Many people seem surprised to find out that the
chiropractic education process is so extensive. I usually reply, "...whether
you're planning to become a chiropractor, medical doctor, or dentist, it takes
four years of college followed by and additional 4-5 years of additional
education (med school, dental school, chiropractic college) simply because
there is that much to learn about the body to become a competent health care
provider. "
Hence, depending on the area of
interest a person has in the health care industry, it takes a similar amount of
time to complete the educational program.
DID
YOU KNOW...
·
The
initial step is completing a typical "pre-med" undergraduate or
college degree.
·
Courses
including biology, inorganic and organic chemistry, physics, psychology,
various science labs, as well as all the liberal art requirements needed to
graduate are included in the undergraduate education process.
·
Many
states now require 4 years of college in addition to the 4 to 5 academic years
of chiropractic education to practice in their particular state.
·
Once
entering a chiropractic university, the same format exists as most health care
disciplines.
·
The
basic sciences are covered in the first half of the educational process after
which time successful completion of the National Boards Part I examination is
required to move into the second half - the clinical sciences.
·
From
there, internships, residency programs, preceptorship programs become available
to the chiropractic student.
·
Once
graduated, residence programs including (but not limited to) orthopedics,
neurology, pediatrics, radiology, sports medicine, rehabilitation, internal
medicine, and others are options. Many various Masters and doctorate programs
in specialty areas are also available.
This chart shows the similarities between three
health care delivery approaches, DC, MD, and DPT (doctor of physiotherapy). Curriculum
Requirements For the Doctor of Chiropractic Degree (DC) in comparison to the
Doctor of Medicine Degree (MD) and the Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree (DPT):
*Does
not include hours attributed to post-graduation residency programs.
AS
YOU CAN SEE, THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF AVERAGE CLASSROOM AND CLINICAL STUDY HOURS
PRIOR TO GRADUATION IS EVEN HIGHER FOR CHIROPRACTIC COMPARED TO THE MD AND DPT
CURRICULUM.
It should be noted that this does
not include additional educational training associated with residency programs,
which are available in the three disciplines compared here.
At one of the chiropractic colleges,
the academic core program or Clinical Practice Curriculum consists of 308
credit hours of course study and includes 4,620 contact hours of lecture,
laboratory and clinical education.
There are 10 trimesters of education
arranged in a prerequisite sequence.
The degree of Doctor of Chiropractic
(D.C.) is awarded upon successful completion of the required course of study.
In order to receive a degree, a
student must have satisfied all academic and clinical requirements and must
have earned no less than the final 25 percent of the total credits required for
the D.C. degree, allowing up to 75 percent of the total credits through
advanced standing.
The academic program may be
completed in three and one-third calendar years of continuous residency. Graduation,
however, is contingent upon completion of the program in accordance with the
standards of the College, which meet or exceed those of its accrediting
agencies.
In addition to courses included in
the core curriculum, a variety of procedure electives are available to the
students. These electives are designed to complement the study of adjustive
procedures included and facilitate investigation of specialized techniques.
As a doctor of chiropractic, we are
committed to providing the highest quality care available to our patients. We
coordinate care with other doctors when appropriate in quest of reaching the
goal of our helping our patients in the most efficient, economic, and
evidence-based approach possible.
