DC after PT

[Maddrifter]

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Hello guys, i am from Italy so i apologise for my poor english. Here in Italy the school system goes like this:
-High school 5 years
-Bachelor degree at university ("laurea") 3 years=180cfu
-Masters degree 2 years after Bachelor ("laurea magistrale"=120cfu
-Phd 3 years after Masters degree (Dottorato di ricerca)

After Bachelor degree you can attend 1 more year at university (60cfu) and get a "First level master" on a specific topic (e.g. posturology). After Masters degree you can do the same but for 2 years and get a 2nd level master on a specific topic.
You get the "dottore" title with any degree, even Bachelor. I know this sounds crazy to a us citizen but i believe it is right to distinguish, e.g., a personal trainer who has attained a 2 day course over the weekend and someone who has studied kinesiology (and anthomy etc) for 3+ years after high school. So if Jhonny has a Bachelor in law, he will surely have the dott. before his name on his business card and door bell and everyone, customers, collegues will andress him as doctor. Doctor of law of course.
N.B.: not to be confused with "dottore di ricerca" = phd and medico (masters degree in medicine+state exam).
N.B. 2: in order to teach in high school and university you news a phd, and in order to get a phd you need a master degree first.

So:
I hold a b.s. in sport sience and a b.s. in pt and i'd like to go further, but there is non a pt master degree in Italy. The only one is on pt managment, so more on law, economy.. The higher attainable title is a 1year master (e.g. on manual therapy).
But after b.s. on pt you can join a d.c. course. This is pretty new here (2018!) since till last year ostheo and chiro were NOT recognized professions in Italy, and were regarded as bogus (NB d.o. in Italy are NOT medici, they attended private schools, not medicine universities as in U.S.). But since our health minister recognized these 2 professions, and university courses will be activeted, i think they should be pretty serious.. in Italy we have a standarized instruction so every school and uni program must be approved be the State and his sientific commissions. So, in order to advance my academic title, and get more skills:
1) should i go for a 1 year master on manual therapy (omt) or
2) a d.c. degree, which seems more advanced? D.c. are now recognized as primary care, can self refer and even prescribe x rays..

 

[SATXDPT]

Non Latin speakers: N.B. = Nota Bene = "Note Well" or "Worth Remembering"

Maddrifter- Do you think that the recent change in recognition of Chiropractic degree (DC) will stand long term, or is there a chance that the next elected Health Minister may reverse that decision someday?
How do Italians as a society view the role of chiropractors? Does your national health system reimburse for chiropractic services? Do you want to work in a hospital, or own your own clinic?
I would consider all of this before moving forward with a DC.
In the US, Chiropractors are not held under the same esteem as MD, DO or DPT practitioners.
It is too bad that PT only offers you a Bachelor plus First Level Master in Manual Therapy. Would you consider other PT options within the EU instead?
Where do you intend to practice? Will you stay in Italy, some other country in EU, or do you have hopes to come to US?

 

[Maddrifter]

Non Latin speakers: N.B. = Nota Bene = "Note Well" or "Worth Remembering"

Maddrifter- Do you think that the recent change in recognition of Chiropractic degree (DC) will stand long term, or is there a chance that the next elected Health Minister may reverse that decision someday?
How do Italians as a society view the role of chiropractors? Does your national health system reimburse for chiropractic services? Do you want to work in a hospital, or own your own clinic?
I would consider all of this before moving forward with a DC.
In the US, Chiropractors are not held under the same esteem as MD, DO or DPT practitioners.
It is too bad that PT only offers you a Bachelor plus First Level Master in Manual Therapy. Would you consider other PT options within the EU instead?
Where do you intend to practice? Will you stay in Italy, some other country in EU, or do you have hopes to come to US?

