Students learning chiropractic skills in a clinical setting
The mission of the University of Pittsburgh Doctor of Chiropractic program is to produce and inspire empathetic, patient-centered health care professionals. This will be done by providing an innovative, evidence-based and clinically robust education that sets Pitt apart from other chiropractic programs in the country. Our students will graduate with skilled minds and skilled hands, excelling at spinal manipulation and mobilization and contributing to reducing the burden of musculoskeletal conditions, primarily spine-related disorders, around the world.
Evidence-Based Chiropractic Practice
The word “evidence-based” is frequently heard in health care professions and the cornerstone of your educational experience will be “evidence-based chiropractic practice.” We won’t only be consuming the latest evidence-based practices; we will be an evidence-producing program as well. The University of Pittsburgh Doctor of Chiropractic curriculum will teach you that evidence-based practice is not just about the best scientific evidence; it is relying on three integrated principles:
- The best current evidence. Research is constantly evolving, so we base our curriculum and your education on the best current evidence.
- Clinical experience. You will learn that clinical experience sometimes matches up with best evidence and sometimes it doesn't, so we will teach you how to find a balance between the two.
- Patient values. As health care providers, it is imperative that we listen to our patients and respect their values. In chiropractic care, some patients prefer mechanical instruments for their adjustments and treatments and some don’t. Some patients don’t want medication, which is why they’ve come to a chiropractor, and these all need to be kept in mind.
The three principles of evidence-based practice
The evidence-based chiropractic practice will teach you to become literate in reading scientific articles and understanding how—or whether—to implement them into your practice. This will prepare you to approach your patients’ care with advanced, yet balanced, principles because you will understand how to interpret the research evidence in a clinically relevant way that provides the best potential outcomes for the patient.
Clinically Robust Curriculum
The traditional way that chiropractic programs have provided clinical education is with a chiropractic clinic that's on-campus and patients come there to be seen. This is sufficient and how most chiropractors today have been trained, but it also isolates you to provide chiropractic services only with other chiropractors.
Pitt will be breaking that mold. We believe that a much more robust clinical education is going to benefit the next generation of chiropractors. Beginning in their first week of class, Pitt Doctor of Chiropractic students will receive over 1,900 hours of clinical instruction—exceeding the hours required for accreditation—throughout their eight terms at facilities and clinics unique to Pitt’s extensive network of clinical education.
The “hub and spoke model” of the Pitt Doctor of Chiropractic program clinically robust education
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC): This will include inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation so you'll be exposed to hospital settings where you can observe patients that have serious musculoskeletal diseases, such as stroke rehabilitation, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and other very advanced conditions. You will also attend outpatient rehabilitation facilities to learn about the traditional physical therapy and occupational therapy management of those patients.
- Veteran’s Affairs (VA) health care system: Our faculty work closely with the VA in Pittsburgh and across the country where chiropractors treat patients at the hospital and in the outpatient primary care clinics. Students will gain experience at the VA they might not have when treating civilian populations. Many veterans have complicating factors such as PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, musculoskeletal deconditioning, diabetes, depression, COPD and other complex conditions.
- Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC): These are primary care clinics in underserved and rural areas. This is an exciting development where we'll be providing chiropractic services side-by-side with primary care doctors for the patients that choose to have a non-pharmacological approach to their care and those who need medication.
- Specialty Care: There are specialty pain medicine clinics affiliated with the UPMC system where they treat chronic pain, have patients with failed back surgeries, and patients with fibromyalgia and central sensitization disorders.
- UPMC Center for Integrative Medicine: This center includes chiropractic, acupuncture and naturopathic services so you'll be exposed to this type of integrated care within a health care system.
The University of Pittsburgh Doctor of Chiropractic program will offer several opportunities for you to gain valuable, one-of-a-kind clinical education experiences other than in a standard chiropractic, campus-based clinical setting. A clinically robust education means that you understand how everybody involved with rehabilitation works as a team for the patient's benefit.
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The Pitt Doctor of Chiropractic application is open now—from August 1, 2024 - February 1, 2025! Classes start in August 2025. Apply now!
Learn more about the Doctor of Chiropractic program by visiting our website or reaching out to our enrollment specialist at enroll@shrs.pitt.edu today!
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