Palmer College of Chiropractic West

Academics

Academic Program
 

Purpose

The academic core program of Palmer West’s Clinical Practice Curriculum consists of 366 units of course study and includes 5,064 contact hours of lecture, laboratory and clinical education. It comprises 13 quarters of education articulated in a prerequisite sequence. The degree of Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) is awarded upon the successful completion of the required course of study prescribed for graduation. Each student graduating must have earned not less than the final 25 percent of the total credits required for the D.C. degree from Palmer West.

The academic program may be completed in 3.25 calendar years of continuous residency. Graduation, however, is contingent upon completion of the program in accordance with the standards of the College, which meet or exceed those of its accrediting agencies and the California State Board of Chiropractic Examiners. The courses are organized into nine disciplines: Anatomy, Physiology, Chemistry/Physics, Micro-biology/Pathology, Assessment, Specialties, Philosophy and Principles, Chiropractic Procedures, and Chiropractic Practice. Each discipline offers specific courses, which must be completed to fulfill the requirements for a D.C. degree.

In addition to the courses included in the core curriculum, a variety of procedure electives are available to students. These electives are designed to complement the study of basic adjustive procedures and facilitate investigation of specialized techniques.

Degree Overview

Doctor of Chiropractic Degree The Doctor of Chiropractic degree program is the foundation and purpose of the educational experience at Palmer College of Chiropractic West. The course of study prepares the graduate for successful clinical practice as well as for future postgraduate study(ies) if desired.

The Palmer West curriculum is designed to thoroughly develop the cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills necessary to set up and maintain a successful practice of chiropractic. Accordingly, the clinical experience is central to the D.C. program. The College’s Clinics, with their apprenticeship-style of training and emphasis on the highest quality of patient care, provide the student doctor with an ideal learning experience.

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Clinical Practice Curriculum

Palmer West’s Clinical Practice Curriculum continues the Palmer tradition of excellence in chiropractic technique and philosophy while expanding emphasis on chiropractic patient care management and the D.C.’s role as a primary health care provider.

Palmer West’s Clinical Practice Curriculum standardizes the students’ first ten quarters at PCCW to an average of six or seven classes (approximately 33.2 hours). Perhaps the most significant feature of the College’s program are the “tracks” of courses, including a series that emphasizes the development of primary care skills, which focus on specific areas of instruction and are linked by common subject matter over a period of several successive quarters.

Another distinguishing feature of the Palmer West program is a curricular synchronicity in which instruction and skill-building in one track prepare students for the next course in the sequence and/ or for the next course in a similar sequence of a related track.

The first three quarters focus significantly on the basic sciences; however, this phase of the program also includes a considerable amount of “hands-on” activity.

The Spinal Studies track emphasizes the application of basic science information to clinical practice and helps students build a foundation for future in-depth studies in the clinical sciences. The Spinal Studies track segues into the Chiropractic Technique and Management track (Quarters 5-8), which includes significant laboratory experience. Lectures associated with the labs in this track emphasize technique and focus heavily on care and management of patients with specific neuromusculoskeletal conditions. All regional chiropractic clinical evaluation courses will be conducted in the quarter that precedes the correlative regional Chiropractic Technique and Management course.

The Chiropractic Technique and Management track includes one quarter devoted to the presentation and practice of the most commonly utilized full spine approaches to chiropractic technique. Separate but related to the focus of this track are two expanded courses in Quarters 6 and 7 devoted specifically to the evaluation, treatment (with associated adjustive techniques) and management of the lower and upper extremities.

Palmer West’s curriculum places great emphasis on the Doctor of Chiropractic as a primary health care provider. Several courses, including Occupational and Preventive Health, Rehabilitation and Exercise Management (9Q) and Pain and Stress Management (10Q), have been added to further prepare PCCW graduates for the duties and responsibilities of this role.

Another example of the curriculum’s emphasis on primary care skill development is the Physical Diagnosis track which spans 7th and 8th Quarters. This sequence is complemented by a Differential Diagnosis track through Quarters 7 (visceral disease), 8 (low back and lower extremities) and 9 (thoracic and cervical spine and upper extremities). Each differential diagnosis course is taught using a “problem-based” format to ensure student development of the appropriate “problem-solving” skills.

The radiology portion of PCCW’s curriculum has been modified into a track of expanded courses which spans Quarters 4 through 9. Radiographic Anatomy I and II in 4Q and 5Q precede an X-ray Physics and Principles course in 6Q and a radiographic interpretation series which runs through 7Q, 8Q and 9Q.

Each of the radiology courses includes corresponding laboratory instruction. In addition to the final two diagnostic imaging courses of the radiographic interpretation series, Quarters 8 and 9 also include classes and labs in radiographic technology positioning.

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Practice Development Quarter

Another unique feature of the Palmer West program is the Practice Development Quarter (PDQ), the 13th (and concluding) Quarter of study in the PCCW curriculum. The PDQ program further prepares graduating students for the business and clinical challenges of practice and assists them in making the transition from students to doctors. PDQ students enjoy a unique opportunity to gain practical “real world” experience via field training in the office of a practicing doctor. The practical element is but one component of Palmer West’s PDQ program. Students also benefit from the series of patient management/practice development seminar presentations by Palmer West faculty and special guest lecturers, many of whom are nationally recognized as specialists in their respective areas of expertise. The Practice Development Quarter also includes an Office Management class aimed at integrating the practical office experiences gained in the field training program with the didactic seminars.

Where legally permitted by law, students may complete their PDQ in the areas where they wish to establish a practice. The PDQ experience often leads to immediate postgraduate employment or associateships, thus facilitating easier practice startups.

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Chiropractic Philosophy and Research

Philosophy may be defined as that which makes the Doctor of Chiropractic at once akin to other health care practitioners and at the same time unique and different. Chiropractic thus incorporates many important principles, with research as the method used to refine them. A sequence of courses is designed to introduce students to these principles in historical perspective. Palmer West enjoys a respected reputation in chiropractic philosophy and research and has become a leader in integrating these concepts into the classroom as well as the profession. The program is at once didactic and at the same time “real-world” and clinical.

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