Community-Based Clinical Education
This robust, hands-on clinical training program is designed to provide chiropractic students with extensive real-world experience to prepare them for early career success.
What is Community-Based Clinical Education?
Community-Based Clinical Education (CBCE) is the final phase of clinical training for our Doctor of Chiropractic students. During months of rigorous clinical immersion, students can work with diverse patient populations across a national network of affiliated sites, including private practices, sport-focused clinics, and medically integrated sites, such as VA Hospitals, academic medical centers, and community-health centers.
With flexible, tailored placement options, students will explore different models of care, gain meaningful clinical experience, and prepare for a wide range of career pathways available after graduation.
A Distributed Network of Clinical Affiliations
Thanks to our extensive network of clinical affiliations, students have ultimate flexibility in deciding where they want to pursue their clinical education. From the Pacific Northwest to Anchorage Alaska, across the Midwest and East Coast, and throughout British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, clinicians partner with UWS to offer wide-ranging clinical experiences. Through this distributed network, our students gain exposure to diverse practice settings, populations, and models of care.
Students can pursue clinical training among a wide variety of health systems, including:
- Alliance Wellness (Vancouver)
- Optimum Wellness Centres (Calgary)
- Cascadia Healthcare (Oregon)
- Hosmer Chiropractic Health (Oregon)
- Total Performance Clinic (Oregon)
- Marimn Health (Idaho)
- Premiere Spine and Sport (Idaho)
- Tangelo Health (Seattle)
- PRO SPORT Clinic (Washington)
- Airrosti Rehabilitation (Washington)
- Winchester Spine and Sport (Missouri)
- Aligned Modern Health (Illinois)
- Medical College of Wisconsin (Wisconsin)
- University Hospitals (Ohio)
- Southcentral Foundation (Alaska)
- UC Health Denver (Colorado)
VA Affiliation
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers a Chiropractic Integrated Clinical Practice Residency at various facilities nationwide. UWS is the primary academic affiliate for the programs located at VA Cincinnati Health Care System and VA Puget Sound Health Care System.
This CCE-accredited program involves a unique full-time, one-year opportunity that includes hospital-based clinical training, interprofessional education, and additional development in presentations, group projects, and research.
UWS’ affiliated sites with the VA include:
- VA Alaska Healthcare
- VA Blackhills Health Care System (South Dakota)
- VA Cincinnati Health Care (Ohio)
- VA Fayetteville Health Care System (North Carolina)
- VA Indiana Health Care
- VA Milwaukee Health Care System (Wisconsin)
- VA Northern Arizona Health Care
- VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care
- VA Northern California Health Care System
- VA Palo Alto Health Care System (California)
- VA Portland Healthcare (Oregon)
- VA Puget Sound Health Care System (Washington)
- VA Roseburg Healthcare (Oregon)
- VA Salt Lake City Healthcare (Utah)
- VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System
- VA Southern Oregon Healthcare System
- VA Spokane Healthcare (Washington)
- VA Tennessee Valley Health Care
Meaningful Mentorship
A robust culture of mentorship defines the Community-Based Clinical Education program. UWS faculty members provide longitudinal student support before, during, and after the CBCE experience to help students take full advantage of this opportunity.
By guiding them toward placements that align with their clinical interests and professional goals, our faculty mentors prepare students to become practice-ready physicians who deliver high-quality care.
CBCE Timing
Program Length: 6-9 months (depending on student/site)
Required Hours: 700-800 (depending on student/site)
Although qualified Doctor of Chiropractic students can begin community-based placements in quarter 10, awareness of this program starts in quarter 1 to give students more time to explore the field and select a specialty (if any) to focus on. Students must have completed at least two academic quarters in a UWS-managed clinic within the state of Oregon before they are eligible for the CBCE program.
Do Your Part: Join Our Clinical Network
Help UWS shape the future of whole-person health care education by applying to join our national network of clinical partners. Your guidance and support will make a direct impact on the next generation of chiropractic professionals.