Dr. Anthony Delitto, dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, has announced that the SHRS will begin offering a Doctor of Chiropractic program in fall 2025, with applications accepted this fall. The program is the first at a research-intensive public university in the U.S. and the only chiropractic program headed by a faculty member with NIH research funding, according to the press release.
“Major drivers of this program include an accumulation of scientific evidence showing that chiropractic care is a safe and effective approach to the treatment of pain and the important role it can play in mitigating opioid use for back and neck pain through nonopioid interventions,” said Dr. Michael Schneider, the chiropractic program’s acting director.
“Our students will follow all public health initiatives and recommendations and will receive clinical training side-by-side in an integrated setting with physicians, physical therapists and other health care providers,” he added.
Dr. Schneider, a professor at SHRS and the university’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute, practiced as a DC for 25 years, then earned a PhD in rehabilitation science from Pitt and transitioned into academic research. He has been a principal or co-investigator on 16 research studies funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute; and is a co-investigator on four current NIH-funded clinical research studies with approximately $30 million in total funding.
The chiropractic program “will be an eight-term program, shorter than most DC programs. The curriculum will emphasize research evidence in both the classroom and clinical training. Students will work with real patients beginning with observational rounds in the first year and culminating in the last semester with full-time chiropractic clinical training within an integrated health care system and private chiropractic clinics.”
The first chiropractic cohort of 40 students will expand to 60 students within two years. The university says the cohort size is “intentional to keep classes small and provide a strong instructor-to-student ratio in an exceptional academic learning environment.”
A clinical affiliation has already been established with the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, and the university has applied for initial CCE accreditation.
“With the addition of a chiropractic program, students and faculty from various health disciplines can come together to explore new research avenues, share knowledge and develop integrated approaches to patient care,” Dr. Delitto stated in the release. “Opening a Doctor of Chiropractic education program in a research-intensive university is a bold and innovative step toward advancing health care education, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and improving patient outcomes.”
Editor’s Note: Learn more about the University of Pittsburgh’s chiropractic program at https://www.shrs.pitt.edu/chiropractic/about.
