Research in chiropractic education: an update.

Purpose: The objectives of this review were to update the 1997 report on research in chiropractic education from the Research Agenda Conference in 1996 and to provide recommendations for the future direction of this research.

Methods: We conducted a review of the medical and chiropractic literature from March 1997 to March 2005 on the 7 thematic areas identified in the Research Agenda Conference's 1997 article (ie, curriculum, assessment, instructional methods, admissions, faculty development and evaluation, postgraduate and continuing education, and patient centeredness). We searched the following databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Alt HealthWatch, Index to Chiropractic Literature, MANTIS, and ERIC. We hand searched conference proceedings and relevant journals along with the reference lists of retrieved articles.

Discussion: Although research studies in chiropractic education have been conducted on the 7 cited thematic areas, much have focused on instruction, curriculum, assessment, and faculty development. Research studies on areas recommended in the 1997 article, such as patient centeredness and continuing education, are less evident.

Conclusions: Researchers in chiropractic education need to focus their efforts on key areas of importance and interest. They should consider collaborating across the professions with individuals who share the same interest and who have a productive and successful research track record. Individual researchers should be willing to share and acknowledge the work of other colleagues in and across professions. One such area of research that meets these criteria and that which is recommended for consideration is professionalism.