Book excerpt: The first-ever practice guidelines by and for the profession! These proceedings are the result of the landmark Mercy Center Consensus Conference in which chiropractic practitioners in the academic, clinical, political, and regulatory sectors met to reach agreement on standards of practice, producing guidelines for practice that provide a major step toward addressing the needs of the patient and assuring the quality and acceptance of chiropractic health services. This publication represents the greatest consensus ever achieved by the profession and is a must have for every chiropractic student and practitioner.