Doctor of Chiropractic: What This Career is Really Like Today

Ask nearly anyone who works directly with patients, and their #1 reason for doing so is they enjoy helping people. A Doctor of Chiropractic career is especially satisfying because chiropractic is a non-pharmaceutical, whole-person approach to health and wellness. Chiropractors help patients achieve better health over their entire life span.

Ask nearly anyone in healthcare who works directly with patients, and their #1 reason for doing so is they enjoy helping people. A Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) career is especially satisfying because chiropractic care helps improve spine and extremity joint function, restoring the patient’s activities of daily living and with a whole-person approach to health and wellness.

Chiropractic can improve a patient’s health in several ways. Known best for its manual approach to reducing and relieving acute and chronic pain, the doctor of chiropractic may recommend rehabilitative exercises as a complement to care. The D.C. may provide healthful lifestyle advice or convey insights about nutrition that can improve a patient’s quality of life.

Many say what is also appealing about a career as a doctor of chiropractic is the idea of owning their business, setting one’s hours in the office, and having control of their life. Add to this the genuine reward and gratitude from helping others enjoy healthier lives.

“The number one reason I love my job is the patients and the immediacy of their response to  chiropractic care,” says Dr. Lynn McIntosh of Kansas City Chiropractic, P.C. “There’s so much more opportunity now for chiropractors in different settings, and it’s going to be more prevalent in the future. Chiropractic is a great reason to get up in the morning and go to work. You see somebody’s life change because of what you do.”

Doctor of Chiropractic 2023 Survey Highlights

For the past 25 years, the journal Chiropractic Economics (CE) has conducted an annual salary and expense survey for doctors of chiropractic. Results from the 2023 survey offer additional perspectives on what it’s like to be a chiropractor.

• The CE survey indicates that slightly more doctors of chiropractic practice in the suburbs than in rural areas (56% to 44%).
• The survey characterizes the members of the profession in this way:
  • 75% male, 25% female
  • Is a solo practitioner
  • Sees 154 patients per week
  • Has an average total compensation of $148,944.
• The survey shows that a doctor of chiropractic career brings the opportunity to work in clinics with other healthcare practitioners.
  • About 33% of group chiropractic clinics were integrated as part of whole-person healthcare services, meaning they offered chiropractic care plus other complementary health services, such as acupuncture, physical therapy, or licensed massage therapy.
  • About 56% of group chiropractic clinics responding to the survey operated as multidisciplinary clinics, including doctors of chiropractic practicing in health centers that included medical doctors on staff.

Is a Doctor of Chiropractic Career for You?

Being accepted into chiropractic college is no easy task. One chiropractic college reported its 2023 incoming first-year class had an average undergraduate GPA of 3.27.

The best preparation for success in chiropractic college is to set your sights high. While in high school, take Advanced Placement (AP) classes and summer science courses. Seek a shadowing experience with a D.C. in your area to observe the chiropractic approach to patient care firsthand.

Some chiropractic colleges offer concurrent B.S. degree and D.C. degree programs, saving time and expense. Students at these colleges enter as undergraduates, enrolling in a six-year dual degree program and graduating with the combined B.S./D.C. degree. (You can check out U.S. chiropractic colleges here.)

What Preparation for a Doctor of Chiropractic Career Looks Like

Here are the common admission requirements for chiropractic colleges:

• 3.00 cumulative GPA
• At least 90 hours of undergraduate college courses from an accredited institution
• Coursework must include 24 hours of life and physical sciences, with at least half of those courses having laboratory components
• Undergraduate coursework in the humanities and social sciences, foreign languages, and communication, among other subjects that may be relevant to the business of chiropractic.

Undergraduate majors and college degrees are known to offer a solid foundation in preparation for admission to chiropractic college include:

• Human Biology
• Chemistry and Life Science
• Biology
• Kinesiology
• Exercise Science
• Exercise Physiology.

Considering the Chiropractic Profession

The  Chiropractic Economics salary survey provides information on the annual income of a doctor of chiropractic. However, the rewards of being a doctor of chiropractic are far more about purpose than prosperity.

“The meaning of life is to find your gift, and the purpose of life is to give it away,” says Dr. Sherri Hays, a second-generation chiropractor in Oklahoma. “Chiropractic is a profession where you really can find that meaning, and you can give it away every day that you’re practicing.”

Today, the more than 70,000 chiropractors in the U.S.  provide essential services as a valued members of the federal health delivery systems, including Medicare, Medicaid, the U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, Federal Workers’ Compensation, and as part of all 50 state workers’ compensation programs.

Becoming a Doctor of Chiropractic at Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC)

Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) is a nonprofit, private, chiropractic and health sciences university in Overland Park, Kansas, within the Kansas City metro area. We’re now in our second century of educating and developing leaders in health promotion. More than one of every 10 chiropractors in practice today is a CUKC graduate.

Other points of distinction for the CUKC College of Chiropractic program:

• CUKC students may enroll in the concurrent dual-degree program attaining the Bachelor of Science, and Doctor of Chiropractic
• Begin learning the fundamentals of manual spinal adjustive procedures as early as the first term of coursework.
• Students gain experience through an on-campus Technique Simulation Lab for developing the competence and psychomotor skills fundamental for mastering chiropractic spinal and extremity adjustive technique.
• Senior CUKC chiropractic students learn patient care best practices as interns in the on-campus Health Center
• Chiropractic Interns may apply for a rotation in the Chiropractic Department of area Veterans Affairs Hospitals.
• 95% of CUKC graduates pass all four parts of the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) exams within six months of graduation – the highest success rate for chiropractic programs nationwide.

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