About the College of Chiropractic

Mission Statement

The College of Chiropractic prepares doctors of chiropractic as leaders for the delivery and advancement of natural and holistic approaches to patient-centered health care through excellence in education, professional and scholarly activity, clinical service, and community engagement.

Curriculum Organization

The Doctor of Chiropractic curriculum is organized in seven academic and clinical departments. The sequence provides a strong basic science foundation upon which the chiropractic and clinical sciences are built. As clinical subjects are introduced, students make the transition to becoming doctors of chiropractic. In the classroom, laboratory, and clinics, students learn to take patient health histories and conduct examinations (including clinical, orthopedic, neurologic, laboratory, and imaging examinations) and interpret findings in forming clinical decisions, leading to a diagnosis. Students learn that proper diagnosis is fundamental in determining appropriate treatment and in measuring the patient’s response to chiropractic care.

Department of Basic Sciences

Courses include biochemistry, anatomy (including a focused course on the spine and pelvis), embryology, histology, immunology and microbiology, neuroscience, pathology, and physiology. These courses provide a firm foundation for the development and acquisition of clinical skills and knowledge. These sciences are essential to the development of an understanding of the complexities of the structural basis of health and disease, as well as the nature of the functioning of the human body in health and disease.

Department of Chiropractic Studies

Courses in chiropractic principles and philosophy provide students with the history of the chiropractic profession, as well as the nature of the chiropractic health care model and its principal tenets. Chiropractic methods courses, including lectures and experiential learning, set the stage for the life-long journey to becoming a master in the art of chiropractic adjustment and manipulation. Students will take classes covering physiological therapeutics, exercise, and rehabilitation, as well as three years of methods curricula.

Department of Clinical Sciences 

The process of arriving at a diagnosis involves cognitive, behavioral, and affective skills that are acquired over a period of time and sharpened with clinical experiences. These courses are delivered over a six-trimester period and include a variety of learning experiences, such as lecture, small-group, experiential laboratories, self-directed study, and online learning. The courses include Clinical Skills 1 and 2 (which prepare students to obtain a medical history and perform a physical examination), clinical pathology, and a number of specialized system-based courses which cover the diagnosis and chiropractic role in the management of a variety of health problems.

Department of Health Promotion and Associated Clinical Sciences

The health promotion and wellness course sequence is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to apply chiropractic care to special populations and includes courses covering the unique aspects of diagnosis and treatment of pregnant patients, infants and children, women, and the elderly. Courses in this department also cover the topics of public health, health promotion, and wellness, especially as these apply to the practice of chiropractic.

Department of Diagnostic Imaging

The diagnostic imaging sequence provides the student with the skills and knowledge to use imaging appropriately in chiropractic practice. The role of imaging technology in diagnostic decision-making is covered in a carefully constructed sequence of courses beginning with normal radiographic anatomy and culminating with specialized courses covering all aspects of the chiropractic imaging sciences.

Department of Practice and Professionalism

NWHSU’s practice and professionalism curriculum is one of the most extensive business curriculums in chiropractic education and spans nine trimesters. The learning opportunities in this area will allow students to develop the personal and business skills required to successfully operate a professional health care practice. The principles covered are applicable regardless of the business and professional entity or arrangement the graduate chooses.

Department of Clinical Education 

Clinical training starts in the first trimester and continues through the entire curriculum, beginning with observation, and progressing to mentored patient contact for competent and successful chiropractic practice. Students develop their patient care skills through a variety of real-world experiences in the clinics of Northwestern Health Sciences University, with chiropractic doctors working in private practice settings, and through community service-learning environments.