Advancing the chiropractic profession in Israel: Dr. Shachar Kenin

March 25, 2012 — Looking back on his years at National University of Health Sciences (NUHS), Shachar Kenin, DC, PhD, says, “I firmly believe that National gave me the best evidence-based education. I think National has the best anatomy education and the best clinical and diagnostic curriculum in the world. They took no short cuts, even if many students thought it was too hard.”

Kenin was born in Israel but spent a small part of his childhood in the U.S. While serving in the Israeli armed forces, he had a very positive experience when treated by a chiropractic physician. He also had a friend studying chiropractic that recommended the career. He decided to pursue a DC degree.

Kenin initially chose another chiropractic school in the southern U.S., mainly because his friend went there. He later chose to transfer to the DC program at National, since he had a strong affinity for science and research.

While at National, Kenin was thrilled at the opportunity to dissect the human body and got excited about the field of anatomy — both in research and teaching. He became an anatomy TA and eventually a fellow in the anatomy department.

“That fellowship helped me to not only become a better anatomist, but opened doors for me to teach anatomy at the University of Illinois in Chicago and at Northwestern University medical schools.”

Kenin graduated with his DC degree in 1999. On his return to Israel, he began teaching anatomy at Tel-Aviv University’s medical school while building his private practice. Since that time, Kenin has been a co-principal investigator in a number of research studies, including two studies conducted at Tel Aviv University.

In addition, Kenin served as past president of the Israeli Chiropractic Society. Over the last 20 years, he was one of a small band of DCs who led a successful legislative effort resulting in Israel’s recognition and licensure of the chiropractic profession in 2010. (Read an article about this victory here.)

“In Israel, we are a small body of 100 chiropractic physicians. Unfortunately there are still many imposters practicing in our country. I hope that our successful passage of this new law by the Knesset (Israeli parliament), will strengthen our public image and stop the untrained from claiming to offer chiropractic care,” he reports.

Kenin strongly encourages those considering a career in chiropractic medicine to choose NUHS. “I believe that National is the most serious institution in the country, teaching excellence in sciences and technique, along with compassion toward patients.”

Source: National University of Health Sciences, nuhs.edu