Spain now has an accredited chiropractic program, scheduled to commence in October 2007 at the Maria Cristina Royal University Centre (Real Centro Universitario - RCU).
The Royal University Centre is affiliated with the University Complutense of Madrid, the country's largest and most prestigious public university. The new program, accredited by the European Council on Chiropractic Education, will be the second chiropractic curriculum taught in Spanish; the first, which commenced in 2001 and graduated its first class of chiropractors in 2005, is at the Universidad Estatal del Valle de Ecatapec (UNEVE) in Mexico City. (For more information on the current state of chiropractic education in Mexico, see DC's recent interview with Mexico Secretary of Education, Lic. Isidro Muñoz Rivera, online at www.chiroweb.com/archives/24/21/01.html.)
Discussions between the RCU and AECC began in fall 2005; soon thereafter, an Educational Committee was established and charged with organizing the project. Dr. Mike Kondracki of AECC visited Madrid to clarify the college's role in the development of the program; Dr. Philippe Druart, president of the European Chiropractors Union, also visited Madrid and took a tour of the RCU campus.
"Spain is very fortunate to have these two distinguished institutions working together," said AEQ President Belen Sunyer, a graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic, at an association assembly earlier this year. "This will ensure the highest quality chiropractic education possible and offer the students a truly special and unique academic environment."
Upon contacting the AEQ for further details on the new chiropractic program, we received the following statement via e-mail:
"The [AEQ] has been working towards the attainment of chiropractic legislation since it was founded in 1986. Over the last twenty years, executive board members of the AEQ have had numerous meetings at both the Ministeries of Health and Education, as well as with the directors of many universities throughout Spain. The critical step in moving forward with the legalization process of chiropractic in Spain is the attainment of a chiropractic program within the country.
"In September of 2005, the [RCU] made their commitment to our project. In October of 2005 we contacted several chiropractic colleges and asked them if they would be interested in helping us with the curriculum for the school. Of the schools which were contacted, only Anglo-European College of Chiropractic (AECC) was willing and able to make the commitment, and being that it is an European Institution, it will be much easier to comply with the academia changes which are taking place in Europe under the Bologna Agreement. AECC's support and commitment to our project is greatly appreciatated. The chiropractic program in Spain will have a similiar format (hours) to that of the five-year degree which is offered by AECC."
Resources
- "Chiropractic Education Comes to Spain." The Chiropractic Report, September 2006;20(5).
- E-mail from the Asociación Española de Quiropráctica (AEQ), Nov. 9, 2006.
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