Chiropractic 2025:

Chiropractic 2025: Divergent Futures
Furthermore as noted, regardless of differences along the continuum, commonalities among all (or most)
chiropractors include the appreciation for the body’s innate ability to heal itself, the use of manual modalities
(including manipulation and mobilization), and a commitment to conservative care.
Several interviewees thought that the relative positioning of the colleges in Figure 2 above remains accurate. Thus,
using these terms, chiropractic colleges that fall to the broad-scope end of the spectrum include National University
of Health Sciences, Southern California University of Health Sciences, and University of Western States. Colleges
that fall to the opposite, focused-scope end of the spectrum include Life University, Life Chiropractic College West,
and Sherman College of Chiropractic. Colleges that hold the middle-scope ground include Cleveland Chiropractic
College, Logan College of Chiropractic, New York Chiropractic College, Northwestern Health Sciences University,
Palmer College of Chiropractic, Parker University, Texas Chiropractic College, University of Bridgeport, and now
D’Youville College as well. Of the approximately 10,000 chiropractic students enrolled in 2010, more than 6,480
were enrolled in middle-scope, 2,060 in focused-scope, and 1,400 were enrolled in broad-scope institutions and
programs. 6
The orientation of the schools is important. However, virtually all of a chiropractor’s practice is driven by what the
licensing laws of his or her state allow in terms of scope of practice, and what health care payers cover. This means
that the bulk of chiropractors (80% by our estimate) are middle-scope, while focused-scope and broad-scope each
represent an estimated 10% of practicing chiropractors.
Yet these divisions are important in that much attention and visibility for the chiropractic field comes from the
conflicts among these communities. For example, the broad-scope practitioners continue to try to expand their
practice rights to include pharmaceutical prescribing, as “advanced practice chiropractors.” 7 The philosophical
chiropractors feel that is an affront to the meaning and purpose of chiropractic and have fought vehemently in
several states to prevent the expansion to prescribing rights. As the scenarios consider this, the uncertainties to
explore include how destructive the conflict will be and how many states will ultimately expand practice scopes to
include prescription rights. 8
Enrollments and Graduations
A critical issue for the colleges, and ultimately the future of the profession, is enrollment. How many young people
are willing to commit the time and dollars to four years to get a doctor of chiroproactic (DC) degree? Although there
are variations in enrollment trends (going up at some campuses, going down at others), most schools of chiropractic
have experienced overall declines in enrollment over the last decade, particularly the smaller colleges. In 1995,
enrollment at chiropractic colleges in the United States was estimated at 14,040 students. 9 Since then, enrollment
has fallen to an average of 10,000 students a year. 10 Figure 2 shows the number of chiropractic enrollments and
graduates over a two decade period between 1990 and 2010. This drop contributed to the largest forecasting error
in IAF’s 1998 scenarios focusing on the year 2010. Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and other
major sources at the time, the 1998 report included a forecast that the total supply of chiropractors would go from
55,000 in 1995 to over 100,000 in the United States by 2010.
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