As the backbone of a chiropractor’s clinic, a Chiropractic Assistant facilitates its smooth day-to-day operations, ensuring that administrative work is done in an organised and timely manner and patients receive optimal and customised healthcare services. With their diverse skills and knowledge, Chiropra... Continue Reading
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What are the typical responsibilities of a Chiropractic Assitant?
A Chiropractic Assistant would typically need to:
Chiropractic Assistants typically work in an office environment collaborating with and supporting chiropractors and x-ray technicians (radiographers). You must generally spend considerable time at the front desk of a chiropractic practice, interacting with incoming patients and their caregivers. You are also likely to sit at your computer for extended periods, dealing with administrative work, such as scheduling appointments, maintaining patient records, and promoting the clinic on social media.
If you are suitably qualified, you may also need to be on your feet and physically active to help chiropractors examine or treat patients. You will also need physical stamina to keep the facilities clean and organised.
Chiropractors typically work in private practices (solo or in a group) with a small team and may hire a single Chiropractic Assistant to staff the front desk and look after the administrative work as well as help patients. Since sessions with patients usually last 15 to 20 minutes, a chiropractor can see a high volume of patients daily, keeping Chiropractic Assistants busy and on their toes in a fast-paced working environment. You may also work in larger healthcare facilities or multi-specialisation clinics that run chiropractic departments.
Chiropractic Assistants usually wear scrubs, as required by their employers. They may wear personal protective gear if they must come into close contact with patients. Comfortable, sturdy, closed and non-skid footwear is helfpul to get you through the day safely and without tiring your feet.
Chiropractic Assistants follow the schedule of the chiropractic clinic for which they work. However, they may need to come before opening hours and leave after closing hours to take care of facilities maintenance and other administrative work. Work schedules are typically adjusted as per the need of the business. You may occasionally need to work evening hours or on weekends. Both full- and part-time work are possible.
Research suggests that flexible hours and generous telework policies appeal more than salary to the younger generation. There has been an incremental increase in employers willing to give promising employees a chance to adjust their schedules per the job demands.
Finding a new job might seem challenging. Chiropractic Assistants can boost their job search by asking their network for referrals, contacting companies directly, using job search platforms, going to job fairs, leveraging social media, and inquiring at staffing agencies. Chiropractic Assistants may work full-time or part-time in a solo or group practice or freelance. They may also land a job with healthcare facilities or work with them on a contractual basis.
Chiropractic Assistants are generally employed by:
Professional associations and organisations, such as the International Chiropractors Association (ICA), are crucial for Chiropractic Assistants interested in pursuing professional development or connecting with like-minded professionals in their industry or occupation.
Professional associations provide their members with various continuing education and networking opportunities, and mentorship services. Membership in one or more adds value to your resume while bolstering your credentials and qualifications.
Formal training programs that a potential Chiropractic Assistant takes up, particularly in chiropractic clinical or office assistance, may require a period of supervised experience, such as an internship. Chiropractic Assistants will benefit from tasks outside the classroom that align perfectly with lessons inside it. One may hear countless stories from more experienced professionals and obtain valuable hands-on experience when they turn seemingly routine incidents into unique learning moments.
Contact local healthcare facilities to check if they offer work experience to high school students aspiring to become healthcare assistants. Work experience in your local hospitals, clinics or nursing homes can help you understand some of the physical and emotional demands of a career related to healthcare.
Summer internships, part-time work at an entry-level position or short-term paid/voluntary work offer valuable insights into how chiropractic or other healthcare facilities operate, help build useful contacts and improve one’s prospects of getting a permanent job.
The experience may also help determine whether the public, private or voluntary sector is best suited to realise one’s ambitions. Your educational provider’s career service department can provide information about viable opportunities for work placements, internships and voluntary work in diverse sectors.
Newly hired Chiropractic Assistants typically receive on-the-job training, which helps them build practical experience that can prove useful in their current or future jobs and if they diversify into related fields.
Even while in high school, you can check with a teacher or counsellor about relevant work-based learning opportunities available in your school or community that can help you connect your school experiences with real-life work.
