Chirotalk: The Skeptical Chiropractic Discussion

IT SEEMS THAT DISGRUNTLED GRADUATES OF CHIROPRACTIC SCHOOLS MAY HAVE LEGITIMATE GROUNDS FOR LEGAL ACTION.

I doubt it. I'm not a lawyer but I used to play a chiropractor in Real Life. In fact, I was "clinic faculty" at Life Chiropractic College West (LCCW) for many years and so know a little about what is (and isn't) taught to chiropractic students. Moreover, if teaching is learning, I learned it all ... above, down, inside and out, if you will.

Putting it about as politely and succinctly as I can, suing a chiropractic school for teaching you to be a chiropractor is pretty lame. Even chiropractors know this, frequently arguing with their so-called "more medical" colleagues, "If you wanted to be that kind of doctor, you should have gone to medical school." Chiropractic students CHOOSE to go to chiropractic schools because they want to be chiropractors when they grow up. Most of them have chosen "chiropractic" because it's NOT medicine. "Disgruntled graduates" tend to leave this and other parts out of their chiropractic story.

If it helps to see what I'm saying, what would you think of someone who graduated from medical school suing the school for not teaching them how to check a patient's leg-length (for EXAMPLE) as part of their differential diagnosis or to see if these same patients are no longer Suffering Needlessly (tm) from a Chiropractic Subluxation? Sound ridiculous? Would you be surprised to see that chiropractic diagnostic and treatment methods aren't listed in the medical school catalog? That's because those who attend medical school expect to learn medicine. In other words, those who pay for chiropractic school might be able to sue if they did NOT learn "chiropractic," I suppose, but not that they didn't learn welding or hair styling ... or medicine.

Again ... 
CHIROPRACTIC school ...

There are many things about "chiropractic" and chiropractors about which I'm critical, but one of them has never been that I did NOT learn "chiropractic" at chiropractic school. I totally did. Maybe that's why I'm not "disgruntled" and maybe that's why my criticism of the Chiropractic Enterprise is cogent and relevant. Lawsuit-wise, I learned ALL about "chiropractic" and was provided with everything I needed to become licensed to practice. As far as I remember, that was the promise and the agreement. And, no surprises, that's what was delivered ... full-fledged, unabashed, and no holds barred. Why, you couldn't make it up that good ... or at least, I couldn't. Thank you, LCCW!

Oh, Doctor Quackenbush ... your patient is here :-)

~TEO.