Associate Chiropractor
Career review from a person working in the job
How I Got The Job
My Education: Chemeketa Community College Willamette University Cleveland Chiropractic College Los Angeles
My Prior Experience: I worked as a medical assistant prior to going to Chiropractic college. I had done this for several years before making the decision to become a professional.
My Job Profile
My Company: I work as an associate with another doctor in a suburban clinic in the Pacific Northwest with a city population of roughly 150000 people.
Job/Career Overview: I am a Chiropractic Physician and that requires a strong level of knowledge about the inner workings of the human body. Our education is very similar to Medical Physicians and I would say that what we do is a good alternative to mainstream medicine.
We approach health and illness from a inside-out point of view. That is, we consider disease as an imbalance, if you will, in the body. At least, that is what our education involves and, to a certain extent, that is what we put into practice through our work.
Our main job is to fix and/or alleviate musculoskeletal injuries and on a typical day, we see patients with lower back and neck pain. Treatments can range from manual skeletal adjustments of the frame of the body. But we also offer physiotherapy services with the use of ultrasound and galvanic muscle stimulation as well as massage and exercise therapy to produce the desired result on a per patient basis.
More Insights: The misconception in my career is that folks think we only know how to fix back pain, but in fact we have learned as much, if not more, about the body in comparison to medical doctors.
Love It? Hate It?
I rate this career 3 out of 10.
What I Love or Hate
The best part of my career is that I am able to help people in need. For example, finding someone in pain and being able to help them get better without the use of drugs very rewarding. This happens often and many come back and become regular patients!
I guess the worst part of the career is the administrative side of the field. That means handling billing and dealing with insurance companies as well as a lot of dissenting opinions from other chiropractors.
My Career Tips
1. I think a person who wants to go into this field must save up some money to help defray the cost of tuition. Many students come out with a large amount of debt and this can be suffocating to many.
2. Many doctors can only do one of two things: work as an associate or open your own clinic. If you can't afford to open a clinic then plan on being an associate, but make sure you find a good doctor to work under.
3. Consider Osteopathy, Like I said, there is too much in fighting in this career field and it can be an uphill battle for those with progressive ideas. Be mentally prepared to argue your point.
