Who has the burden?

A story in this morning's Tallahassee Democrat reports the vote of the Capital Medical Society, representing 500 plus area physicians, in opposition to FSU's proposed chiropractic program.  This should come as no surprise, that medical physicians are opposed to chiropractic.  However, the physicians' vote in opposition to FSU's proposal not only raises professional turf-related concerns but also raises issues related to the teaching of evidence-based science and faculty governance.

FSU's President TK Wetherell responds by noting that educational programs will be established by the faculty -- not doctors.  Does this mean that Senator Jim King, John Thasher and President Wetherell will drop or reconsider their proposal if the Graduate Policy Committee fails to approve it?  President Wetherell also emphasizes that this is not a medical degree: 

"It has nothing to do with the medical school. It isn't housed in the medical school. It doesn't even use their facilities," he said. "It's not more of an issue for the medical school than any other program out here."

President Wetherell also reminds readers that the university is based on "inclusion," but if a masters degree in chiropractic is not any more of an issue for medicine than, say, religion, then what kind of chiropractic program is FSU proposing to establish?  At what point is this pluralism run amok?

Why is chiropractic (or alternative medicine) going to be housed in its own, separate college and why, based on academic merit, would it qualify for a masters or doctorate degree?  Why wouldn't FSU follow the model of other universities -- housing alternative medicine within the medical school, or establishing a program in physical therapy that includes chirporactic techniques?  No one has addressed the relative merits of the program to its alternatives.

The burden of establishing a new degree, and an entirely new academic and research discipline, is on its advocates, not those who question whether this has any place at a research university.

Comments

Interesting debate but what would you expect? FSU is transforming itself from "Free Shoes University" to "Free Sublaxation University." FSU's medical school is subpar (unlike UF, USF and Miami, it is not even affiliated with a research hospital) and if you can't have a serious medical school you might as well establish a serious chiropractic program. It may even generate some clients for students at the medical school and the law school.

[Amanda]

I feel bad for the Med School, brand new and getting another hit on it's reputation by something that probably won't even go through.

[kanadajohn]

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