Comments to CCE show concern for chiropractic’s future

October 25, 2010 — The recently concluded comment period during which individuals and chiropractic organizations were afforded the opportunity to comment on proposed changes in the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) educational standards for accredited institutions yielded an unprecedented wave of responses.

Nearly 3,000 individuals and organizations submitted comments on the proposed standards changes.

In previous comment periods on proposed changes in standards only 100 to 200 comments have ever been received by CCE.

“This historic outpouring of concern and comment is graphic and compelling evidence of the seriousness with which the chiropractic profession takes the educational process and the direction of the CCE,” said ICA President Dr. Gary L. Walsemann.

“We hope that this new awareness will have the kind of impact necessary to get the Standards issue back on a positive track,” said Walsemann, “for the profession and especially for the thousands of chiropractic students who deserve clarity and specific outlines of the profession they are preparing to enter.”

ICA strongly urges the decision-makers in CCE to appropriately respond to the current wave of concerns and the deep and compelling reasoning behind such comments, restoring the key definitional elements the proposed removal of which can only serve to blur and weaken the chiropractic profession in every arena.

ICA’s comments on the proposed standards changes focused on the points where chiropractic’s identity seemed to be most seriously eroded, including:

• A proposed accreditation category of “equivalent” to the DC degree

• The removal of the “Purpose of Chiropractic Education Statement” from the current standards which eliminates a strong statement defining chiropractic as a drugless and non-surgical profession,

• The elimination of “subluxation” language as a key clinical component of chiropractic education, and the deletion of the current clinical competencies which provide a strong focus on the adjustment and the detection and correction of the subluxation,

• The proposed modification of the definition of “Chiropractic primary care physician.”

Click here for the full ICA news release.

Click here for the full text of the latest version of the proposed CCE Standards.

Source: International Chiropractors Association, www.chiropractic.org