What the statutes mean

Chiropractic preceptorships are essentially internship programs designed to give students practical experience before they graduate from chiropractic college. They can be fantastic experiences in which the student is paid fairly and is taught many of the practical skills they will need upon graduation; or, they can be a tedious grind in which the student is not paid and is given little opportunity to hone their skills.

While the examining board has the authority to approve preceptor programs for students that have graduated, preceptor programs currently exist only for students at the very end of their academic studies. Since the board is giving an individual the right to practice chiropractic without a license, they have strict requirements for the college who sponsors the program and for the Wisconsin chiropractor that acts as the preceptor.

Criteria for preceptorship program

• Only chiropractic colleges may operate a preceptorship program. The program must be part of their established curriculum. A student enrolling in chiropractic colleges or universities with preceptor programs understand that they will not be able to graduate unless they successfully complete a preceptorship program
• The examining board must be convinced that there are enough safeguards in the program to assure that patients will be safe under the care of a student.
• No matter how gifted the individual, the student may not participate in a preceptorship program until they are in the last trimester, semester, or quarter of their education.
• For the protection of the public, a chiropractor may only act as a preceptor to one student at a time.
• The college or university sponsoring the program must certify to the examining board that all of the chiropractors who participate as preceptors are faculty of the college or university. They must also certify that the chiropractor preceptor and the chiropractic student have agreed on the goals of the preceptor program. The list of their preceptors must be given to the examining board at least 45 days prior to every trimester or academic quarter.

Criteria for postgraduate preceptorship programs

In addition to preceptorship programs, the examining board may approve postgraduate preceptorship programs for the training of graduate chiropractors that meet all of the following criteria:

• The postgraduate preceptorship program must be sponsored by a chiropractic college or university approved by the board. Beyond verifying that the council on chiropractic education accredits the college or university, the board must also consider whether the program has enough built in safeguards to insure that the public will not be harmed. The board makes this determination by looking at the written standards of the program and reviewing the programs past operations.
• The postgraduate preceptorship program must be an established postgraduate program of the chiropractic college or university.
• The college or university must certify to the examining board:
• That all graduate chiropractors who participate in the postgraduate preceptorship program have graduated from a chiropractic college.
• That all preceptors will supervise no more than one graduate chiropractor.
• That all chiropractors who participate as preceptors are faculty of the college or university.
• That the chiropractor preceptor and graduate chiropractor have agreed on the goals of the preceptor program.
• The college or university must provide a list of its preceptors to the board every 3 months.

Approval process for chiropractor preceptors

The examining board approves a chiropractor to be a chiropractor preceptor if he or she meets the following conditions:

• They must have been continuously licensed in Wisconsin for the previous 5 years.
• They may have no pending disciplinary actions or malpractice claims against them within the last 3 years.
• They must be a member of the faculty of the chiropractic college or university from which they will accept a chiropractic student or graduate chiropractor into a preceptorship practice.
• They must agree to be responsible for the practice of the chiropractic student or graduate chiropractor that they accept into a preceptorship practice.
• They must agree to identify the chiropractic student or graduate chiropractor to patients in such a way that no patient will tend to be misled as to the status of the chiropractic student or graduate chiropractor.
• They must agree that each patient or parent or guardian of each patient will provide informed consent to treatment by the chiropractic student or graduate chiropractor.
• They must agree that they will not supervise more than one chiropractic student or graduate chiropractor at any one time.
• They must agree that they will exercise direct, on-premises supervision of the chiropractic student or graduate chiropractor at all times during which the chiropractic student or graduate chiropractor is engaged in any facet of patient care in the chiropractor preceptor's office.

Termination of preceptorships

A preceptorship terminates as soon as any of the following events occur.

• A chiropractic student participating in a preceptorship program graduates from the chiropractic college or university operating the program.
• A graduate chiropractor participating in a postgraduate preceptorship program passes or fails an exam offered by any state.
• Six months have passed since the graduate chiropractor graduated from a chiropractic college or university.
• A chiropractor preceptor is formally charged with a criminal offense, that substantially relates to the practice of chiropractic.
• A chiropractor preceptor is formally alleged to have violated the statutes or administrative rules pertaining to the practice of the chiropractic.
• A chiropractor preceptor is formally complained against in a civil action for malpractice.

Statute excerpts

• 9.01 Definitions
• 9.02 Unlicensed practice by chiropractic students and graduate chiropractors
• 9.03 Approved chiropractic college preceptorship programs
• 9.04 Approved postgraduate preceptorship programs
• 9.05 Approved chiropractor preceptors
• 9.06 Termination of preceptorship

Chir 9.01 Definitions. In this chapter:

1. "Chiropractic student": means a student of an approved college of chiropractic in his or her last academic quarter, semester, or trimester of study, who is eligible for graduation from the college of chiropractic but for completion of a preceptorship period.
2. "Chiropractor preceptor" means a chiropractor licensed and practicing in Wisconsin pursuant to ch. 446, Stats., who accepts a chiropractic student into his or her practice for the purpose of providing the chiropractic student with a clinical experience of the practice of chiropractic.
3. "Graduate chiropractor" means a person who has received a doctor of chiropractic degree from a college of chiropractic approved by the board, but who has not taken any licensing examination the results of which have been declared by a licensing authority.
4. "Preceptorship practice" means the chiropractic practice of a single chiropractor or group of chiropractors in a particular business or clinic, into which a licensed, practicing chiropractor has accepted a chiropractic student for the limited purpose of providing the chiropractic student with a clinical experience in the practice of chiropractic.

Chir 9.02 Unlicensed practice by chiropractic students and graduate chiropractors.

