Are chiropractors REAL doctors? That is a good question with an even better answer – YES! Apparently, the fact that chiropractors do not prescribe medications promotes the feeling among some that their expertise is limited to bad backs. There are many great doctors who practice chiropractic but their focus is on a more natural model of healthcare. However, just like any profession…there are good and bad, dedicated and less than dedicated, those with ethics and those without. The good news for all of us is that the laws and regulations do a very good job of weeding out those we would prefer avoiding being treated by. In order for a doctor of chiropractic to legally practice in the United States, not only does the doctor have to pass his\/her courses of chiropractic instruction and get that coveted Doctor of Chiropractic diploma, he\/she also must pass\u00a0four very difficult and strenuous board exams. The board exams do a very good job of weeding out those who haven’t adequately learned all of the required chiropractic subject matter.\u00a0\u00a0No one is allowed to practice until all four chiropractic board exams are passed. However, just as most of us have observed with medical doctors – the\u00a0brightest candidates are not always the best doctors\u00a0nor is their “bedside manner” always something to write home about. (In my opinion, no matter whether they are chiropractors or MD’s, the best doctors know their stuff, care about their patients and\u00a0give their patients the time and attention they need.) In addition to the national chiropractic boards, each state has their own set of additional requirements. So, in order to become a licensed, practicing chiropractor, a doctor of chiropractic must earn their chiropractic diploma from an accredited institution, pass\u00a0four chiropractic national board tests and complete all state requirements for the state they wish to practice in. Just for kicks and giggles, here is a comparison between the education that chiropractors receive and medical students receive:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n Subject Matter<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n	\n Class Hours – Chiropractic<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n	\n Class Hours – Medical<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Anatomy<\/td>\n	540<\/td>\n	510<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Chemistry<\/td>\n	165<\/td>\n	325<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Diagnosis<\/td>\n	630<\/td>\n	325<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Microbiology<\/td>\n	120<\/td>\n	115<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Neurology<\/td>\n	320<\/td>\n	110<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Obstetrics<\/td>\n	60<\/td>\n	150<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Orthopedics<\/td>\n	210<\/td>\n	155<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pathology<\/td>\n	360<\/td>\n	400<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Physiology<\/td>\n	240<\/td>\n	325<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Psychiatry<\/td>\n	60<\/td>\n	145<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Radiology<\/td>\n	360<\/td>\n	150<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n HOURS<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n	\n 3065<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n	\n 2710<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0<\/td>\n	ADDITIONALLY REQUIRED STUDIES – CHIROPRACTIC<\/strong><\/td>\n	ADDITIONALLY REQUIRED STUDIES – MEDICAL<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0<\/td>\n	Spinal ManipulationNutritionPhysiotherapyAdvanced Radiology<\/td>\n	PharmacologyImmunologyGeneral Surgery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n TOTAL HOURS<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n	\n 4485<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n	\n 4250<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n As you can see from the chart above, chiropractors take a course load with a total number of subject hours that is greater than medical students. Becoming a chiropractor is not an easy or quick process. It generally takes an individual 7 to 9 years to complete their undergrad and graduate studies. So now that you know that chiropractors are real doctors…the choice is yours. Are you simply looking to medicate and mask your health issues? If you want sick and disease care – seek help from a medical doctor. However, if you truly want “healthcare”, that focuses on prevention of sickness and disease while focusing on health habits that promote a long, healthy life, I would recommend you see a chiropractor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[51,124,195],"tags":[377,381,414,415,495,582,643,663,745,751],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiroaddict.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiroaddict.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiroaddict.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiroaddict.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiroaddict.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chiroaddict.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chiroaddict.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiroaddict.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chiroaddict.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}