“Iron Sharpens Iron …” Experiential Learning Strategies in Chiropractic Education

ABSTRACTObjectivesTo discuss the imbalance of classroom and experiential education in chiropractic education and to uncover ways to enhance chiropractic education through increasing empirical learning.DiscussionExperiential learning completes the task begun in the classroom. However, most chiropractic colleges have allowed the didactic portion of their curriculum to outpace the clinical/empirical portion of a student's education. This has the potential to leave students with plenty of factual knowledge, but with limited experience in the practical application of this knowledge.ConclusionClearly a more diverse clinical experience is needed, as well as more interactive learning processes to round out a chiropractor's education. This can be accomplished by expanding the chiropractic clinical experience to include rotations in multidisciplinary healthcare facilities. Maximizing the exposure of chiropractic students to patients of varying backgrounds, ages, and states of health will broaden and deepen the chiropractor's application of knowledge.