It’s a funny thing. Many people think they know a lot about attending a chiropractic college to become a Doctor of Chiropractic. It turns out there’s much to know that can increases the attractiveness of choosing the chiropractic profession as a patient-focused healthcare career.
As a high-achieving student who knows their calling is to help people, you may have thought about chiropractic. Still, a lack of accurate knowledge about chiropractic colleges held you back. For example, did you realize the educational curriculum covers more than 4,200 hours of classes, labs, practice sessions, and an extensive clinical internship experience packaged into a 3.3-year format?
Pretty exciting, yes? Well, now that you know, here’s a look at 6 other “big news” aspects you need to know about before you decide on a healthcare profession.
1. A Natural, Whole-person Approach to Health
Chiropractic colleges teach about the relationship between structure, primarily the spine, and function as coordinated by the body’s nervous system. This relationship, when disturbed by injury or disease, can affect the restoration and preservation of health.
The movable bones of the spine offer protection for the communication pathways of the nervous system, specifically the spinal cord and the nerve roots and spinal nerves between the vertebral segments of the spinal column.
When there’s a loss of normal motion or position of the spinal segments, nerve function can be impaired, causing pain and dysfunction of the tissues and organs throughout the body.
2. Chiropractic Education: Aligned With Today’s Healthcare Objectives
Doctors of chiropractic provide primary healthcare based on an appropriate diagnosis consistent with current research-based evidence, clinical experience, and patient preference. The chiropractic profession was an early adopter of integrative healthcare, which emphasizes the use of specialists in a coordinated way for better patient care.
Chiropractors regularly consult with other healthcare providers and specialists and refer or co-manage care for the best possible patient care outcomes.
3. Challenging Academic Requirements
The prerequisites for acceptance into a chiropractic college comply with the standards, policies, and guidelines of the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), assigned this responsibility by the U.S. Dept. of Education.
Admission to a doctor of chiropractic program requires students to have earned at least 90 college hours with a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade-point average on a 4.0-grade scale. The 90 hours include a minimum of 24 semester hours in the life and physical sciences. (Some preferred science areas include biomechanics, kinesiology, anatomy, physiology, and exercise physiology.)
At least half of those courses, such as chemistry and organic chemistry, should have substantial laboratory components.
4. Like Other Professional Programs, High Personal Standards
Colleges of chiropractic consider applicants they believe have the academic, technical, and ethical qualifications required to complete their Doctor of Chiropractic degree.
Because chiropractic colleges comply with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), there are accommodations for those with disabilities.
5. Students Are Expected to Meet 5 Capability Categories
In general, chiropractic colleges expect incoming students to meet the standards of five technical categories.
Observation:
Candidates for admission must have visual and hearing capabilities to identify the histology, cytology, microbiology, and pathology of structures using a microscope.
Candidates must be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and up close and read all forms of diagnostic imaging.
Communication:
To obtain patient information, describe changes in mood, activity, and posture, and perceive nonverbal communications, candidates must know how to communicate effectively with patients and all members of the healthcare team.
Motor Coordination/Function:
Sufficient motor function is necessary to gain information from patients by manual techniques and other diagnostic maneuvers. Chiropractic students must possess the strength, coordination, and ability to stand and use the torso and all limbs in the performance chiropractic therapies and practices.
Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative Abilities:
Critical thinking and problem-solving are essential, requiring candidates to measure, calculate, reason, analyze, and synthesize information. Candidates must also comprehend and understand spatial relationships of structures.
Social and Behavioral Attributes:
Adequate emotional health is essential for a chiropractic student’s success. Empathy, integrity, interpersonal skills, and self-motivation are important qualities. Students are expected to
Other attributes ensuring progress toward graduation include functioning under stress, coping with changing environments, and navigating the uncertainties typically found in clinical situations with patients.
6. Two Types of Acceptance for Admitted Students
Students receive full acceptance status after completing and submitting all application components, payment of a tuition deposit, and receipt of all final official transcripts that document prerequisites.
A provisional acceptance may happen when most of the applicant’s admissions file is complete, though some required documents are still needed. The remaining documentation or application components are usually due within 30 days after receiving an admission notice.
Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) is a private, nonprofit, healthcare-focused university in Overland Park, Kansas, a large suburban city in the Kansas City metro area. Most students earn their Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree in 3.3 years through a year-round schedule.
Reasons for choosing the CUKC chiropractic degree program include:
Request information about the CUKC Doctor of Chiropractic program here. You’ll also appreciate getting this free eBook: Your Complete Guide to the Chiropractic Profession.
