Having an open mind about the right type of healthcare professional role will let you find all types of career possibilities. That open-mindedness is how many high achievers like you became a doctor of chiropractic – a D.C.
Some people discover chiropractic because of their health struggles or because of a chiropractor’s non-pharmaceutical approach to better health. Or both. Finding your best path to a healing profession will require your investigation, of course, but who doesn’t mind a little bit of a head start?
Patient care improves in an integrated, collaborative healthcare culture because various medical specialists work together to meet the health needs of patients. Doctors of chiropractic regularly refer their patients to medical doctors when a chiropractor’s initial diagnostic assessment indicates it.
According to a 2018 Harvard Health Publishing article, “Chiropractors today ….work in conjunction with primary care doctors, pain experts, and surgeons to treat patients.”
Why is that? Chiropractic education uses a whole-person approach that’s in line with the changing realities of healthcare delivery. A doctor of chiropractic amplifies patient health in a variety of ways:
News about the effectiveness of chiropractic is not new to patients. A greater than 90% average satisfaction rate with chiropractic care is well-documented in the 2017 report Chiropractic: A Safe and Cost Effective Approach to Health.
What is making news is evidence-based research validating chiropractic principles and methods. Study results have appeared in Spine, Annals of Internal Medicine, Medical Care, and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
The American College of Physicians (ACP) changed its treatment guidelines for low-back pain in 2017. The ACP recommends first using non-drug treatments such as chiropractic care for acute and chronic low-back pain.
In the U.S., at least 52 million people yearly seek help for low-back and neck pain. The cost to society is more than $267 billion a year, according to a study by the American Society of Orthopedic Surgeons.
Because of increasingly sedentary lifestyles and longer life spans, low-back pain and other musculoskeletal problems are not only commonplace in factories and labor-intensive industries, but also small family businesses and tech-heavy offices. Neck and back pain is a common cause of job-related disability and a leading contributor to missed workdays.
Nearly half of all doctors of chiropractic are in a solo or group practice, and many of them choose to serve small towns and cities. They are the operators of small businesses that contribute mightily to their community’s health, as well as the long-term health of its citizens.
This community connectedness does not appear to prevent competitive pay, although many chiropractors maintain a 40-hour workweek and prefer a sensible work-life balance.
According to Salary.com data, the median annual compensation for chiropractors with established practices can range between $90,000 to $140,000+ per year. A doctor of chiropractic’s total income typically includes bonuses, profit-sharing, or both. Successful chiropractors have patients who refer others to the practice, do networking, and understand and follow good business practices.
After more fact-finding about what it means to be a doctor of chiropractic, you may find yourself considering chiropractic college.
Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) is a private, nonprofit, healthcare-focused university located in Overland Park, Kansas, a city of more than 190,000 people within the greater Kansas City metropolitan area. Our College of Chiropractic has been a national leader since 1922 — more than 1 of every 10 chiropractors in the U.S. is a graduate of the CUKC College of Chiropractic.
Just as choosing to become a chiropractor has its career advantages, so does choosing CUKC. Most students complete the CUKC accelerated Doctor of Chiropractic degree in 3.3 years (10 trimesters), and that includes more than 500 hours of supervised clinical work with patients while you’re in the program.
Bonus option: Cleveland University-Kansas City can also help you reduce your time in college (and associated tuition and fees) through a concurrent B.S./D.C. degree program. Why not earn a Bachelor of Science degree (B.S.) in Human Biology while completing the Doctor of Chiropractic degree program?
Get all the answers to becoming a doctor of chiropractic by requesting a free copy of the ebook, Your Complete Guide to the Chiropractic Profession.
