MANILA, Philippines -- For the first time, representatives from around the world convened to address the intricacies of providing quality education in the face of the dramatically increasing spread of chiropractic colleges around the world.
The three-day conference (Sept. 29 to October 1) was sponsored by the World Federation of Chiropractic. The conference delegates (65 persons from 19 countries with representations from 22 chiropractic colleges) were welcomed by Brother Andrew, the secretary of education for the Philippines, and Dr. N.V.K. Nair, the western Pacific regional office director of health infrastructure for the World Health Organization. Jameson "Sonny" Uy, DC, president of the Asian Chiropractic Federation, coordinated the meeting with Dr. Cecilia Santos-Acuin, director of De La Salle University's center for indigenous medicine.
"Just 25 years ago, there were only 12,000 chiropractors in the U.S. and only 15,000 worldwide," noted Gerard Clum, DC, president of Life Chiropractic College West, speaking to the conferees on the first day of the conference. "Back then, there were only 11 chiropractic colleges: nine in the United States, one in Canada and one in the United Kingdom."
Today there are over 66,000 DCs worldwide and 32 chiropractic colleges, only half of which are located in the U.S.
The conference was an effort to examine the various educational models currently found in chiropractic colleges. Program directors Alan Adams, DC (Los Angeles College of Chiropractic) and Prof. Andries Kleynhans (RMIT School of Chiropractic) designed the meeting to help develop understanding among the chiropractic institutions, particularly for those recently established or those coming to fruition.
The topics discussed included:
- the international nomenclature of chiropractic;
- chiropractic programs around the world;
- models of international cooperation;
- philosophy as a foundation for the development of a chiropractic curriculum;
- research questions which guide a curriculum team;
- sociological and cultural foundations of the curriculum;
- curriculum design strategies;
- competency-based assessment of chiropractic students;
- when is someone qualified in chiropractic;
The 22 chiropractic colleges represented were:
Aspeur/Feevale-Palmer, Brazil Anglo-European College of Chiropractic, United Kingdom Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, Canada Cleveland Chiropractic College, USA Hanseo University -- RMIT Unit, Korea Life University School of Chiropractic, USA Life Chiropractic College West, USA Logan College of Chiropractic, USA Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, USA Macquarie University, Australia Murdock University, Australia National College of Chiropractic, USA New York Chiropractic College, USA Northwestern College of Chiropractic, USA Odense University, Denmark Palmer College of Chiropractic, USA RMIT School of Chiropractic, Australia RMIT University Chiropractic Unit, Japan Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic, USA Technikon Natal, South Africa University of Glamorgan, United Kingdom University of Surrey, United Kingdom
Of the chiropractic colleges outside North America, only L'Institut Franco-Europeen de Chiropratique (France); McTimoney Chiropractic School, Ltd. (United Kingdom); New Zealand School of Chiropractic; and Technikon Witwatersrand (South Africa) were without representation.
Amid the various presentations and small group discussions, there emerged a very real concern for the consistency of the chiropractic educational experience as it is being adopted and adapted in numerous cultures. The chiropractic degree itself can be anything from a doctor of chiropractic degree (DC) to a bachelor of applied science in chiropractic (B.App.Sc. Chiropractic), to a master of science in chiropractic (MSc Chiropractic), depending on the chiropractic college and the laws of the particular country.
The representatives also expressed concern about the quality of the chiropractic experience, the level of chiropractic philosophy and the students' understanding of what it is to be a doctor of chiropractic.
In some countries, the chiropractic degree is only available to health care professionals (MDs, PTs, nurses, etc.) who have taken an additional two years of chiropractic study. Other programs are hampered by local regulations that prohibit the use of x-rays by chiropractors.
Because many of the countries where chiropractic colleges are emerging don't have legal standing (no chiropractic legislation), it is likely that the chiropractic profession will be defined by the those chiropractic curricula instead.
In most cases, the chiropractic profession is required to adapt to the local ordinances just to exist. The problem is of the "chicken and the egg" variety. Without chiropractors, there is no need for a chiropractic law; without a chiropractic law, chiropractors cannot be recognized.
The attendees resolved that there should be a general conference every two years with specific workshops held between the conferences as needed. These educational conferences will be facilitated by the WFC and will be held in various locations around the world. There was also a desire to hold the conference in conjunction with the Association of Chiropractic Colleges meeting in the U.S.
The growth of chiropractic appears to be just beginning. Chiropractic is now being taught in Danish, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and various forms of English. New chiropractic colleges are planned in Malaysia, Peru, the Philippines and Taipei. This rapid growth continues to present new challenges to the profession.
There is a need to assure the chiropractic profession's identity: teaching the technical aspects of chiropractic, assuredly, but also the chiropractic philosophy. The challenges are the methods of teaching and how to apply them in different settings.
As these early years of our second century begins, this unique form of health care called chiropractic promises to be available to everyone around the world.
