The question was asked, “Do you advocate raising the entry requirements for admission to all chiropractic colleges?” The response floored me! 79% of those responding said yes, we should increase the requirements. It seems to me there are only two possible reasons why they could respond that way:
1. They hold to the mistaken idea that it will somehow improve the quality of the chiropractic student (perhaps they are looking at their own inadequacy). It has not done that in 60 years of raising requirements. Even if it had improved the quality, there is a point of diminishing returns, a point we have already passed.
2. They want to further reduce the number of young people entering chiropractic school. That has worked but it is a stupid reason that will result in professional suicide. Why don’t we raise it high enough that no one will want to become a chiropractor?! I could see them wanting longer chiropractic education. Heaven knows, we are still woefully inadequate to practic medicine. But undergrad studies will not solve that problem. Only becoming medical doctors will. If there is another reason, I would like to hear it. I’m sure there must be…can someone help me out?
The core essence or Chiropractic which is to specifically and competently locate, analyze, and correct vertebral subluxations can be learned in 1-2yrs.. Anything more than that is dressing around the objective.
Generally, any extra education one can accumulate during ones’ sojourn on this planet is always a plus, however, unnecessary educational additions are not what is needed to fulfill the objective of correcting subluxations or to becoming a competent chiropractor. What is needed are more chiropractors educated in specifically correcting subluxations and avoiding the watering down of the profession by venturing into the medical model by treating conditions and diseases and committing a misapplication of skill sets.
Well said Rick! Thank you and welcome to the Blog. Please continue to contribute. Those kind of succinct observations are always welcomed.
Joe you hit the nail on the head. As you know the education of our students has gotten better but the chiropractic education has gotten much worse.
The students of today don’t have the advantage we did…chiropractors teaching us. And therein lies the difference.
When you teach the subject, then apply it to chiropractic you get it. That’s not what they are getting today unfortunately. Too bad.
I believe BJ said he could make a man a chiropractor in 6 months, unless that man had been to college, then it took a year and a half.
Steve, interestingly enough Reggie said something just like that about becoming a spinologist. He said it only takes 1 year to become a spinologist, unless that person went to chiropractic college in which case it would then take that person 2 years to become a spinologist! We saw that to be so very true time and time again!
Hey Tom,
I think BJ’s point was not that we are over educated but wrongly instructed, too much OIBU influence. Though I don’t believe you can unlearn things, I am sure you (I) can relearn them more correctly. Not that all outside – in influences are bad or harmful but, the word educate does means to draw from within (ADIO).
Hi Steve, yes, that was exactly Reggie’s point in saying that about chiros becoming spinologists. The vast majority of a chiros education has nothing (wrongly educated) to do with chiropractic and it took him twice as much work (time) to try and undo all that “brain damage” and leave it all behind. :).
Of course, we must be careful about education. Too much of it and we might begin to think for ourselves. This would be a terrible disaster for chiropractic. It might educate out our key characteristic, that of self-delusion. In my area alone 3 highly successful,”principled” chiropractors also decided that they didn’t need to pay income tax, that they were not bound by anything as obtuse as the law. That delusion cost them dearly.
Interesting perspective Obie. Actually, I have found as a chiropractor that the more education one has usually decreases the ability to think for yourself, especially if it is in the outside-in medical model. There is nothing wrong with education, that is the purpose of this blog but chiropractic edcation, not medical unless you want to practice medicine then you can never get enough medical education and chiropractors are sorely lacking in that area! Most education today is merely outside-in brainwashing. As far as the example you give…don’t know the details and don’t understand what that has to do with pre-chiro and chiroeducation. Anyway, welcome to the blog and with your interest in education, I’m sure we can expect you to be reading and questioning non-therapeutic chiropractic more and more as you strive to continually educate yourself.