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Chiropractic Education In Canada

Chiropractors are educated through two programs offered at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC) in Toronto, and at l’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR). Both programs are fully accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education of Canada (CCEC) which has adopted standards similar to those of the Council on Chiropractic Education in the United States which is, in turn, recognized by the United States Department of Education.

Seven years university-level education

Chiropractic students undergo a rigorous course of study similar to that of other health care professionals. Entrance requirements are also similar. Students are required to complete a minimum of three years of university before they are eligible for admission to the CMCC accredited program. In fact, over 80 per cent of students entering the CMCC program have completed a baccalaureate degree. The CMCC program requires four years of full-time study, including a year-long internship in the College’s clinics. In Quebec, the UQTR has a five-year program following graduation from CÉGEP.

Multi-disciplinary faculty

In addition to the academic program, chiropractic education requires hands-on clinical experience under the direct supervision of highly-qualified chiropractic faculty. This experience includes clinical assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and referral protocols. The faculty at both CMCC and UQTR have diverse backgrounds and offer students a wide range of expertise. Faculty come from such disciplines as biological sciences, pathology, medicine and psychology, as well as chiropractic. Both the CMCC and the UQTR programs include courses in anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, neurology, embryology, principles of chiropractic, radiology, immunology, microbiology, pathology, nutrition, and clinical sciences specifically relating to diagnosis.

In particular, chiropractors receive training in radiology which covers a range of topics from radiation biophysics and protection to clinical x-ray interpretation and diagnosis. Radiology training consists of more than 360 contact hours followed by application during clinical internship.

Nine university-based programs

Outside of North America, there are eleven chiropractic education programs, nine of which are university-based.(1) Here in Canada, the program at UQTR is within the publicly-funded l’Université du Québec system and is the first and only French-language chiropractic program within a university.