Thread: Transfer from DC program to MD program

Hi everybody,

Maybe it sounds a lil bit crazy... Can student who is currently studying Chiropractic program transfer themselves to medical doctor program ? I heard that the subject which is being learned at DC program is about the same as MD program, well it's not 100% the same. I read a lot of articles about chiropractors who quit their job and taking up their feet to walk another road. But it's NOT RARE I read information about successful chiropractors who can make hundred thousands dollars even poundsterling. Sometimes I think that Chiropractic program can be one big stepping stone for students who want to study MD... Is that right ???? Please suggestions...

You can apply to medical school after taking the MCAT and meeting all the schools requirements but NO U.S. medical school will accept a single course from a D.C. program as transfer credit. You have to re-do all the basic sciences. If ANY Offshore school accepts them, then, don't go there either, it will bring you problems for licensure in the future.

Originally Posted by apaajalah

Hi everybody,

Maybe it sounds a lil bit crazy... Can student who is currently studying Chiropractic program transfer themselves to medical doctor program ? I heard that the subject which is being learned at DC program is about the same as MD program, well it's not 100% the same. I read a lot of articles about chiropractors who quit their job and taking up their feet to walk another road. But it's NOT RARE I read information about successful chiropractors who can make hundred thousands dollars even poundsterling. Sometimes I think that Chiropractic program can be one big stepping stone for students who want to study MD... Is that right ???? Please suggestions...

Medical school is different than chiropractic school. You have to change your focus if you want to be an MD.

Originally Posted by apaajalah

Hi everybody,

Maybe it sounds a lil bit crazy... Can student who is currently studying Chiropractic program transfer themselves to medical doctor program ? I heard that the subject which is being learned at DC program is about the same as MD program, well it's not 100% the same. I read a lot of articles about chiropractors who quit their job and taking up their feet to walk another road. But it's NOT RARE I read information about successful chiropractors who can make hundred thousands dollars even poundsterling. Sometimes I think that Chiropractic program can be one big stepping stone for students who want to study MD... Is that right ???? Please suggestions...

as genossa max has pointed out, the undeniable basic stepping stones to med school is acceptable gpa and mcat score; not vocations (DC, RN, PA). these vocations will help you, esp. rn and pa in knowing the practice arena before admittance, but by just having an rn or pa hardly qualifies one for medical school.

there are chiros who have, are, and will attend med school. the vast majority of them were in the top of their class at chiro college. while most would say that chiro was not a waste of time, and that chiro education (and practice) did help to a degree while in med school, most of the learning process would be new or presented in a new context, thus rendering the chiro education to minimal benefit.

if the chiro college is accredited then chiro college courses should transfer to fulfill undergraduate and some graduate level courses at similar accredited institutions based on course descriptions and degree program requirements. but never will they be accepted as transfer credit for courses required at med schools (MD or DO). nor would i automatically assume that credit would be given for chiro courses at dental or optometry schools, or that course from dental and optometry would be accepted at med schools. keep in mind credit given for any course(s) is up to the discretion of the school, and most schools now have written policies that clearly spell out their transfer credit procedures. (much more transparent than they used to be.)

bottom line is that, in my view, it would be a mistake to think that chiro would be a very useful or the most beneficial stepping stone to medical school. (way too expensive as well.)

good luck. khiro

Actually the first 2 years are very similar as with DDS / DPM programs, basic sciences are the same........Difference is Pharmacology....more emphasis in DO/MD programs.


***YOU CAN'T Transfer from ANY NON-MD program to MD PROGRAM, ECFMG or NBME will NOT ACCEPT YOUR TRANSFER CREDITS ***

au contraire. Look at the training of the faculty at a major DC school for instance this one

Academic Program-Faculty

look at the backgrounds of this medical school faculty

Academic Departments | NYU Langone Medical Center | New York, NY

Look up their research papers. not even close......azskeptic

Originally Posted by UHSADOC

Actually the first 2 years are very similar as with DDS / DPM programs, basic sciences are the same........Difference is Pharmacology....more emphasis in DO/MD programs.