Satxdp: thanks for your kind replay, i am quite confident that chiro will stay recognized for a very very long time, if not forever. This because in Italy it takes ages to do a legislative reform, especially regarding public health. The 2018 law was the first significative "new" regulation in decades, so i don't see modifications coming any soon.
I am definitively staying in Italy, since i work in my own gym. I took the second Bachelor (in PT) instead going for a M.S. in kinesiology because preventive and adapted training, coaching etc is not a regulamented profession. There is no state exam (what you call "board exam" if i am not mistaken) so literally everyone can open a gym, also for ill customers (like post-ictus, diabetics etc.). Pt instead is a regulated profession.
Regarding how chiros are considerated, we must make an important distinction:
A) since community still regards chiros AND DOS as quacks. The have now legislative and public recognition (meaning for example that you can concour to a teacher's desk with a D.C. degree, and public insurance will refund the cost of treatments), yet i can't imagine MDs and PTs taking them seriously. I, myself, go do a DO for lumbar pain, but she is a PT in the first place, so while se performs evidence based manual therapy, she cuts all the bogus cranio-sacral, leg lenght etc ****. Also, as a PT, she can use electromedicals like tecar, tens..

2) the general society instead is pretty ignorant in the matter, and still has little consideration for PTs (it used to be a technician 2 year school, para-university) while take in big considration chiros because they are very few, present themselves as medici (meaning doctors in medicine), make big proclaims, and look very exotic (most of DCs are from US).

E.g. one session with my PT will cost me around 25-40€ and take from 20' to 1h.
One session with a chiro would last less than 15' and cost a minimum of 70€.

Please note that making big money is not my ultimate goal, i just want to study more, get new tools in my box and provide a better service.

 

[SATXDPT]

Maddrifter, if you have multiple options for DC schools, take an in depth look into their curriculum. Some are "straight" and some are "mixed" philosophy. "Straight" philosophy is strictly pseudoscience and there are few evidence based studies to support any of their techniques. "Mixed" philosophy includes some evidence based techniques more in line with your PT education.
You may enroll in school only to find out that it is practically all nonsense!

 

[Maddrifter]

Maddrifter, if you have multiple options for DC schools, take an in depth look into their curriculum. Some are "straight" and some are "mixed" philosophy. "Straight" philosophy is strictly pseudoscience and there are few evidence based studies to support any of their techniques. "Mixed" philosophy includes some evidence based techniques more in line with your PT education.
You may enroll in school only to find out that it is practically all nonsense!

Thanks again! Atm the only school which will be running a course, starting in Rome in 2019, is called "Life university". Apparently is a branch of an U.S. university, do you know which kind (straight or mixed) it belongs to?

 

[jblil]

Maddrifter - Life University is currently dealing with several nasty issues
Life University DC Program Struggling with Accreditation Requirements

It has lost its accreditation once before:
Life University Loses CCE Accreditation

Personally, I would think twice (or maybe 3 or 4 times) before signing up with Life University.

 

[SATXDPT]

The website for their main campus has practically no information on their curriculum, which is a red flag...
But I did find this:
I'm leaving the chiropractic profession, please help me return to reality
Which says it is a "Straight" school with a lot of "woo"

 

[truthseeker]

It was considered bogus before and still is. Political recognition or not.

 

[Maddrifter]

O.M.G. thanks guys, i made up my mind after reading this, and i'm going for a 1 year (60 cfu) first level master (post Bac) on manual therapy, called OMT.

It is strictly evidence based, all teachers are PT or MD.

 

[tcpt]

O.M.G. thanks guys, i made up my mind after reading this, and i'm going for a 1 year (60 cfu) first level master (post Bac) on manual therapy, called OMT.

It is strictly evidence based, all teachers are PT or MD.

Good move.

 

[Maddrifter]

I apologize for the o.t., could you mother-language explain me the meaning of the term "fellowship" i see in some curricula and foreing courses brochure? Is it an academic title?

 

[SATXDPT]

Specific to PT in USA:
Residency & Fellowship
"A residency or fellowship program is an optional postprofessional program that you choose to complete postgraduation, and after you obtain your physical therapy licensure."
"when you complete a residency or fellowship program, you gain mentorship vs trial and error, you are practicing under a watchful and experienced eye, you form a network of peers and colleagues, and your chances of passing a specialist certification exam the first time is 20%-40% higher than those colleagues who sat for the exam after foregoing a residency program."

Specific to Medicine:
Fellowship (medicine) - Wikipedia

Good luck to you!