Palmer College of Chiropractic West

Academics

About the Campus

Palmer College of Chiropractic West is located in San Jose, the 11th largest city in the United States and the third largest in California. Located 45 miles south of San Francisco, San Jose is regarded as the capital of Silicon Valley.

Northern California and San Jose have a world-renowned quality of life. The area offers a wide variety of exciting cultural, recreational, educational and entertainment opportunities. In addition, the City of San Jose has the nation's best public safety record of any metropolitan area, a marvelous ethnic diversity and a beautiful climate.

Palmer West's unique location makes it conveniently accessible by public transportation, including the Santa Clara County Light Rail System, whose 28.6 miles of track and fleet of 50 cars includes a transfer station located directly in front of the College. The campus provides adequate parking space for those who choose to commute by car and is easily accessible from the major highways that connect the South Bay area: 101, 880 and 237.

Campus Visits/Tours

When classes are in session, the Admissions Department operates a Campus Visit Program on Mondays and Fridays, beginning at 9:30 a.m. A complete day of activities is planned for visitors and their guests, including a personal welcome from the president of the College; presentations from the departments of Student Services and Financial Aid; tours of the campus and main clinic; lunch with faculty members and current students; and an opportunity to meet one-on-one with an Admissions Representative. Chiropractic care is available in the Main Clinic for campus visit participants during their visit. Complimentary accommodations for one night are provided at an area hotel. Please contact the Admissions Department to schedule your campus visit. Campus tours are given daily and originate from the Admissions Department.

Facilities

The layout of the campus building provides convenient access to all classes, labs and offices as well as to the many places where students meet for casual conversations.

Laboratories

Palmer West offers the latest in laboratory learning facilities and related technologies including a gross anatomy lab with a ceiling-mounted camera. The curriculum is supported by a variety of hands-on labs, such as an adjustive technique lab, physical diagnosis lab, and X-ray positioning and learning labs. The latest lab improvement consists of two full X-ray mock-up teaching stations with tiered seating for 24 students and stereo slide projectors. Microbiology and biochemistry labs offer the latest in facilitated computer learning.

Clinics

Clinical facilities occupy a significant portion of the campus. In addition to the technique labs and student clinic, the Tasman Drive campus also includes an outpatient clinic. Palmer West also maintains a community clinic in downtown Santa Clara and a network of satellite clinics.

The two primary objectives of Palmer College of Chiropractic West’s Clinics are to provide high-quality patient care and to prepare student interns for professional practice.

Palmer West maintains two outpatient facilities: The Tasman Clinic is located on the Palmer West campus at 90 E. Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. The phone number is (408) 944-6100. It draws from the neighboring industrial park companies. The Benton Clinic is an off-campus facility located at 1190 Benton St., Santa Clara, CA 95050. The phone number is (408) 983-4100. It provides services for patients from the South Bay area as well as nearby Santa Clara University. Satellite clinics with City Team Ministries, the Salvation Army, Emergency Housing Consortium and other community organizations, also based in San Jose, provide care for economically- or socially-disadvantaged residents of the South Bay area.

Palmer West’s Mentor Model guides and directs interns through the difficult transition from student to intern to doctor. Clinical professors and staff doctors challenge interns to develop their diagnostic and clinical skills through the critical evaluation of each patient case. Another strength of Palmer West’s clinical experience is the opportunity for interns to develop and participate in clinical research projects.

Library/Resource Center

The Library/Resource Center (14,000 square feet) offers a broad array of materials and services to support the rigorous instructional programs of the College, the research and publication needs of the faculty, and the professional growth activities of the practitioner community.

The Library currently holds more than 35,000 volumes, including books, bound serials, government documents, reserves, a chiropractic collection and archives, examples of board examinations, and a reference collection. Presently it subscribes to more than 175 journals and maintains a collection of over 9,000 journals.

It serves as a centralized learning center for X-ray film reading, histology and computerized learning. It houses slides, videotapes, anatomical models, articles, pamphlets and audio tapes.

More than 40 personal computers are available for student use in the Computer Lab. Other resources include interactive computer software and more than 40,000 images from the American College of Radiology Learning Library. A computer lab upgrade took place in 2004.

The Library staff helps students enjoy optimal use of all available resources and services by providing orientation, reference, bibliographical assistance, inter-library access, as well as equipment usage instruction.

Research

Palmer West recognizes that chiropractic is an applied science, subject to and guided by the results of scientific research. Palmer West’s mission includes the responsibility to encourage research. Faculty at all Palmer campuses are required to engage in scholarly activity as an integral part of their commitment to excellence in teaching. Students may gain valuable experience by participating in research under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Promising students are encouraged to pursue additional educational opportunities and may receive assistance with scholarship applications.

Established in 1995, the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research (PCCR) is the largest and most highly funded research effort in the chiropractic educational community. The PCCR encompasses, administers and coordinates scholarly research efforts at all three Palmer campuses, with the main headquarters and laboratory facilities in Davenport, Iowa. Research at PCCR is organized into the following programs: Biomechanics and Neuroscience, Clinical Trials and Outcomes, Health Services Educational Programs, and Chiropractic Technique and Technology Assessment. Research projects are supported by the PCCR Office of Data Management and Biostatistics.

PCCR received funding from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health to begin a collaborative research program with National University of Health Sciences, Kansas State University, State University of New York at Stony Brook and the University of Iowa to establish a Center for the Study of Mechanisms and Effects of Chiropractic Manipulations. Its aim is to gain further insight into the spinal adjustment and its physiological mechanisms. The Center is facilitating four research projects supported by the Data Management, Biostatistics, Biomechanics and Administration cores.

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