Medical Job Brief: Chiropractors
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
Chiropractors are allied medical professionals that work directly with patients for the diagnosis and treatment of problems concerning the spine, nervous, muscular, and skeletal systems. The majority of chiropractors work independently. The rest are either employed by another chiropractor, work in a group practice, teach at a medical university or do research for medical institutions.
To become a chiropractor, one has to enroll in a chiropractic program armed with 90 credit hours of undergraduate study. Licensure is a must for a chiropractor to be able to practice in the 50 states. Continuing education to keep their skills current is also needed to remain competitive in the thriving health care industry.
CareerOverview.com reports that in 2002, there were close to 49,000 chiropractors working in the United States with an annual salary of $65,330. Job growth for this profession, on the other hand, is expected to remain high up to 2012.