I try not to use coarse language in my writings. And, there are just some words I won’t use. Period. But, as a taxpayer and chiropractor who loves what I do and why I do it, I’m simply pissed off at chiropractic education. And, you should be, too!
Most Americans perception of chiropractors as drugless, non-surgical providers of relief from back pain. And while chiropractic is definitely MUCH more than a non-Medical alternative to dealing with neuromuscular problems, we’ll just work with what the general public thinks we are, for now. The one thing the virtually everyone even slightly familiar with the term “chiropractic” is that it deals with the spine…and is drugless and non-surgical.
Another thing the American public is generally aware of is that chiropractors (as a group) have a terrible self-image and often claim that “we’re REAL doctors, too!” And, this Napoleon Complex permeates almost every aspect of my profession. Worst of all, in the education of new chiropractors.
What the American public is probably NOT aware of is that the average chiropractic student graduates with over $200,000 in student loan debt AND that chiropractors default on student loans more than ALL other health professions COMBINED. One of the reasons for this incredible default rate is that the AVERAGE has an annual income of less than $100,000. That just means that the American taxpayer is typically on the hook for over a hundred grand for every chiropractic student that enters practice.
One of the reasons for all this is that chiropractic education is ruled by ONE accrediting agency who (in the absence of competition) requires that every chiropractic student learn more about Medicine than chiropractic. As a result, new chiropractors can barely adjust, much less know what to adjust and not adjust and why! And, the Medical education they receive they can’t legally use in most states in which they could practice.
As I stated in the beginning of this article, as an American taxpayer I’m really pissed off that my tax dollars are being wasted on teaching Medicine to chiropractic students. I would every taxpayer who is also bothered by this to contact their Congressman and Senators and demand that the Department of Education pull in the reins on the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) and take a serious look at how we are funding chiropractic education. The only folks benefiting from the fiasco known as chiropractic education are those institutions who benefit from heavy student loan subsidies and those practitioners billing for services that could be done better by other professionals.
It’s time to slow down the train wreck also known as chiropractic education.
A Different Way 