Recently a patient told me that their MD said they should not see a chiropractor. Their complaint was spinal, and they were seeking a second opinion – after talking to me, I would think they meant a third opinion.
I was a little confused about how a person would opt for surgical intervention for something that could be fixed with specific chiropractic adjustments. Or how a surgeon could leave a patient with so many questions about their condition, the imaging that was taken and most specifically the cause of their problems and the available options and those option’s rate of success. It was left up to a chiropractor to do that.
So when I came across this article this morning, I thought more about the consult I had and thought I would post a little something about qualifications in general.
The educational requirements for the MD degree (doctor of medicine) are often exaggerated, and that of the DC degree (doctor of chiropractic) underestimated. Here, actual requirements for each degree are compared.
Minimal Requirements
| Chiropractic College | Medical School | |
| 456 | Anatomy/Embryology. | 215 |
| 243 | Physiology | 174 |
| 296 | Pathology | 507 |
| 161 | Chemistry/Biochemistry | 100 |
| 145 | Microbiology | 145 |
| 408 | Diagnosis | 113 |
| 149 | Neurology | 171 |
| 56 | Psychology/Psychiatry | 323 |
| 66 | Obstetrics & Gynecology | 284 |
| 271 | X-ray | 13 |
| 168 | Orthopedics | 2 |
| 2,419 | Total Hours for Degree | 2,047 |
These hours do not include the education that comes prior to entering a program, or the post graduate studies that both professions have.
To learn more about the education of US primary care physicians, read Dr. Grisanti’s article.
via MD vs. DC.
