It is with great pleasure that we look forward to our upcoming reunion for this unique gathering, which will enable us to exchange knowledge, socialize, and provide our patients with solutions.

We will commemorate the Symposium's 40th anniversary as well as the 40th anniversary of the Collège d'Études Ostéopathiques de Montréal, which we were unable to commemorate due to the pandemic.

This symposium is a significant professional gathering for our community and promotes the therapeutic specificity of our profession. We eagerly await the recognition of our profession, l’Ordre des ostéopathes du Québec.

The significance Andrew Taylor Still placed on the inner physician and the life forces will serve as the theme this year. In these modern times, we could discuss the immune system, homeostasis, the tendency of physiology to always go towards normality, and many more subtle levels. The speakers will show, with different topics, that this concept is omnipresent.

We are faced with three realities working together to treat and relieve pain and dysfunction: the osteopath, the patient, and the life forces or physiology that tend towards normality. Our role is to free the obstacles so that the organism returns to normality spontaneously - “Find it, fix it, leave it alone, and nature do the rest.” It is the meaning of our profession, its specificity, and the source of our clinical methodology. Viola Frymann, D.O., MD, FAAO, has always encouraged us to meet the deepest needs of our patients, not just the clinical signs. We treat patients as a whole.

We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the professors, association members, and all other individuals who contributed to the growth of our profession outside our community. We want it to be free, part of the multidisciplinary health team, and with all the tools it needs to relieve the population. It is the duty of decision makers to our society and a responsibility to those who suffer.

The college has played a big role in that, and we are very honoured. The goal has always been to achieve a university-level program that includes all aspects of osteopathy with a solid clinical methodology.

In our history, the validation by the University of Wales of our bachelor’s program in osteopathy was a great honour and recognition of the work of our entire team. Additionally, we established campuses across Canada, in Germany, and Switzerland, as well as humanitarian projects in Pakistan and Peru which gradually led to university training programs and the promotion of osteopaths to positions as professors, thesis directors, and clinic supervisors.

We can talk about success for our students, our colleagues, and our society. Since 1988, we have created postgraduate programs worldwide. To the benefit of all, the future is currently moving forward with new steps and an increasing number of new players. We look forward to obtaining our professional recognition (Professional Order of Osteopaths) and a university program.

As every year, we will also have the pleasure of welcoming new osteopaths from Quebec. We congratulate them and wish them every success in their professional lives. They will do a lot of good for patients and will enrich health care in Quebec and Canada.

We look forward to seeing you again for this exciting event,

Philippe Druelle, D.O.
President of the Symposium 2023