Chiropractors are Well Educated
The fact is, educational requirements for today’s chiropractor are among the most
stringent of any of the health care professions.
Several decades ago the education that chiropractors received was purposely narrow.
Without the interest in prescribing medicines or performing surgery, chiropractic
education focused on anatomy, the philosophy of natural healing, the wisdom of the
body and adjusting techniques.
Today’s chiropractor receives a much broader education. In fact, it’s quite comparable
to that received by medical practitioners.
Before acceptance to a five-year chiropractic college, prospective chiropractors
must complete a minimum of three years of undergraduate work with a heavy emphasis
on the basic sciences.
This focus on science continues during the first two years of study, emphasizing
classroom and laboratory work in anatomy, physiology, public health, microbiology,
pathology and biochemistry. Later, the focus is on specialized subjects, including
chiropractic philosophy and practice, along with chiropractic diagnosis and adjusting
methods. Since chiropractors don’t prescribe drugs, instead of studying pharmacology
and surgery, they receive an even deeper training in anatomy, physiology, rehabilitation,
nutrition, diagnosis, X-ray and a variety of adjusting techniques that aren’t taught
in any other health care field.
Disparaging the educational achievements of today’s chiropractor is an outdated
belief from another era.
References
John McMillam Mennell, MD, Medicine, Monopolies and Malice, 1996, Avery
Publishing, Garden City, NJ pp. 121, 154-155.
Learn more about Chiropractic Education.