What Makes A Real Doctor?
While trying to think of a topic to write about this week, an interesting thing occurred in my office. Believe it or not, I actually had a patient, who has placed their health in my hands, and is getting better when other specialist have failed, use the phrase: "Well my REAL doctor (emphasis mine) said that he doesn't know if Chiropractic is the best form of treatment for me". I asked the patient what they said in response. They told their MD that they are doing better and that since no other doctor has been able to help them, so they are going to keep seeing me.
You may be surprised that the thing that bothered me was not that a doctor of a different specialty advised someone against chiropractic. It has been happening for years, but thankfully is occurring with less frequency. It was actually the phrase "my real doctor" that bothered me. After much consternation, I decided to call the patient and ask them what made them refer to their MD as "a real doctor" and what does that make me? After apologizing and saying that they felt dumb, the patient said that they think of me as their chiropractor. When asked why the difference they were not sure but eluded to the fact that they were under the impression that I did not have as much schooling as their MD.
Because this is not the first time I have heard this, I have decided to use this article to inform the public about chiropractic education. I think that you will be surprised by what you read in the following paragraphs.
Most people are unaware that today's Chiropractic students undergo virtually the same intense education process as Medical and Osteopathic students for the first two years of professional school. Medical and Chiropractic alike, spend a tremendous amount of time studying the "Basic Sciences". These include anatomy, physiology, neurology, biochemistry, public health, microbiology and other basic sciences. In fact, the average chiropractic curriculum provides 1420 hours of "Basic Science" education compared to 1200 hours for the average medical curriculum. The programs take a different turn after the first two years. When medical students begin their rotations, the chiropractic students' education shifts to a focus on chiropractic and clinical sciences. This field includes orthopedics, biomechanics, radiology, laboratory and physical diagnosis, physical therapy and chiropractic techniques. Both medical and chiropractic students participate in intern and externships. When comparing the overall hours of education, you will find that the average chiropractic student receives 4822 "contact" hours versus 4667 "contact" hours for medical students. These statistics come from Center for Studies in Health Policy, Inc., Washington, DC.
Both doctors of Medicine and Chiropractic are very well trained to treat their respective patients utilizing the skills of their professions. The most promising and encouraging change in today's treatment environment is that many healthcare providers recognize the need for multi-specialty treatment for many of their patients.
For more information regarding chiropractic research and information on Chiropractic, please read the sections below.
The Chiropractic model of health is centered around the philosophy that the human body, being knit together in a wonderful way, will heal itself given the right opportunity and circumstances.