The board may approve the unlicensed practice of chiropractic in this state by a bona fide student of a chiropractic college which offers an approved preceptorship program, if the chiropractic college preceptorship program, the chiropractor preceptor and the practice of chiropractic by the student meet the criteria established by the board. The board may approve the unlicensed practice of chiropractic in this state by a graduate chiropractor in an approved postgraduate chiropractic preceptorship program, if the postgraduate chiropractic preceptorship program, the chiropractor preceptor and the practice of chiropractic by the graduate chiropractor meet the criteria of the established board.

Chir 9.03 Approved chiropractic college preceptorship programs.

The board shall approve a chiropractic college preceptorship program which includes all of the following criteria:

1. Is operated by a chiropractic college approved by the board. The board shall consider whether the college is accredited by the council on chiropractic education, and shall also consider the degree of consumer protection provided by the defined standards and practices of the chiropractic college's preceptor program, as well as degree of consumer protection demonstrated by the actual operation of the chiropractic college's preceptor program.
2. Is an established component of the curriculum of the chiropractic college.
3. Certifies to the board, on forms supplies by the board:
1. That all students who participate in the preceptorship program are in the last semester, trimester, or quarter of their education, and have met all requirements for graduation from the chiropractic college except for completion of the preceptorship period, and
2. That no chiropractor who is a preceptor shall supervise more than one chiropractic student.
4. Certifies to the board, on forms supplied by the board, that all chiropractors who participate as preceptors are faculty of the chiropractic college.
5. Certifies to the board, on forms supplied by the board, that the chiropractor preceptor and the chiropractic student have agreed on the goals of the preceptor program to be completed by the chiropractic student. Note: Forms may be obtained upon request from the Department of Regulation and Licensing. Chiropractic Examining Board, P.O. Box 8935, Madison, WI 53708.
6. Provides a list to the board at least 45 days prior to every trimester or academic quarter of the chiropractors in Wisconsin who will be acting as preceptors in the program.

Chir 9.04 Approved postgraduate preceptorship programs.

The board shall approve a preceptorship program for the training of graduate chiropractors which meets all of the following criteria:

1. Is operated by a chiropractic college approved by the board. The board shall consider whether the college is accredited by the council on chiropractic education, and shall also consider the degree of consumer protection provided by the defined standards and practices of the chiropractic college's preceptor program, as well as degree of consumer protection demonstrated by the actual operation of the chiropractic college's preceptor program.
2. Is an established postgraduate program of the chiropractic college.
3. Certifies to the board, on forms supplies by the board:
1. That all graduate chiropractors who participate in the postgraduate preceptorship program have graduated from a college of chiropractic approved by the board, and
2. That no chiropractor who is a preceptor shall supervise more than one graduate chiropractor.
4. Certifies to the board, on forms supplied by the board, that all chiropractors who participate as preceptors are faculty of the chiropractic college.
5. Certifies to the board, on forms supplied by the board, that the chiropractor preceptor and graduate chiropractor have agreed on the goals of the preceptor program to be completed by the graduate chiropractor. Note: Forms may be obtained upon request from the Department of Regulation and Licensing, Chiropractic Examining Board, P.O. Box 8935, Madison, Wisconsin 53708.
6. Provides a list to the board 45 days prior to every trimester or academic quarter of the chiropractors in Wisconsin who will be acting as preceptors in the program.

Chir 9.05 Approved chiropractor preceptors.

The board shall approve a chiropractor to be a chiropractor preceptor if the chiropractor meets the following conditions:

1. Certifies to the board, on forms supplied by the board, that:
1. The chiropractor preceptor has been continuously licensed in Wisconsin for the previous 5 years, that there are no pending disciplinary actions or malpractice claims against the chiropractor preceptor within the last 3 years.
2. The chiropractor preceptor is a member of the faculty of the chiropractic college from which the chiropractor preceptor will accept a chiropractic student or graduate chiropractor into a preceptorship practice.
3. The chiropractor preceptor is responsible for the practice of the chiropractic student or graduate chiropractor the chiropractor preceptor accepts into a preceptorship practice.
4. The chiropractor preceptor will identify the chiropractic student or graduate chiropractor to the patients of the preceptorship practice in such a way that no patient will tend to be misled as to the status of the chiropractic student or graduate chiropractor, and that each patient or parent or guardian of each patient will be required to provide informed consent to treatment of that patients by the chiropractic student or graduate chiropractor.
5. The chiropractor preceptor will supervise no more than one chiropractic student or graduate chiropractor at any one time.
6. The chiropractor preceptor will exercise direct, on-premises supervision of the chiropractic student or graduate chiropractor at all times during which the chiropractic student or graduate chiropractor is engaged in any facet of patient care in the chiropractor preceptor's clinic. Note: Forms may be obtained upon request from the Department of Regulation and Licensing, Chiropractic Examining Board, P.O. Box 8935, Madison, Wisconsin 53708.

Chir 9.06 Termination of preceptorship.

A preceptorship shall terminate upon the occurrence of the earliest applicable of the following events:

1. A chiropractic student participating in a preceptorship program graduates from the college of chiropractic operating the program.
2. A graduate chiropractor participating in a postgraduate preceptorship program is declared to have passed or failed a chiropractic licensing examination by any licensing authority.
3. Six months have passed since the graduate chiropractor graduated from a college of chiropractic.
4. A chiropractor preceptor is formally charged with a criminal offense, the circumstances of which substantially relate to the practice of chiropractic.
5. A chiropractor preceptor is formally alleged to have violated the statutes or administrative rules pertaining to the practice of the chiropractic.
6. A chiropractor preceptor is formally complained against in a civil action for malpractice.