Whole report - Anglo-European College of Chiropractic

Continuing Professional Development
Postgraduate Studies
Postgraduate studies at the AECC can be categorised into award-bearing programmes on one hand, and
short courses/workshops on the other. Award-bearing programmes lead to academic qualification such as a
Masters or a Doctorate, and are normally undertaken part-time over a period from three to six years. In contrast,
short courses/workshops are often held over one or two days and are awarded CPD points based on attendance
rather than assessment.
Masters and Doctorate programmes
In 2001, two new postgraduate programmes were developed in collaboration with colleagues at the University
of Portsmouth. The Professional Doctorate (PD) in Chiropractic was based on the unique PD programme
pioneered at the University in Portsmouth to address the need for research at Doctorate level in the wider
context of professional practice, rather than the narrow confines of a monograph thesis typical of the traditional
PhD. The PD allows research students to develop advanced skills in research methods, publication and
dissemination, and CPD, before going on to the second part of the programme in which practice-based
research is carried out and a Doctoral thesis produced. An advantage of this programme is that the first part
of the programme is delivered in a multidisciplinary format in which chiropractors can develop their research
skills alongside other healthcare professionals.
The other new programme, again developed in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Portsmouth,
is the MSc Advanced Professional Development (APD) in Chiropractic. This course enables chiropractors to
develop advanced skills in CPD at the same time as advanced clinical skills within a professional development
framework. Like the PD, the core skills are taught in a multidisciplinary environment, enabling chiropractors to
interact with a variety of healthcare professionals. The first chiropractors were enrolled on the Masters and PD
programmes in September 2001.
In 2002, another new Masters programme was developed at the AECC, this time specifically to meet the
demands for advanced skills in the area of chiropractic paediatrics. Using the framework of the original MSc
APD in Chiropractic, the MSc APD in Chiropractic Paediatrics incorporates core modules in chiropractic
paediatrics. The Course Leader for this programme is Dr Joyce Miller, whose expertise and energy in this subject
area has made the programme a great success. The first cohort of chiropractors was enrolled in September
2002.
Details on all of the above programmes can be obtained from the Department of Research and Professional
Development, AECC.
Short Courses/Workshops
The AECC is a major provider of CPD for the chiropractic profession in the UK, and over the last two years both
the scope of subject areas and the number of events have risen sharply. CPD events are typically held over
one or two days, normally at weekends, and mainly delivered by Faculty at AECC. Subject areas vary from the
academic such as Evidence-based Practice to skills-based such as Dry Needling. In addition, a number of
longer courses have been held such as the Certificate/Diploma in Chiropractic Paediatrics and the Gonstead
Technique Series. A full list of CPD events held in the period September 2001 to August 2003. As shown on page
43 and 44.
An exciting innovation in CPD has been the recent development of distance-based learning packages by Dr
Ian Brown at the AECC. These can be accessed by chiropractors throughout the world on the World Wide
Web, and CPD points awarded for successful completion of the programmes. So far, we have developed two
radiology packages in which chiropractors can work through practice cases before completing test cases
that are then assessed by an expert. We hope that this development marks the beginning of new ways for
chiropractors to learn from their own practices and homes, and so change the face of CPD for the future.
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