Chiropractic Schizophrenia – Alexandra Gerdel, DC Student

Being a Chiropractic Student stuck between the TORS and Medis

At New Beginnings this past April, Dr. Liam Schubel referred to the chiropractic education as schizophrenic. The following is an explanation of just what that means and a proposal to purge chiropractic of its schizophrenic education and identity.

In the infancy of the chiropractic profession two philosophical camps developed that continue to run rampant today. As LIFE students we are all familiar with the philosophy created and developed by the Palmers. They sought to fill a void they saw in medicine and correct the cause of disease rather than treat its effects. They did not use any therapies, but simply applied the chiropractic adjustment at the right place and right time. They did not come from the educated upper class, but instead were hard-working, self educated blue collar men who developed a method of health care they believed would change the world.

As the Palmer’s took their newfound passion to the masses and began teaching others what they knew, another camp of chiropractors developed. The leaders of this group were two men, Langworthy and Carver. Unlike the founders of chiropractic, they believed in the use of modalities and alternative ways to treat disease. Their followers, like their leaders, tended to be medical doctors, osteopaths or naturopaths, seeking to add yet another degree and tool to their white collar education.

These two camps have been known throughout history as the “straights” (Palmers) and the “mixers” (Langworthy and Carver.) Both sides have continually worked to develop chiropractic in the direction they feel it should go, one as a separate and distinct profession, and the other as another route to become a medical doctor. Today these terms have been replaced by chiropracTOR’s practicing chiropracTIC, and MEDIpractors pushing for prescription rights and the incorporation of chiropractic into the medical profession. Regardless of the terms, chiropractic schools are charged with satisfying the traditionally medipractor educational standards devoid of any philosophical background that is required of the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) and National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE), while still, if their own philosophy is intact, providing students with the philosophical understanding necessary to practice chiropractic in it’s pure form, as a science, philosophy and art.

The weird dichotomy that has been created in chiropractic through political power struggles between the two factions rears it’s ugly head on our own campus in the form of our curriculum. It’s a fairly common phenomenon to walk around the LIFE campus and hear someone complaining about a class we’re required to take as chiropractic students. What exactly does urinalysis, visceral diagnosis or learning how to do a digital rectal and female pelvic exam have to do with chiropractic? Every quarter at least one class in the curriculum raises the question: “Why am I being asked to learn this? I’m going to be a chiropractor, I remove vertebral subluxations by adjusting the spine!” Well the answer lies in the philosophical division described above.

As students we are left trying to figure out just what our role is as chiropractors in “the real world.” We attend classes where we are informed we must know this information for boards. Our teachers stress mastering medical diagnosis lest someone die under our care. Then we attend seminars where we are told to forget everything we learned in school because most of it is baloney required by the CCE, NBCE and state licensing boards, but will hold no place for us in the real world. By the time we reach 12^th Quarter Advanced CLET with Dr. McCoy, a full case of schizophrenia has set in. No help is to be found from Dr. McCoy, who further rattles our brains by pointing out LIFE’s mission statement is to train us as “primary clinicians” fully capable and competent in every subject we have learned in school—including urinalysis and performing a Digital Rectal Exam. Although he himself is arguably one of the more principled chiropractors teaching at LIFE, his job is to ascertain whether we have truly learned the information necessary to competently fulfill the school’s mission for us upon graduation. With all the mixed messages about what our role truly is when we graduate, is it any wonder a portion of the profession has abandoned all philosophy and are fighting for the comfort of joining the medical world?

Given the recent events with the CCE abandoning all reference to chiropractic as a separate and distinct profession that heals without the use of drugs or surgery, the time has come for chiropractic to reclaim it’s own education. It’s time to take a stand for ourselves and our profession. We don’t need medicine to make our profession successful in changing the health of the world, what we need is a revamping of our education system so that chiropractic students graduate ready to spread chiropracTIC around the world. What we don’t need is for students to continue to graduate feeling scared or incompetent in their chiropractic art, science and philosophy because of a schizophrenic training in two conflicting ideologies. Who is ready to join me in a revolution?

Syllabus Hell Week – James Beuerlein, D.C. Student

Let’s Call It Like It Is

I’d say this title is an accurate description of my welcome to the D.C. program at Life. My fellow First Quarter students and I came bounding into C127 early Monday morning October 4th, full of excitement and wonder with huge anime-like stars in our eyes. Over the course of the next five days, those stars faded, disappeared, turned to tears, and finally burning fire. What could do this? What could spoil such hope and enthusiasm? What could crush such eager spirits? The tedium of reading and discussing syllabi six hours a day for an entire week.

Who is to blame here? Well, no one really. Perhaps the issue has not yet been raised. It’s possible, I guess. In that case, I’d like to address the faculty and administration of this fine institution. Ladies and Gentlemen, Doctors, on behalf of the Fall 2010 D.C. 1st quarter class, I would like to state, for the record, that we can read! Whatever loophole we may have found in order to beat the system and undeservingly gain admission to this prestigious doctoral program, I assure you that we did not accomplish it without the ability to read and understand the English language.

