Chiropractic Education
Common international standards of chiropractic education have been achieved through a network of accrediting agencies and have been adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Similar to the admission requirements at medical and dental schools, a minimum of three years of undergraduate university training in qualified subjects is required by chiropractic colleges in North America.
Those students accepted to chiropractic college must complete a rigorous four to five year academic program followed by post-graduate clinical training and licensing examinations. Included in this program, students must complete several hundred hours of internship in public clinics while under professional supervision. Post-graduate specialties include chiropractic sciences, orthopaedics, radiology, rehabilitation and sports chiropractic.
WHO Guidelines - Sample four-year, accredited chiropractic education
| Division | First Year (Hours) | Second Year (Hours) |
| Biological Sciences | Human Anatomy (180) Microscopic Anatomy (140) Neuroanatomy (72) Neuroscience I (32) Biochemistry (112) Physiology (36) |
Pathology (174) Lab Diagnosis (40) Microbiology & Infections Disease (100) Neuroscience II (85) Nutrition (60) Immunology (15) |
| Clinical Sciences | Normal Radiographic Anatomy (16) Radiation Biophysics and Protection (44) |
Intro. Diagnosis (85) Intro Bone Pathology (48) Normal Roentgen, Variants & Roentgenometrics (40) |
| Chiropractic Sciences | Chiropractic Principles I (56) Basic Body Mechanics (96) Chiropractic Skills I (100) |
Chiropractic Principles II (60) Chiropractic Skills II (145) Spinal Mechanics (40) |
| Clinical Practicum | Observation I (30) | Observation II (70) |
| Research | ||
| Totals | 914 | 962 |
| Division | Third Year (Hours) | Fourth Year (Hours) |
| Biological Sciences | Lab Diagnosis (32) Toxicology (12) |
Clinical Nutrition (26) Community Health (40) |
| Clinical Sciences | Orthopaedics & Rheumatology (90) Neuro. Diagnosis (40) Diagnosis & Symptomatology (120) Differential Diagnosis (30) Radiological Technology (40) Arthritis & Trauma (48) |
Clinical Psychology (46) Emergency Care (50) Child Care (20) Female Care (30) Geriatrics (20) Abdomen, Chest & Special Radiographic Procedures (40) |
| Chiropractic Sciences | Chiropractic Principles III (42) Clinical Biomechanics (100) Chiropractic Skills III (145) Auxiliary Chiropractic Therapy (60) Introduction to Jurisprudence & Pratice Development (16) |
Integrated Chiropractic Practice (90) Jurisprudence & Practical Development (50) |
| Clinical Practicum | Observation III (400) | Internship (750) Clerkships: Auxiliary Therapy (30) Clinical Lab (20) Clinical X-Ray Technology (70) Interpretation (70) Observer IV (30) |
| Research | Applied Research & Biometrics (32) | Research Investigative Project |
| Totals | 1207 | 1382 |
| Total hours of full-time study over four years: 4465 plus research project | ||
Subject Hours Comparison Between DC's and MD's
| Subjects |
Class Hours
Chiropractic Students |
Class Hours
Medical Students |
||||||||
| Anatomy |
540
|
510
|
||||||||
| Chemistry |
165
|
325
|
||||||||
| Diagnosis |
630
|
325
|
||||||||
| Microbiology |
120
|
115
|
||||||||
| Neurology |
320
|
110
|
||||||||
| Obstetrics |
60
|
150
|
||||||||
| Orthopedics |
210
|
155
|
||||||||
| Pathology |
360
|
400
|
||||||||
| Physiology |
240
|
325
|
||||||||
| Psychiatry |
60
|
145
|
||||||||
| Radiology |
360
|
150
|
||||||||
| HOURS |
3,065
|
2,710
|
||||||||
|
Additional Required Studies
|
||||||||||
| Total Hours |
4,485
|
4,250
|
||||||||
In former times, most DC's graduated from US colleges, but there are now more educational programs in other countries (22) than in the US (18). Whereas most chiropractic schools in the US and CMCC in Canada are private colleges, most internationally are within the university system (e.g. Australia, Brazil, Canada - at the University of Trois Rivieres in Quebec, Denmark, Japan, Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the UK).
Government inquiries and independent investigations by medical practitioners have affirmed that chiropractic college training is of equivalent standard to medical training in all pre-clinical subjects. This is now clear, for example at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, where chiropractic and medical students take the same basic science courses together for three years before entering separate streams for clinical training. On contemporary faculties in chiropractic schools, chiropractors are joined by appropriate basic science and medical specialists.
References
- The Chiropractic Report Vol. 22, No.55 Sept. 2008.
- The Ontario Chiropractic Association.
- Commission on Alternative Medicine, Social Departementete, Legitimization for Vissa Kiropraktorer, Stockholm, SOU (English Summary) 1987: 12-13-16.
- Dvorak J (1983) Manual Medicine in the United States and Europe in the Year 1982, Manual Medicine 1:3-9.