Real Doctors Study Harder
Over the years, I've been asked by a lot of people whether they should see their "real" doctor for certain types of problems. By that, I've always assumed they meant their medical doctor and most times that was true.

The tide is turning. Lately, a lot of people realize that their "real" doctor is the person who doesn't give them drugs and remove body parts.

There is a misconception among a lot of people that chiropractors don't have anywhere near the training that medical doctors do, as far as being a physician. I want to resolve that falsehood.

Below is a chart that compares the number of classroom hours that chiropractors and medical doctors devote in their training to certain subjects.

As you can see, chiropractic students actually spend more time learning the basics of how the body works. Subjects such as anatomy, physiology, how to diagnose problems correctly, and the nerve system are emphasized. Fortunately, we don't have as many psychology and psychiatry hours enforced on us, although it is still a require subject.

In the "other" categories, medical doctors would primarily be learning specific surgical techniques, how to prescribe different drugs, as well as hospital procedures and things of that nature. In chiropractic school, the classes that would be in the "other" category are more along the lines of chiropractic techniques and nutrition, as those are the mainstays of our work.

Chiropractors also study drug interactions, as many of the people that we see originally come to us on various drugs. We obviously don't spend as many hours in this topic, as we do not prescribe drugs as our method of treatment. When most people are shown the number of hours in comparison with medical doctors, they say, "I had no idea!"

Truthfully, when I decided to become a chiropractor, I didn't either! The length of time that I was in school, including my undergraduate training and my chiropractic training was seven and a half years. Again a lot of people are surprised to hear that. I've even had people say they thought it was a two year program.

What I also found out, is that in addition to the training, the licensing procedure to get a chiropractic license in most states one needs to pass three different portions of a national chiropractic board exam, as well as an in-depth written and practical chiropractic exam for each state that we'd like to be licensed in.

Personally, I have taken and passed exams in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Florida.

Now you know!

Dr. Susan Player

Dr. Susan Player