The first three years from our start in September 1991 have been busy years. We have perhaps been a bit negligent in informing our colleagues around the world of our achievements. To remedy this, we'd like to bring "DC" readers up-to-date.
The Nordisk Institut for Kiropraktik (Nordic Institute of Chiropractic or NIC) is an independent institution in the field of chiropractic education and research, funded primarily by the National Health Service (NHS) in Denmark. The NIC board consists of representatives from the NHS, the University of Odense, the county of Funen, the European Chiropractors' Union, and the Scandinavian Chiropractors Association.
The NIC has five full-time academic employees: Jens Ole Melsen, LLB, who has a legal background, heads the administration of NIC; Charlotte Leboeuf-Yde, DC, MPH, and Niels Nilsson, DC, MD, are doing full-time research; Rie Grunnet, DC, and Lene Linnet Riis, DC, are managing the outpatient clinic and the spinal rehabilitation unit. We also have a small number of part-time academic employees, typically on specific projects.
The two full-time researchers are both working on PHDs under supervision from the faculty of medicine at the University of Odense. Both expect to submit their theses this year. Dr. Nilsson's topic is: "Cervicogenic headache -- its prevalence and the effect of spinal manipulation"; Dr. Leboeuf-Yde thesis is: "An epidemiological study of low back pain in the general population."
Master's Program in Chiropractic
The University of Odense and the Ministry for Education announced in June that the university would begin the first three years of a full five and one-half year master's degree course in chiropractic beginning September 1994.
Students enrolling in September 1994 are guaranteed that they will be able to take the first three years and receive a bachelor of biomechanics. The final two and one-half years of the full course work will by then be ready for them to complete their full five and one-half year course at the University of Odense. In the unlikely event of the clinical superstructure not being ready, this first cohort of students would have to go abroad to complete their degree.
NIC has been closely involved with the university in the planning of the first three years of the curriculum. It is expected that NIC will also play an important role in the planning of the final two and one-half years of the full master's degree course.
The chiropractic course in Odense will primarily be recruiting from the Scandinavian countries, as there are no language barriers, and as there will be no tuition fees for Scandinavian students under a government agreement taking effect from January 1, 1996. The course would under EU regulations also be open (free of tuition) to other EU nationals, but here the language barrier will probably be too great.
Under Danish legislation new college graduates (DCs) must complete a one-year program of practical/theoretical internship before they are eligible to apply for licensure. The theoretical part, which needs approval by the Denmark National Board of Health, is run by the NIC.
Furthermore, the NIC is a center for postgraduate education for practicing chiropractors from all of Scandinavia, offering a range of courses spanning from human dissection to clinical research methodology.
Niels Nilsson, DC, MD, who is a senior lecturer at NIC, has been appointed as expert advisor to the National Board of Health by the Department of Health. He is thus the civil service expert on matters chiropractic (education, licensure, accreditation, practice procedures, regulations, etc).
Editor's note: For further information please contact:
Jens Ole Melsen LLB
Head of Administration
Nordic Institute of Chiropractic
Klosterbakken 20
5000 Odense C
Denmark
Tele:(45) 65 91 30 20
Fax: (45) 65 91 73 78
When I graduated from chiropractic college in 1981 and started practice, I heard it all, and very little was positive. “You are a quack; you do not know what a subluxation is; you couldn’t get into a real health care program, so you chose the one that is slightly above a mail-order degree; you have no proof that chiropractic works; Are you really licensed?”, and so much more.
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