Join some groups, try some hobbies or volunteer with an organisation of interest, so you can have fun while learning about yourself and be directed toward a future career.
Read about the profession, perform community service, undertake relevant research, and interview or job shadow experts working in chiropractic assistance to prove your commitment to course providers and prospective employers. It helps document such experiences on letters of recommendation submitted with medical school applications.
Aspiring Chiropractic Assistants typically require a minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent. However, post-secondary qualifications, such as a certificate, diploma or associate degree in chiropractic clinical assistance, chiropractic office assistance or medical assisting, can give you a competitive edge in the job market. Well-trained Chiropractic Assistants help chiropractic clinics boost the quality of patient care, work efficiency and productivity, staff morale and overall business success.
Certificate programs in chiropractic office assistance usually provide candidates with an overview of medical terminology along with the philosophical, legal, and ethical aspects of chiropractic treatments. You also build your clerical knowledge and skills in office management, insurance processing & medical billing, bookkeeping, communications, and office software. Some programs have internships embedded in them. It is also essential for Chiropractic Assistants to learn how to comply with government regulations.
Chiropractic clinical assistance courses focus more on medical training so that candidates can assist doctors and patients during examination and treatment. Consequently, preliminary topics include human anatomy, biology and physiology, expanding later to the knowledge of therapeutic methods and manipulation techniques used by chiropractors, such as spinal adjustments, electric stimulation, massage or ultrasound. You will also learn to take and record the vital signs of patients and their medical histories and analyse test results. Your course may teach you the basics of radiography, including how to position patients for X-rays or perform them following all safety precautions.
Remember that completing a particular academic course does not guarantee entry into the profession. Be that as it may, professional qualifications and transferable skills may open up more than one door.
Do your homework and look into all available options for education and employment before enrolling in a specific programme. Reliable sources that help you make an educated decision include associations and employers in your field.
High school courses in mathematics and science can help you grasp medical vocabulary related to your work. Physical education can help you understand musculoskeletal issues better, while business studies and accounting classes can help you in your administrative work. English and speech classes will help you develop your research, writing, and oral communication skills.
While not mandatory in all locations, certification in chiropractic clinical assistance demonstrates a Chiropractic Assistant’s competence in a skill set, typically through work experience, training, and passing an examination. When acquired from an objective and reputed organisation, it can help you stand out in a competitive job market, carry a significant salary premium of up to 18 per cent and increase your chances of advancement.
Successful and uniformly delivered certification programs demonstrate your regulatory knowledge and skills to assist chiropractors in examining and treating patients safely. They also protect public welfare by incorporating a Code of Ethics.
Make sure to check regional requirements for certification and remember that it does not qualify you to perform adjustments or advise treatments. Furthermore, you must periodically re-certify by undertaking the requisite continuing education (CE) and completing the set number of hours of supervised clinical experience.
Certification in first aid, CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and operating AER (automated external defibrillator) equipment is advisable and may be required by some chiropractic clinics.
Individual government entities conduct the licensing process. Typically, licensure requires an application, processing fees, an examination, and relevant education and experience. Check with local or national chiropractic organisations whether you need licensure and the requirements to renew it.
Chiropractic Assistants may also need to undergo an employment background check including but not limited to a person’s work history, education, credit history, motor vehicle reports (MVRs), criminal record, medical history, use of social media, and drug screening.
Performance, experience, and the acquisition of professional qualifications drive career progression. Employees with consistently high levels of performance may be eligible for promotion every two to three years. Advancement opportunities for Chiropractic Assistants depend on various factors, including further qualifications they acquire and the size of the clinic where they work. If a clinic employs only one or a few assistants, there is limited scope for growth, which makes it critical to keep fostering new skills.
Having built a strong foundation in healthcare through your experience as a Chiropractic Assistant, you may acquire the necessary post-secondary qualifications, certifications and licences to diversify into roles related to patient care, such as Medical Assistant, Physiotherapy Assistant, Surgery Assistant, Podiatric Assistant, Obstetric Medical Assistant, Ophthalmologic Assistant, Occupational Therapy Assistant and Dental Hygienist. You may also opt for more administrative positions, such as Medical Records or Health Information Technician or IT-related jobs, such as Medical Coder.
