Are Chiropractors “Real Doctors?”

Are Chiropractors “Real Doctors?”

            Both chiropractic and medical schools require certain course work for admission. These vary from school to school. Very few schools of either type require a bachelor’s degree, although some specify that they prefer the applicant have such a degree.

            Chiropractic colleges do not require the MCAT, some medical schools do. Contrary to common belief, some medical schools (including high profile institutions) require the bare minimum of undergraduate requirements.

            The Parker College study reported that on average, Chiropractic College involves 372 more classroom hours than medical school. Chiropractic students also have more hours of training in anatomy, physiology, diagnosis and orthopedics (the musculoskeletal system.)

Degree Requirements

            These basic educational requirements for graduates of both chiropractic and medical schools show that although each has its own specialties, the hours of classroom instruction are about the same. (The class hours for basic science comparisons were compiled and averaged following a review of curricula of 18 chiropractic colleges and 22 medical schools.)

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