At the heart of experiential learning at Texas Chiropractic College are the clinical internships. Internships are required of all students, and provide the perfect outlet in which to apply the extensive knowledge gained through TCC’s rigorous curriculum to real patients in a real-world setting.
Throughout the clinical internship experience, students learn what it means to become a chiropractor, working together under the guidance and supervision of TCC’s expert faculty.
The Campus Health Center
Clinical internships begin in trimester seven at the Campus Health Center, where students learn examination, diagnosis, and treatment procedures, as well as other skills necessary for a successful chiropractic health care practice.
The Moody Health Center
In trimester eight, after the successful completion of the first seven trimesters, as well as TCC’s Clinical Competencies Performance Evaluation, students continue their internships at the Moody Health Center. Each day, senior interns work together with hundreds of patients from the community who visit the Moody Health Center for treatment.
Clinical internships continue at the Moody Health Center through the 10th trimester. At the conclusion of the clinical internship, students will have developed the skills necessary to successfully:
- Consult with patients
- Conduct physical, neurological, orthopedic, and clinical diagnoses
- Make adjustments
- Apply adjunctive therapy
- Partner with other medical professionals and co-manage patients
- Report findings
Competency Benchmarks
TCC has a longstanding reputation for the quality of its students, graduates, and service to the community. Throughout the clinical internships, each intern’s development is evaluated based on a series of benchmarks, as a way to ensure that the highest levels of patient-care quality are maintained.
At the end of the ninth trimester, each intern is required to demonstrate his or her competency during the Clinical Skills Competency Evaluation (CSCE). The CSCE is conducted in TCC’s new, state-of-the-art Clinical Assessment Center. Interns also are consistently evaluated by clinic faculty during patient encounters.
Further, in addition to the minimum threshold of procedures set forth by the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), TCC has established its own minimum competency requirements to ensure that our students and service continue to go above and beyond.