Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #100900

Irene N. Paulavicius, MA, Pathology Department, Palmer College of Chiropractic, 1000 Brady Street, Davenport, IA 52803, 563 884-5424, paulavicius@palmer.edu

As chiropractic educators, we teach students with varied educational backgrounds. The chiropractic program is arduous. During the first year, students are inundated with facts regarding human anatomy, physiology and pathology. In most situations, students are passive recipients of vast amounts of information. During the second year, students learn patient care and various chiropractic techniques; while in the third year, they practice patient care.

In my capacity as the public health and immunology instructor, I encounter several recurrent themes among the student body. The most frequently mentioned are: immunizations do not work, immunizations cause autism, and chiropractic care boosts the immune system. I recognized an opportunity to introduce students to the basic concepts of evidence-based health care, which I hope will serve as a foundation toward their ability to engage in evidence-based practice.

Students were given a list of five statements, they were to select one and find evidence for or against the statement. The evidence had to come from peer-reviewed journals and the student had to include five sources. The assignment was extra-credit, constituting 10% of the course grade. The student was required to write a paper that summarized the findings and included the student's conclusion regarding the topic.

This presentation will discuss some of the student conclusions, and the position that we as educators play as role models in developing our students toward evidence-based practice.

Learning Objectives: Learning objectives

At the end of this session the participant should be able to
• Appreciate the role that teachers must play to help develop higher-level cognitive skills.
• Recognize that the ability to develop questions that can be answered through searching the literature is essential for teaching evidence-based practice.
• Understand that students need to be provided with ample opportunities to practice these skills, therefore, the process should start early in their chiropractic education.

Keywords: Education,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:


I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation

Public Health Education and Service in Chiropractic

The 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition (December 10-14, 2005) of APHA