***YOU CAN'T Transfer from ANY NON-MD program to MD PROGRAM, ECFMG or NBME will NOT ACCEPT YOUR TRANSFER CREDITS ***

AZ, that's not a DC Faculty alone.....you have the Acupuncture instructors there as well...

If you want to compare apples to apples...

Also, you can review this School.....if you want to compare top Chiropractic school to top Medical school.....
Many of the DC Faculty are PhDs some MDs, many DCs....
National University of Health Sciences

Which makes sense that's a Chiropractic school....not medical school...
You can expect DOs in Osteopathic programs.....or DDSs in Dental school....fact of the matter......the PhDs will be the ones teaching the basic sciences...not clinical sciences

Cheers

Either way, you don't have nationally recognized MD researchers,etc. It isn't the same level of education and the facilities are no where close. Plus you have some people teaching who believe in fairy tales i.e. conditions you can't find scientifically

Originally Posted by UHSADOC

AZ, that's not a DC Faculty alone.....you have the Acupuncture instructors there as well...

If you want to compare apples to apples...

Also, you can review this School.....if you want to compare top Chiropractic school to top Medical school.....
Many of the DC Faculty are PhDs some MDs, many DCs....
National University of Health Sciences

Which makes sense that's a Chiropractic school....not medical school...
You can expect DOs in Osteopathic programs.....or DDSs in Dental school....fact of the matter......the PhDs will be the ones teaching the basic sciences...not clinical sciences

Cheers

Thank You AZ, but I partially disagree with you on that one
I am not the one to generalize....after all I graduated from UHSA, and would hate it if I was classified or labeled because of where I graduated from....

On that note:
Some DC schools are pseudo scientific, you are on the money on that one.....schools like Life U, and Sherman Straight Chiropractic College.

However, when I did an elective in Chicago, I visited a friend, who is a Chiropractic Radiologist, teaching radiology at NUHS, it is a Chiropractic College that got accredited as a University, the school is TOP notch, there were few MDs doing Anatomy dissections there, and they even have MRI on campus....up to date microbiology lab, histology and they publish 3 peer reviewed medical journals...JMPT etc....not that many Medical schools have the same facilities as this "Chiro school", let alone in the Caribbeans......

Example:
MRI Centre at NUHS

National University of Health Sciences


Peer Reviewed Journals Published at NUHS
National University of Health Sciences

CMCC:
http://www.cmcc.ca/ACADEMICPROGRAMS/Faculty/tabid/162/Default.aspx

Also I heard the Canadian Chiropractic College is similar in nature (CMCC),
I have nothing against Chiros, as long as they are ethical and treat what they are suppose to....i.e. NMS conditions....not the Subluxation mambo jumbo

Again, some DCs are great, ethical and provide care within their scope, others do not.....

PS
I got a really bad hair cut the other day, does that mean all hair dressers are bad ??

Cheers

Originally Posted by azskeptic

Either way, you don't have nationally recognized MD researchers,etc. It isn't the same level of education and the facilities are no where close. Plus you have some people teaching who believe in fairy tales i.e. conditions you can't find scientifically

at the time that i went through the basic sciences (anatomy, physiology, biochem, neuroscience, histology, microbiology) at texas chiro college, all of these courses were taught by phds (non-chiro educated); also the pathology courses (general, and clinical). dcs taught physical diagnosis, adjusting, nutrition.

but the question is of what significant value would that be to one who then goes to med school?

as ushadoc has pointed out the basic science courses are very similar on paper, but perhaps the scope and depth of instruction is not the same because of the difference in the national board exam for chiros vs the step 1 for med students.

i know that looking at the websites from tcc and saba that there is a difference in approach of instruction. tcc students take somewhere on avg of 460 hours of instruction per semester, where saba is avg of 550 hours. also (like it was when i was there) tcc students on avg have 8 different courses per semester, where saba has not more than 4. certainly a difference in approach.

but back to the original question, as ushadoc has stated, no credits will be given in medicine for chiro credits; and it is my view that no one should by deliberate planning decide to go to chiro college and use that as a stepping stone to med school. while some over-lap does exist in the education of both; they are stand alone programs.

khiro