Do chiropractors study more than a medical doctor?

Answer 1

No. National University in Illinois does currently have an advanced practice post-doctoral training program to prepare chiropractors with medical training, but as of now no state in the united states defines chiropractors as a medical doctor.

Answer 2

In the United States one can hold a Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathy and both can prescribe drugs and practice medicine. Osteopathy and Chiropractic are similar fields and in Australia both are registered under the same board. However, neither profession can prescribe drugs as part of their scope of practice in Australia. The training in chiropractic is not dissimilar to medicine, but pharmacology and therapeutics is not a major part of chiropractic training in Australia

Answer 3

In short, No.

Here is a brief breakdown of medical and chiropractic education:

1) Both chiropractic students and medical students complete a 4-year undergraduate university degree prior to starting professional school.

2) Both chiropractic students and medical students complete a 4-year professional degree (either MD or DC). This degree is very similar between the 2 professions, consisting of course work in anatomy, human cadaver dissection, physiology, immunology, microbiology, pathology, radiology, orthopaedics, etc.

3) After professional school, both chiropractic students and medical students must pass national board exams to attain a license.

4) After a 4-year professional degree and passing of national board exams, chiropractic students may start a practice and work as chiropractors. However, medical students must still complete at least 2 more years of residency, where they practice and refine their clinical skills in a hospital or other clinical setting and under supervision.

THUS, the amount of classroom education received by both medical students and chiropractic students is the same in number of years, types of courses and difficulty level (1). However, medical students must complete at least 2 more years of clinical education than chiropractic students before being allowed to practice.

Reference:

Johnson C Green B (2010). "100 years after the flexner report: reflections on its influence on chiropractic education". J Chiropr Educ 24 (2): 145-152.

Answer 4

A chiropractor specializes on the back and the muscles, but they can be useful in treating many issues. For example, TMJ can be successful treated by a chiropractor in some cases even though the problem is with the jaw. Medical doctors have other areas of expertise from the general to the very centralized ares of study.