College of Chiropractic - Mission & Goals

The College of Chiropractic
The mission of Life University College of Chiropractic (LUCC) is to educate, mentor and graduate skilled and compassionate Doctors of Chiropractic to be primary care clinicians, physicians, teachers and professionals, using the University's core life proficiencies as their foundation.

Goal #1
To fulfill the obligations that are incumbent upon an accredited educational program by fostering an environment of academic and clinical excellence in the science, art and philosophy of chiropractic.

Objectives:

1. The College will provide appropriately credentialed and experienced faculty in order to give its students optimal training in the science, art, and philosophy of chiropractic.
2. The College will provide a curriculum that integrates basic, clinical, and chiropractic sciences, adjusting and practice procedures, with a strong foundation in the philosophy of the science of chiropractic.
3. The College will provide a clinical setting in which the students can apply and expand the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and principles learned in the academic portion of the curriculum.
4. The College will organize faculty development activities to provide resources and programs for the improvement of teaching and learning, and for the integration of new knowledge in the profession.

Goal #2
To provide students with the knowledge, skills, and clinical experience necessary to practice chiropractic as primary health care clinicians. Particular attention will be focused on the relationship between the musculoskeletal structures and neurological functions and how that relationship affects the restoration and preservation of health.

Objectives:

1. Students will learn to fulfill the role and responsibilities of primary care clinicians by demonstrating competence in eliciting patient history, in performing examination procedures (physical, neuromusculoskeletal, and chiropractic) and integrating those findings to create a diagnosis and assess the need for chiropractic care and/or further diagnostic studies.
2. Students will integrate the history and clinical findings in developing an appropriate diagnosis and will determine the appropriateness of chiropractic care including any precautions/contraindications and will evaluate and determine the appropriateness for consultation, co-management, or referral to other healthcare providers. Students will also establish patient care plans with timely and appropriate patient re-evaluations to determine the clinical effectiveness of care.
3. Students will be trained to develop an enduring, trusting, healthcare partnership with patients, focusing on clinical excellence, compassion, empathy, and health education.
4. The faculty will integrate training in the pathophysiologic processes of presentations commonly encountered in the chiropractic practice and will reinforce primary health care training and management in the patient care setting.
5. The faculty will ensure that students administer competent, effective chiropractic care focusing particular attention on the correction and management of vertebral subluxation(s), facilitating the patient's innate self-healing capacity.

Goal#3
To provide a source of chiropractic health care and information to the patient and the citizens of the community within state-of-the-art clinic facilities, under the direction of skilled licensed Doctors of Chiropractic.

Objectives:

1. Through its public, teaching clinics, under the direction of skilled licensed Doctors of Chiropractic; the student clinicians will provide a source of general health screening assessment and chiropractic care for the citizens of the surrounding communities.
2. The student clinicians will educate the citizens about the deleterious effects of vertebral subluxations, the importance of regular chiropractic care and the effectiveness of chiropractic care. This will be accomplished through the unique focus on the promotion of spinal hygiene, a positive mental attitude, and prevention and wellness education to include balanced nutrition, rest, and exercise.

Goal #4
To enhance the ability of faculty and students in research design, methodologies and funding through collaboration with the Office of Sponsored Research & Scholarly Activity, the College through its various Divisions will provide research opportunities to conduct studies of the vertebral subluxation complex and other health/physical conditions, as well as research related to other University programs.

Objective:

1. The College and its Divisions in collaboration with the Office of Sponsored Research, will provide faculty and student development programs that include the following research topics/opportunities:
    
   1. Securing grants and funding for research
   2. Documenting and publishing research
   3. Conducting condition-based research
   4. Conducting research involving the vertebral subluxation complex
   5. Providing research Assistant Fellowships to students
   6. Offering opportunities in research instrumentation to faculty and students

Goal #5
To produce credentialed and qualified continuing education courses meeting state and provincial license renewal parameters and to contribute to the continuing education of the chiropractor, chiropractic student, and chiropractic technician.

Objectives:

1. The College will provide continuing education courses and seminars that are academically sound and taught by credentialed instructors.
2. The College will organize an annual continuing education program and format that will meet the requirements for the United States and Canada in regard to license renewal.
3. The College will organize an annual educational program for re-certification of chiropractic technicians in the field of chiropractic radiology.
4. The College will organize seminar programs that offer the opportunity for participants to expand their knowledge and skills in established chiropractic adjusting procedures.
5. The College will organize post-graduate seminars for increased knowledge and skills that provide certified credentials in specialized areas of study.

Goal #6
To integrate the fundamentals of the science of chiropractic and its principles into the academic and clinical applications of chiropractic.

Objectives:

1. The College will teach the history and accomplishments of the chiropractic pioneers in establishing chiropractic as a separate and distinct health care profession. The College will emphasize the traditional chiropractic tenets developed by dedicated chiropractors.
2. The College will provide a comprehensive education that emphasizes principles of the body's innate recuperative powers, integrated with a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between the musculoskeletal structures and neurological functions of the human body, especially as its pertains to vertebral subluxation(s) and associated extra spinal articular misalignments.
3. The faculty will empower students to provide chiropractic care with a professional understanding of the underlying principles that support the science and art of adjusting vertebral subluxations.

Goal #7
To assist in perpetuating the chiropractic profession nationally and internationally.

Objectives:

1. The College will continue to educate local organizations on the value and efficacy of chiropractic care.
2. The College will continue limited participation in the international chiropractic community to assist its graduates in establishing chiropractic around the world as a separate and distinct profession.
3. The College will provide the international community with information pertaining to the scientific application of chiropractic care substantiated by research and clinical evidence, as such work is published.
4. The College will continue international recruiting to ensure a diverse population of students who will return to their communities to organize and help perpetuate the chiropractic profession.

Goal #8
To encourage an attitude of Lasting Purpose in clinical practice and in life.

Objectives:

1. The College will promote an attitudinal purpose and environment for serving the patient and the community regardless of the patient's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or financial status.
2. The College will encourage students, faculty and staff to participate in community outreach programs with a service oriented mindset.
3. The College faculty, staff, and students will embrace and employ the Lasting Purpose of giving, doing, loving, and serving out of one's own abundance.