Chiropractic Vs. Medical Education

How much education does a chiropractic doctor have? The facts may surprise you. Today, highly specialized training is required to graduate and earn licensure. Chiropractic school is quite similar to that of medical school, especially during the first 2 years of the 4-year program. A Chiropractic program consists of 4 academic years of professional education after completion of a 4-year undergraduate degree. Chiropractic education averages a total of 4,822 hours, ranging from 4,400 hours to 5,220 hours in the 16 colleges. This includes an average of 1,975 hours in clinical sciences and 1,045 hours of clinical clerkship. The minimum hours for accreditation by the Council on Chiropractic Education is 4,200 hours. Chiropractic doctors are well trained to refer to other health care providers when clinically necessary. It is for this reason that a chiropractor’s training includes courses such as Cardiology, Gastrointestinal, Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Pathology amongst others.