I know there is a mountain of circumstantial evidence to the contrary—plenty of “I didn’t know about this…” statements at the end of the quarter from desperate pupils. I posit that rather than a lack of ability to read, these statements come from a lack of responsibility and common sense, and, while those traits are important, this is a chiropractic university. Perhaps failing a class or two in the first quarter is exactly what lazy students need in order to shock them into realizing, “Oh $#!*, this is a professional degree. I guess I should take some initiative.” Educators, I believe that this is closer to the true problem – not a lack of ability to read. And, YES, we do know how to use computers and the internet. For all our talk of vitalism, we really need to give natural selection a chance here.

Surely, with that knowledge under our belts, there must be some way to streamline this process. Now, far be it from me to complain about this issue and offer no solution. No. In fact, I propose that a letter be drafted and delivered to the students in triplicate: email, post, and handed out at orientation. It could be worded something like this:

Dear New Student,

Welcome to Life University. There are a few things you should know before beginning your career at Life.

We expect you to show up day one, prepared. This means that you should have already logged on to Blackboard, read the syllabus for each class, and purchased the required text. If you have trouble accessing Blackboard, please contact the IT department. A quiz worth 5 points of your final grade will be given at the beginning of each class, and it will cover only information found in the class syllabus. Additionally, all required textbooks are available at the school bookstore. If you choose to purchase your books online, it is up to you to ensure that your books arrive before class begins or that you are able to make do until they do arrive. A copy of each required text can also be found in the university’s library.

We are very happy that you chose Life University for excellence in chiropractic education. However, should you find yourself at the end of your first week having lost 5 points in each class and unable to do your homework because you have no textbooks, this may not be the program for you. Please remember: if you hope to be called “Doctor” at the end of this program, you’re going to have to earn it.

Once again, welcome! Good luck on your studies!

Sincerely, the Faculty and Administration of Life University.

Without question, each teacher will have specific instructions for their class that they will need 15 or 20 min to explain day 1. But it does not need to be 2 hours, and it does not need to consume our whole week. Were it not for the fact that a few of the classes meet more than once per week, I may not have learned anything in the first tenth of the quarter. Please, let’s stop tithing to the syllabus.

New Light from LAMP – James Beuerlein, D.C. Student

An update on life university’s academic master plan

Recently Dr. Brian McAulay made public an update on the LAMP process to the Life community. What is L.A.M.P.? – Life University Academic Master Plan. The faculty and administration spent the better part of the 2007-2008 year developing a plan for Life’s future, implementing Life’s Mission and Vision into all aspects of the university – not just what is taught in the classroom. Basically, it’s a summary of where we are headed as a school. There are six different teams, (or task forces,) that were commissioned to come up with the vision for their specific area. Here’s a few highlights of what each task force has done:

1. FACULTY ROLES TASK FORCE

This team was assigned the task of addressing how the faculty as a whole contributes to the Mission of Life University. They have written a document called the Life University Shared Governance Document, which outlines a restructuring of how the university is governed and how decisions are made. This document has now been approved by the Provost, President, and Board of Trustees, and is being put into action. The Shared Governance Statement is available on Life’s website.

2. TECHNOLOGY TASK FORCE

The Technology Task Force was in charge of assessing the status of technology on campus, seeing where our needs are, and how to plan for future expansion. They have also generated a report that is now serving as a checklist for updating technological resources here at Life.

3. STUDENT SERVICES TASK FORCE

The Student Services group took on the evaluation of what the university offers to students beyond the classroom, comparing them with other institutions that excel in this area. Among their accomplishments to date are the creation of the Student Experience Group and the Serving Lasting Purpose program. These programs are aimed at heightening the quality of a student’s experience at Life and making sure that every employee of Life is committed to serving their students in meaningful ways.

4. 5. & 6. ACADEMIC PROGRAMMATIC TASK FORCES FOR UNDERGRADUATE, GRADUATE, AND PROFESSIONAL

These task forces examined Life’s current academic program offerings, suggested new programs, and (along with the President) are working on a restructuring of academic “departments” that organize Life’s academics into six “content areas” based around the Wellness Portfolio: Social, Mental, Physical, Environmental, Spiritual, and Intellectual Health. Eight of the potential new programs for the undergraduates are Bachelors in Business Administration, BA in Psychology or Biopsychology, BS in Exercise Science and Human Performance, BS in Nutrition, BS in Dietetics, BS in Human Ecology, BA in Health Care Philosophy and Public Policy, and BS in Neurobiology / The Nature of Thinking. Likewise, there are eight potential new programs for graduate students: Master of Business Administration, MS in Sport Health Science, MS in Nutrition and Dietetics, MA in Clinical Psychology, MS in Human Ecology, MS in Human Development, Ph.D. in Sport Health Science, and MS in Clinical Neurology.

While many new students are unfamiliar with the LAMP program, it is important for us as a student body to be in tune with where the university is headed and to be actively engaged in providing the feedback needed to make this school better for those that will come after us.