The desire to accelerate career growth and personal development has an increasing number of millennials choosing to job hop and build a scattershot resume that showcases ambition, motivation, and the desire to learn a broad range of skills.
Studies prove that job hopping, earlier dismissed as “flaky” behaviour, can lead to greater job fulfilment. Employees searching for a positive culture and interesting work are willing to try out various roles and workplaces and learn valuable, transferable skills along the way.
Candidates with the necessary communication, interpersonal and administrative skills, and office management and patient-care experience have the best job prospects. While not mandatory, relevant certification can enhance your job prospects.
Continuing professional development (CPD) will help an active Chiropractic Assistant build personal skills and proficiency through work-based learning, a professional activity,
formal education, or self-directed learning. It allows you to continually upskill regardless of age, job, or level of knowledge.
Chiropractic clinics may offer newly hired assistants on-the-job training. Additionally, if available in their location, it is beneficial for Chiropractic Assistants to obtain relevant certification. You may consider acquiring credentials as a medical office assistant by fulfilling the necessary criteria and passing the requisite exams.
Certification in chiropractic clinical assistance will allow you to take on greater responsibilities, such as assisting with x-rays, and contribute more to the chiropractic practice you work for as you learn and grow. Training programs that lead to certification typically cover basic anatomy and terminology, ethics and boundaries, patient safety, taking and recording vitals, and documentation. Improved performance through formal training can also boost your job satisfaction and morale and keep you motivated, which can enhance your interactions with patients and colleagues.
CPD courses in areas such as office management and IT and certification in relevant software can help you perform your administrative tasks more efficiently.
Some Chiropractic Assistants may take courses in alternative treatments, such as massage therapy and acupuncture.
You may also join chiropractic organisations to network, build or update your professional skills and knowledge, and receive mentoring to further your career.
Professional conferences, seminars and webinars also provide development avenues, information on job openings and the latest chiropractic advancements, and opportunities to network with colleagues and influential people in the field.
What is it That Chiropractors Do?
Chiropractors are practitioners of chiropractic, a complementary and alternative medical treatment as differentiated from conventional healthcare. They use their hands to assist patients with pain relief from problems related to bones, muscles and joints.
Using a range of techniques and therapeutic exercises, particularly spinal manipulation, Chiropractors aim to reduce the pain their patients suffer from and improve their mobility, thereby enhancing the overall quality of their lives. Application of heat or ice, ultrasound and acupuncture are other therapies they may use in their clinics. With their vast and varied knowledge, Chiropractors may offer self-help tips on posture, nutrition and other lifestyle changes.
Origins of Chiropractic Care
The origin of chiropractic practice, a form of alternative medicine, is traced to 1895 when an American magnetic healer, Daniel David Palmer, claimed to have restored a deaf janitor’s hearing through spinal adjustment. Palmer founded the Palmer School of Chiropractic in Iowa, US, teaching the first chiropractors his manipulation methods. While spinal manipulation existed before 1895, Palmer’s claim was that he began using specific contacts as short-leverage points to make specific spinal "adjustments." Early chiropractic practice clashed with allopathic medicine, and medical statutes were established much later. Even until the 1960s, some practitioners were penalised for not possessing a licence.
Palmer’s techniques were based on the 19th-century practices of bonesetting by putting bones together for healing and fixing subluxations, or dislocated joints, by pushing bone junctions into their correct position. Palmer blended magnetic healing with the issue of subluxations to formulate the vertebral subluxation theory. Magnetic healers believed that a fluid they called “animal gravity” moved in waves within the human body, and since blockages to its flow caused illness, they had to be removed to heal a patient. Palmer renamed the supposed fluid “innate intelligence”, likening it to a physical and spiritual force controlling the body and originating from the spinal cord. He attributed health issues to misaligned vertebrae that he believed disrupted energy flows from underlying neural tissue. Detecting and rectifying spinal subluxations, according to Palmer, was the key to regaining health. Palmer’s son, B.J. Palmer, continued to develop the chiropractic profession.
