Faculty
James M Whedon, DC, MS
Fall 1980 - Fall 2120
Professor II
SCU Health - Clinical and Health Services Research
JamesWhedon@scuhs.edu
Current Position
Biography
Jim Whedon is Director of Health Services Research at Southern California University of Health Sciences and Adjunct Professor at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice (TDI). He holds a DC degree from Logan College and an MS from Dartmouth College. He has authored more than 50 peer reviewed publications. He is a charter member of the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine, and a recipient of the Jerome F. McAndrews DC Memorial Research Fund Award from NCMIC Foundation, and the Scott Haldeman for Outstanding Research from the World Federation of Chiropractic.
Degrees
M.S., Clinical and Health Services Research, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United StatesDissertation: n/a
D.C., Chiropractic, Logan College of Chiropractic, Missouri, United StatesDissertation: n/a
B.Sc., Human Biology, Logan College of Chiropractic, Chesterfield, Missouri, United States
A.S., Selected Studies, University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine, United States
Work Experience
2015 - Ongoing
Director of Health Services Research, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES, WHITTIER, California, United States
2014 - 2015
Health Data Analyst, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States
2003 - 2014
Trauma Registrar, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States
2002 - 2014
Doctor of Chiropractic, Private Practice, Grantham, New Hampshire, United States
1990 - 2000
Doctor of Chiropractic, Private Practice, Salem, Massachusetts, United States
Scholarly Contributions and Creative Productions
Journal Article
Completed/Published
Grants
Completed
Association Between Cervical Spinal Manipulation and Cervical Artery Dissection in Older and Younger Medicare Population, Funded by Dartmouth College (July 20, 2018 - June 30, 2021), awarded July 18, 2018 ($78,763.00), Completed, Summer 2023, PI James Whedon (10%)
Funded - In Progress
RAND REACH Center, Funded by NIH/NCCIH/RAND Corporation (August 31, 2026), awarded September 30, 2023 ($225,353.00), Funded - In Progress, Fall 2023, PI James Whedon (10%) with Other Crina Gandila (15%)
Spinal Manipulative Therapy vs. Prescription Drug Therapy for Care of Aged Medicare Beneficiaries with Neck Pain, Funded by NIH/NCCIH (September 1, 2023 - August 31, 2024), awarded August 29, 2022 ($465,700.00), Funded - In Progress, Summer 2023, PI James Whedon (20%) with CoInvestigator Steffany Moonaz (12.5%), Other Anupama Kizhakkeveettil (3%)
Submitted - Not Funded
Acupuncture for Medicare Beneficiaries with Chronic Low Back Pain: Access, Utilization, and Value, Funded by NIH/NCCIH (September 1, 2023 - August 31, 2026) ($1,776,078.00), Submitted - Not Funded, Fall 2023, PI James Whedon (40%) with CoInvestigator Steffany Moonaz (20%), CoInvestigator Prasad Vinjamury (15%)
Submitted for Review
Utilization of Spinal Manipulation under Medicare: A Systematic Review, Funded by RAND Corporation (September 1, 2023 - August 31, 2024) ($15,000.00), Submitted for Review, Fall 2023, PI James Whedon (3%)
Utilization of Non-pharmacological Therapies for Management of Low Back Pain under US Medicaid Plans, Funded by NIH/NCCIH (May 1, 2024 - April 30, 2026) ($439,555.00), Submitted for Review, Summer 2023, PI James Whedon (20.5%) with CoInvestigator Steffany Moonaz (12%)
Honors and Awards
Fall 2022 - Ongoing
Outstanding Research Paper, 2022, National Board of Chiropractic Examiners; ACC-RAC Conference
The Scott Haldeman Award for Outstanding Researc, 2021, World Federation of Chiropractic
Fall 2021 - Ongoing
First Prize - Research Poster, 2021, Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine
Impact Award, 2021, Section of Integrative, Complementary and Traditional Health Practices, American Public Health Association
Best article of the quarter, 2021, Chiropractic and Manual Therapies Journal
Fall 2018 - Spring 2019
Outstanding Research Award, 2019, Southern California University of Health Sciences
Fall 2019 - Ongoing
Third Prize - Research Posters, 2019, AIHM Annual Conference
Fall 2013 - Ongoing
Jerome F. McAndrews DC Memorial Research Fund Award, 2013, NCMIC Foundation
Interests
Chiropractic, Integrative Health, Medicare, Medicaid, Access to healthcare Services, Health Justice
Hear from the Students Who’ve Been in Your Shoes
Our Value: Integrative Health, Inclusivity
I chose SCU when looking for a PA program because of their Integrative Medicine approach. I am from Michigan, and not many programs focus on this Integrative, Holistic approach when it comes to patient care in the Midwest, and I felt that was very important for me to learn as a future provider. My transition to semi-virtual learning has been very smooth and quite enjoyable. My favorite part about attending SCU is how tight-knit and diverse the community is. Coming from a large undergrad university and moving so far, it was very important for me to have a PA program that made me feel valued and invested in my success. At SCU, they do a great job of making you feel that.
Brianna Hadley
MSPA Class of 2022
Our Value: Integrative Health
One of the great things about SCU is we do have a campus layout, so all your classes aren't in a single room. We have our cadaver lab. We have different specialty rooms for physical assessment classes vs. acupuncture classes. All our acupuncture-specific classes have all the herbs in the room. You can pull out the herbs and look at them, whether in class or in between classes to get that extra studying in.
My favorite part of SCU is the collaboration from our beginning terms. We were working alongside chiropractor students, PA students, and ayurvedic students. It's a unique community where we get to learn about these different fields and sit in classrooms with them and work with them in the clinic. It allows you to get an understanding of all the different fields and how they can work together, and what is unique about your field. I think that is a wonderful aspect that I didn't think was going to be as prominent as it is here; even now, in my upper term classes and I am not in class with chiropractic students, I can still reach out to them about a certain aspect I may not understand or if I am working on a case. I want another perspective I know I have them to reach out to, so that has been a great networking community to have resources for.
Dr. Jamie Kuljis
Graduate, Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine
Our Value: Integrative Health, Inclusivity
"There are a lot of things that I love about the program at SCU. The first one is that the faculty come from a long line of Ayurvedic knowledge deeply rooted in ancient classical text. They studied Ayurveda, but they also lived it. When you learn from people who embody this wisdom, it's much easier to grasp this knowledge. The second thing I love is the camaraderie within the cohort. The combination of the training, supportive faculty, and the support of my peers and classmates has given me the confidence I need to start my own practice."
Portia Harris
Student, Ayurveda Program
Our Value: Evidence-Based Practice
Some of my favorite courses at SCU have to be the chiropractic procedure classes; those are the classes you get to hone in on your chiro skills, your palpation skills and ultimately work on the adjustments that make you a chiropractor. Those are the classes I feel enhance my knowledge the most and are some of the reasons I chose to become a chiropractor here are SCU.
On top of chiropractic procedures classes, my favorite is the cadaver lab experience. The cadaver classes opened up my perception of what the human body is made up of. It allowed me to get an in-person perspective of how the body works and looks on the inside. I am genuinely thankful for those experiences because they opened and broadened my horizons to the human body and anatomy in general.
Jordan Vega
Student, Doctor of Chiropractic
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