According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics latest 10-year job projections for professional industries, jobs in chiropractic will increase by 28 percent by 2020, a rapid growth rate during that time frame compared to many other professions. (The average predicted growth rate from 2010-2020, according to the bureau, is 14 percent.) Published in the bureau's 2012-2013 Occupational Outlook Handbook, findings represent the percent change in employment predicted to occur; for the chiropractic profession that means an expected increase of 14,900 jobs.
Overall, health care jobs dominated the top 20 predicted growth positions, led by personal care aids (#1; 70 percent predicted growth rate by 2020) and home care aids (#2; 69 percent predicted growth rate). Other health care occupations in the top 20 include biomedical engineers (#3; 62 percent), veterinary technologists and technicians (#6; 62 percent), diagnostic medical sonographers (#11; 44 percent), occupational therapy assistants (#12; 43 percent), and medical secretaries (#16; 41 percent).
Additionally, physical therapy jobs are predicted to increase by an even greater percentage than chiropractic by 2020, according to the Handbook, including careers as physical therapists (#20; 39 percent), physical therapist aids (#8; 43 percent) and physical therapist assistants (#13; 46 percent).
When I graduated from chiropractic college in 1981 and started practice, I heard it all, and very little was positive. “You are a quack; you do not know what a subluxation is; you couldn’t get into a real health care program, so you chose the one that is slightly above a mail-order degree; you have no proof that chiropractic works; Are you really licensed?”, and so much more.
| Digital Exclusive
A central challenge in creating our identity is that chiropractic is a method of care, not a technique or procedure. This is an important concept for us to promote. Our patients are treated with lifestyle modification, exercise, nutritional supplements, diet and a whole-body approach to accelerate the natural healing process. We are not simply CMT providers.
The results of a global survey released late last year (2023) unveiled some startling findings among medical and nursing students. The “Clinician of the Future: 2023 Education Edition” surveyed 2,212 students, of which 446 were in the United States, from 91 countries.
