Have you paid off your student loan yet? If average student-loan debt for graduates of the chiropractic program and similar postgraduate education programs in this state is any indication of the nationwide reality, you're not even close.
An analysis of more than 500 programs at 57 institutions in Oregon reveals that graduates of the University of Western States (Doctor of Chiropractic degree program) carry an average student-loan debt of $169,703. Here are the state's top 10 debt-generating programs based on the analysis of 2015-2016 U.S. Department of Education data by American City Business Journals, parent company of the Portland Business Journal:
#1: Oregon Health & Science University (dentistry, first professional degree) – $276,675
#2: National University of Natural Medicine (alternative and complementary medicine and medical systems, first professional degree) – $231,702
#3: Oregon Health & Science University (medicine, first professional degree) – $221,089
#4: Pacific University (clinical counseling and applied psychology, doctoral degree) – $209,599
#5: Pacific University (pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences and administration, doctoral degree) – $199,228
#6: Pacific University (optometry, doctoral degree) – $180,654
#7: University of Western States (chiropractic, first professional degree) – $169,703
#8: Oregon College of Oriental Medicine (alternative and complementary medicine and medical systems, master's degree) – $159,504
#9: Oregon State University (veterinary medicine, first professional degree) – $155,786
#10: Willamette University (law, first professional degree) – $154,190
Note that all but one (#10, the law program above) of the top 10 programs involve health care. Data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Patients are no longer just searching; they are asking. Consumers increasingly use AI-powered platforms such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Perplexity to ask complete questions in conversational language. Instead of typing “chiropractor Miami,” patients may ask, “What is the best nonsurgical treatment for sciatica?” or “Who helps pregnant women with low back pain near me? This shift represents one of the biggest changes in healthcare marketing since the rise of Google itself.
The New Jersey Board of Chiropractic Examiners has made a precedential decision, concurring with the Association of New Jersey Chiropractors' (ANJC) position paper on chiropractic X-ray guidelines. In plain terms, the board ruled, consistent with the ANJC position, that insurance companies cannot use medical X-ray rules or recommendations, like those written by the American College of Radiology (ACR), to decide whether a chiropractor's X-ray was necessary.
The term standard of care is a legal term and a medical concept. There is no single, universally recognized standard of care document or authoritative reference. The medical concept defines what practitioners should do in practice. The legal term used determines whether a practitioner failed to meet that expectation. This article examines the standard of care for the doctor of chiropractic.
