A Chiropractic education requires a minimum of 3 years of undergraduate study before being accepted into a Chiropractic College. Then an additional 5 "academic years" of post graduate education is required. This can be completed in 3 1/2 years if a student attends school all year round without any breaks.
Chiropractic Education Compared to Medical Education
Chiropractic classroom hours Medical classroom hours
Anatomy 540 508
Physiology 240 326
Pathology 360 401
Chemistry 165 325
Microbiology 120 114
Diagnosis 630 324
Neurology 320 112
X-Ray 360 148
Psychiatry 60 144
Obstetrics 60 148
Orthopedics 210 156
Total Hours 2,887 2,706
This does not include residency, internships or extra-curricular studies or specialties of either profession.
Upon completion of all educational requirements and graduation, a Doctor of Chiropractic must also pass a 5 part National Board examination to practice in most U.S. states. They may also need to pass state examinations depending on where they want to practice.
This comparison chart is based on the review of curriculum catalogues from eleven chiropractic colleges and twenty-two medical schools in the United States.
Taken from Chiropractic First by Terry A. Rondberg, D.C., published by The Chiropractic Journal
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