Chiropractic Radiologist

[mig2k]

WTH is a "chiropractic radiologist"? Is this even legal? I'm assuming the ACR does not approve of this?

http://www.accr.org/
http://www.chiro.org/radiology/
http://www.chiroweb.com/archives/10/21/20.html

Am I wasting my time in residency in beautiful detroit when I could have gone this route? LOL

Just found an old thread on here....WOW just WOW

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[Taurus]

I'm speechless. 😱

Sounds like another way the chiropractic schools are squeezing their students for their precious loan money.

 

[Underdog8921]

Speechless, huh? Well my friend, prepare to vomit...

http://www.xraydoctors.com/
👎 👎 👎 👎

 

[Taurus]

This thing has been around around for a long time. At least the early 80's and yet there are fewer than 200 of them in this country.

They're a non-factor. I don't think anyone takes them seriously.

 

[radboy710]

Actually they are recognized by ACR and RSNA. They are limited on what they can do based on their chiropractic license. The reason there are so few is because only a few complete and pass both part of their board exams a year, the number averages b/w 4-7 per year.

R

 

[MacGyver]

So what are you saying? Are they really allowed to read/interpret all the imaging studies by law?

And do hospitals and primary care docs actually rely on their readings?

I assume that these guys are basically radiology consultants for chiropractors, not for the general medical community.

For example, a patient goes to a chiro, chiro orders a shoulder MRI and then has these "chiro radiologists" actually do the reading on it.

 

[mig2k]

This whole thing sickens me. The ACR must have been asleep through all this.

 

[radboy710]

Mac has it right....
Most chiro radiologist primarily read films/imaging studies for other chiropractors. As far as I know, they are not allowed to work in hospitals because of the limitation of their licensure.

 

[f_w]

The ACR or state medical boards have no jurisdiction over the trade of chiropractic. If they defined trephination to relieve the evil spirits (subluxations) as part of chiropractic, there is nothing the american association of neurological surgeons could do about it.

 

[healthboy]

some of the chiropractic radiologists do rotations at a hospital with MDs

 

[freddydpt]

Actually, I know a chiropractor who had extensive training in MSK radiology... he was damn good. And this comes from direct comparisons of those radiologists whom I've worked with. I'm not saying that all chiro's are radiologists, but I wanted to say one positive word at least. Not all chiro's are quacks, no all MDs are superb at what they do either. There's a spectrum... so it shouldn't "sicken" anyone to know that someone with a four year graduate degree has some advanced knowledge about something and reading plain films isn't exactly rocket science.

 

[LAZYGUY]

reading plain films isn't exactly rocket science.

it's not rocket science but if done incorrectly it can be a life & death situation for the cancer that was missed due to the "subtleties" that naturally exist in this profession.

 

[Naked Ned]

Actually, I know a chiropractor who had extensive training in MSK radiology... he was damn good. And this comes from direct comparisons of those radiologists whom I've worked with. I'm not saying that all chiro's are radiologists, but I wanted to say one positive word at least. Not all chiro's are quacks, no all MDs are superb at what they do either. There's a spectrum... so it shouldn't "sicken" anyone to know that someone with a four year graduate degree has some advanced knowledge about something and reading plain films isn't exactly rocket science.

Radiology residency and the associated physics, written clinical, and oral boards ensures a basic level of competency as an independed diagnostic radiologist. ABR and ACGME-accredited radiology residencies are required to adhere to a fairly strict standard in terms of faculty subspecialty training, education structure, and volume and breadth of pathology. In order to be a useful (read "not dangerous") radiologist, you have to have seen an awful lot and proven it.

 

[salmonella]

Are MD radiologists allowed to get certified by the Chiropractic radiology board? If so, we can read films for chiropractors which will certainly expand our business and monetary income. In addition, an extra certification (abeit chiro) wouldn't hurt.

As an aside, there are also chiropractic neurologists around. A lot of lay people get them confused with the MD neurologists because of name similarity (ie, stroke neurologist, critical care neurologist).

 

[f_w]

Are MD radiologists allowed to get certified by the Chiropractic radiology board? If so, we can read films for chiropractors which will certainly expand our business and monetary income. In addition, an extra certification (abeit chiro) wouldn't hurt.

Why would you want to do that? Already, chiros order quite a bit of MSK imaging in regular radiology practices/hospital departments. They are just another referrer (there are some medicolegal issues though, if you have a significant non-chiro finding you have to make sure that the patient is appropriately medically followed).

 

[Naked Ned]

Are MD radiologists allowed to get certified by the Chiropractic radiology board? If so, we can read films for chiropractors which will certainly expand our business and monetary income. In addition, an extra certification (abeit chiro) wouldn't hurt.

As an aside, there are also chiropractic neurologists around. A lot of lay people get them confused with the MD neurologists because of name similarity (ie, stroke neurologist, critical care neurologist).

I wouldn't because I don't accept them as legitimate medical practitioners. It is my view that they hurt their patients by distracting and diverting them from legitmate care. Also, they don't have the medical training to properly interpret the results of studies they may order. The requisite training required for safe unsupervised care of human patients is medical school (MD or DO) and 2-3 years of residency. Anything less than this is beneath the standard of care, period.

 

[awdc]

Trust me guys, the number of chiropractic radiologists and their limited scope should be a non-issue for you guys. They've been around for a long time since the days when it was considered unethical for a MD to receive a referral from a DC. So the chiropractic profession needed to train some radiologists that would serve the imaging needs of their profession. As a former chiropractor, we were certainly exposed to them since they were the ones who taught all of the diagnostic imaging courses we had. Certainly one of the most respected, if not the most respected, group of chiropractors because everything they do is based on real science and that of their MD counterparts. Also, it's the only chiropractic specialty that absolutely requires completion of a full-time residency program with very tough written and oral board exams. They don't recognize a board eligible status as a standard within their specialty. The chiropractic radiology residents at the chiro school I attended would also receive some training at a MD radiology residency. I went with them once and it seemed that they were more than able to hold their own against the MD radiology residents. Their focus is of course MSK radiology and they are impressively good at it from what I've seen. They also know their limits unlike some in the chiropractic profession. Medicolegal standards are the same as MD radiologists from what they told me. No excuse if they miss a finding, advise recommendations inappropriately, or failure to follow-up with patients that have significant pathology.

 

[salmonella]

This certainly sounds like a back door plan to becoming a radiologist. This route is really good for those who cannot get into medical school but still want to be a radiologist. I'll let the premed advisor at my school know about this option.

 

[awdc]

This certainly sounds like a back door plan to becoming a radiologist. This route is really good for those who cannot get into medical school but still want to be a radiologist. I'll let the premed advisor at my school know about this option.

Yeah, if you want to not ever be taken seriously by the medical community as a whole (as this thread will attest to), be limited in your area expertise, unable to perform/supervise any imaging requiring contrast or penetration of the skin, unable to perform any IR, struggle to find a position or start your own practice after residency, and make a fraction of what MD radiologists make. Plus, you'll have to be okay with being a DC. Not a good back door plan.