Manipulation is typically used for back and cervical pain, sciatica, joint-related issues, sprains and strains, osteoarthritis, herniated discs and diverse other musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions. Although spinal manipulation forms the core of chiropractic care, chiropractors today have incorporated various therapies and styles to provide holistic healthcare that avoids medication and surgical intervention. For instance, they may use manual therapies, such as soft-tissue mobilization and massage, instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilisation therapy, stabilisation and strength training, nutrition and postural correction programs, and even cognitive-behavioural approaches to patient care.
With improved collaboration between chiropractic and conventional practice, patient care today frequently depends on an interdisciplinary approach and collaboration among medical doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors, occupational health workers, sports medicine teams and rehabilitation centres. With the profession receiving greater integration into mainstream healthcare, chiropractors and Chiropractic Assistants now work in hospitals, multidisciplinary practices and even with the armed forces.
Chiropractic Adjustment
Facilitating spinal manipulation by applying a sudden but controlled force to a spinal joint using hands or an instrument is known as chiropractic adjustment or spinal manipulation. It is a procedure that chiropractors are trained to carry out to improve spinal mobility and the body’s physical functioning.
Some Chiropractic Vocabulary
On-the-Job Training for Newly Hired Chiropractic Assistants (CAs)
As a new member of a chiropractic clinic, you can receive inspiration from learning about the vision and mission of the chiropractor for whom you work. Newly hired CAs must also understand the clinic’s policies, procedures and protocols. If your clinic has written policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs), you will find them helpful to read and refer to when needed.
Your employers may encourage cross-training among the clinic’s staff to optimise efficiency and productivity. Learning about each other’s responsibilities and workplace challenges helps employees foster team spirit and appreciation for each other.
Once you have learnt the ropes, you must constantly seek opportunities to improve your current skills or learn new ones on the job or through continuing education (CE) and certification programs. Such engagement will keep you up-to-date with the most recent office technology and clinical techniques and motivate and make you more efficient, versatile and capable of taking on greater responsibilities at work. Your employer may encourage you to acquire competency across sales & marketing, customer service, administration, operations and office software, in addition to chiropractic and clinical skills.
Current Scenario
The employment outlook of a particular profession may be impacted by diverse factors, such as the time of year (for seasonal jobs), location, employment turnover (when people leave current jobs), occupational growth (when new roles are created), size of the occupation, and industry-specific trends and events that affect overall employment.
The demand for Chiropractic Assistants is expected to be strong in the next few years, given the increase in the population of ageing Baby Boomers and their need for the preventive and holistic healthcare in which chiropractors specialise. By providing office administration and patient care, Chiropractic Assistants will help chiropractors deliver better services to more patients.
Potential Pros & Cons of Freelancing vs Full-Time Employment
Freelancing Chiropractic Assistants have more flexible work schedules and locations. They fully own the business and can select their projects and clients. However, they experience inconsistent work and cash flow, which means more responsibility, effort and risk.
On the other hand, full-time Chiropractic Assistants have company-sponsored health benefits, insurance, and retirement plans. They have job security with a fixed, reliable source of income and guidance from their bosses. Yet, they may experience boredom due to a lack of flexibility, ownership, and variety.
When deciding between freelancing or being a full-time employee, consider the pros and cons to see what works best for you.
Chiropractic Assistants set the tone of chiropractic services by ensuring efficient day-to-day administration of the clinic as well as fostering relationships of trust and positivity with patients who typically come seeking natural and lasting relief from pain and chronic conditions. Your responsibility lies towards the chiropractor whose business you protect and promote and the patients who rely on you for a smooth healthcare experience focusing on proactive and preventive strategies to optimise human performance and boost the quality of life.
You must be empathetic and caring towards patients but also politely firm when collecting payments. Organisation and prioritisation will help you keep your desk clean and your agenda on track. Make sure to deal with filing and insurance claims promptly.
A chiropractor's adjustments may sound like bones cracking but are only air escaping from the joints being adjusted. However, the efficacy of the adjustment is not linked with the sound.
What do Chiropractic Assistants do?
A Chiropractic Assistant would typically need to:
Accredited
$78,674
