Chiropractic Education - Chiropractic Degree

Chiropractic Degree

Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C. or DC) is an academic degree for chiropractic providers. All degrees in chiropractic are considered to be first professional degrees. This means that the individuals are adequately prepared for a particular profession and have the competency and skill required for that profession. A D.C. is considered a "primary health care" provider in the United States and Canada. This implies that a patient does not require a referral to seek treatment from a chiropractor. In this sense they are considered a "portal of entry" to the healthcare system.

Also known as a "chiropractic doctor", "chiropractor", or "chiropractic physician", a Doctor of Chiropractic degree differs from the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degrees in scope and practice, and varies greatly in education. In chiropractic, the practitioner health care provider seeks to diagnose, treat, correct, and prevent neurological, skeletal, or soft tissue dysfunction by primarily employing manual and conservative therapies; the most frequent being spinal and other articular adjustments and manipulations.

The United States Department of Education currently recognizes the Council on Chiropractic Education as the accreditation body of programs leading to the Doctor of Chiropractic degree and single-purpose institutions offering the Doctor of Chiropractic program.

Although the U.S. Department of Education lists the D.C.M. (Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine) as a type of degree granted to chiropractors, the degree has never actually been conferred by any academic institution. The D.C.M. degree was first proposed by Western States Chiropractic College in 1994. Western States Chiropractic College had announced at the time its intentions of developing a post graduate D.C.M. training program that would prepare chiropractors to prescribe pharmaceuticals and perform minor surgery.