By Robert Braile, D.C.

That is the question! At least it seems to be when it comes to the chiropractic school at FSU. This controversy has so many people with so many opinions, it becomes difficult to understand all the reasons for or against it. But one thing is for sure. All sides in this controversy are passionate.

Outside of our profession, there is the controversy of who has the authority over this school. The State of Florida Board of Governors have demanded that the plans for a chiropractic school be brought before their statewide panel for approval before proceeding. Meanwhile, the officials at FSU have already voted their approval of the school. This fight is over political turf with each side claiming that they have the authority to say yea or nay to the school.

Then there are the instructors and medical people at FSU who seem to have come out in mass against the school. Recently the FSU Graduate Policy Committee voted 22 to 0 demanding that FSU not approve the school until the faculty have a chance to look at it and vote on it. They claim that to do otherwise violates long standing policies of faculty approval.

The next group to chime in are the medical “chiro-bashers”. This group, to me, are not much more than opportunists who are jumping into this controversy just to take the opportunity to bash chiropractic in public. The only problem here is that these narrow minded individuals do get media coverage. I’ve read articles that have even used the word “Voodoo” as well as other slams. And if I hear one more medical professional spew out the word “unscientific” when referring to chiropractic, I think that I’m going to spew!

Of course, one of the most heated divisions on this subject is within the chiropractic profession. One group is strong in favor while the other group is in opposition. Each side of this division does not understand the position of the other side and why they have the opinion they do. So, if we can, let’s take an objective look at the pros and cons of having a chiropractic school at FSU.

• Respect: This is one thing that many claim will come about if our profession has a school at FSU. For the first time our profession will have a school along side a medical college in a major well respected and well funded institution. How many times in the future will we be able to claim this fact when in a legislative battle over equal access or payment?
• Funding: There is little doubt that a school at a state run institution will not be tuition dependant as most of our present schools are. More funds may mean more research. However, the direction or focus of that research may be in question.
• Focus: What will the focus of a school at FSU be? Will they even teach subluxation? Will it be a sub-set of medicine? Without chiropractic control of the educational offering, the possibility exists that this school will teach a course that turns out osteopaths with a chiropractic degree. Will doctors who come out of an FSU school understand any of the core principles of our chiropractic profession?
• Relegation: If the detractors of chiropractic have had their way, we would be relegated to MD referral long ago. Our independence and strong will, along with patient support has prevented this from happening. The question now is whether this independence would be protected at a state rung school? Will the educational offering at FSU teach that chiropractic can only be offered to patients after medical screening? Will we lose our primary status in an educational setting dominated by medical influence? If this happens then our detractors could easily point to the FSU model as the proper way for chiropractic to be handled in state and federal law.

Impact on Existing Schools: This concern worries every school, regardless of what public statements they may make. A school at FSU sets up a situation where the school is not tuition dependant. All of our current schools need students to pay the bills. A school at FSU could affect enrollment at the other schools and hurt them even further. The genuine concern that could be raised is if a school at FSU could signal the beginning of the end for our current schools.

This may sound drastic, but consider this scenario. FSU offers a chiropractic degree at state tuition levels. This is much less than going to one of our current schools. Which school will prospective students choose? Now take it a step further. Other states see the FSU model and get in on the trend. Now we have chiropractic schools opening up in various other major universities offering discounted tuition for students wanting to go to school. With several of our schools presently just barely getting by, it is easy to see that the end would be near for a number of them.

Now imagine that there are a dozen chiropractic schools in a dozen different states, all run by politicians and medical administrators controlling our education and our professions future. The fear of what could happen to our unique offering years from now is real.

From the scenarios I’ve painted here anything is possible. A school at FSU could be a potentially great thing, or it could be the beginning of the end of the unique principle of chiropractic. Some of where you see this depends on what you hold valuable in chiropractic. Over the coming weeks and months, we will know the fate of the FSU school. Maybe it will happen and maybe it won’t. But in the balance is the bigger question of the future of our profession. And again that question seems to return to;

“To Be or Not To Be”.