire Games and the Australian Masters Games (Weightlifting), Melbourne 1995.
• He was a member of medical support team for Dr. Robert Bruner, an ultra-marathon runner, in the 1986 Melbourne to Sydney marathon.
• He organised and supervised the undergraduate chiropractic students in providing posture screening programs at various shopping centres and health fairs in Victoria, a posture screening programme for primary and secondary students touring the M.C.G.Gallery of Sport and scoliosis screening programs for children at the West Heidelberg Community Health Centre.

Professional

• Dr Rick Ames is a member of the Chiropractor’s Association of Australia (formerly the Australian Chiropractor’s Association) and have been since 1982.In the course of my membership I was a member of the ACA (Victorian Branch) Continuing Education Committee in 1985 and a board member of the Chiropractors' Association of Australia Sports Council Education Committee from 1994-1995.
• He is a full member of the Federation Internationale de Chiropractique du Sporte (FICS) and have been the RMIT University representative on the FICS Education Committee since 1994.
• He is a full member of Sports Medicine Australia.
• He has been in private clinical practice since 1980.In 1980-1982 I practiced at the Anaheim Hills Chiropractic Clinic in California, U.S.A. From 1982 to 1984 I practiced at the West Heidelberg Community Health Centre, funded by the former School of Chiropractic at Phillip Institute of Technology. From 1984 to 1997 I had a volunteer practice at the Hawthorn Weightlifting Club training rooms as part of my team chiropractor status for the Victorian and Australian Weightlifting teams. From 1983 to 1999 I privately practiced in various locations in Melbourne. Currently my private clinical practice is in Hawthorn, Victoria.

Projects and consultancies

• He was a consultant to the Design Council of Australia in 1986 and was a Chiropractic consultant for the Victorian WorkCover Authority and the Victorian Transport Accident Commission from 1994 to 1998.I have also been a consultant for the Victorian Chiropractic and Osteopathic Registration Board.
• He is a member of the Board of Associate Editors for the Journal of Sports Chiropractic and Rehabilitation and a member of the Editorial Panel for Australasian Chiropractic and Osteopathy, the Journal of the Chiropractors and Osteopaths College of Australasia.

Awards

• Dean's List, Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, 1980
• Delta Sigma, Honorary Scholastic Society Membership, 1980
• Award for most outstanding contribution, Journal of the Australian Chiropractors' Association, 1985
• International Who's Who in Medicine, 1st Edition, 1987