Doctor's Education

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Doctor's Education

Doctors of Chiropractic complete 4 years of undergraduate school and five years of graduate school. They are required to pass National and State board examinations to obtain licensure. Once licensed, continuing post-graduate education is required for annual license renewal.

This table compares professional graduate school educations for the Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) and the Medical Doctor (M.D.).

Comparison of Hours of Basic Sciences Education in Medical and Chiropractic Schools
Subject		Chiropractic Schools	Medical Schools
Anatomy	Hours	570	368
	% of Total Hours	40%	31%
Biochemistry	Hours	150	120
	% of Total Hours	11%	10%
Microbiology	Hours	120	120
	% of Total Hours	8%	10%
Public Health	Hours	70	289
	% of Total Hours	5%	24%
Physiology	Hours	305	142
	% of Total Hours	21%	12%
Pathology	Hours	205	162
	% of Total Hours	14%	14%
Total Hours		1420	1200
Total % Hours		100%	100%

Comparisons of the Overall Curriculum Structure for Chiropractic and Medical Schools
Activity		Chiropractic Schools	Medical Schools
Basic Science Hours	Mean	1416	1200
	Percentage Hours	29%	26%
Clinical Science Hours	Mean	3406	3467
	Percentage Hours	71%	76%
Chiropractic Science Hours	Mean	1975	0
	Percentage Hours	41%	0%
Clerkship Hours	Mean	1405	3467
	Percentage Hours	29%	74%
Total Contact Hours		4822	4667

Source for both above charts: Center for Studies in Health Policy, Inc., Washington, DC. Personal communication of 1995 unpublished data from Meredith Gonyea, Ph.D.

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