Chiropractors

If you are interested in becoming a chiropractor, there are many ways to start preparing right now. Join all the science clubs you can, design science projects, and participate in science fairs. To develop your interviewing and communication skills, you might join the school newspaper staff and ask for interview assignments. Any job dealing with customers will help as well. Interpersonal skills are key for chiropractors to keep patients coming back. Learn to play chess, take up fencing, or study art history to increase your powers of observation. Take up an instrument, such as the piano, guitar, or violin, to improve your manual dexterity. Learning to give massages is another way to increase manual dexterity and learn about the human body. Be sure to stay in shape and maintain your own health, and learn all you can about homeopathy, yoga, the Alexander technique, Rolfing, and other systems of mind/body wholeness.

Contact chiropractic professional associations and ask about their student programs. Check the Internet for bulletin boards or forums related to chiropractic and other areas of health care. Volunteer at a hospital or nursing home to gain experience working with those in need of medical care.

Check out Hands Down Better (https://handsdownbetter.org), a Web site from the American Chiropractic Association (ACA). It provides information for the public about chiropractic medicine. The ACA also offers a useful blog (https://www.acatoday.org/news-publications/category/blog). Another helpful resource is Discover Chiropractic (https://discoverchiropractic.org) from the Association of Chiropractic Colleges.

If there is a doctor of chiropractic or a clinic in your area, ask to visit and set up an information interview with a chiropractor. Suggested interview questions include: What made you want to enter this career? What type of instruments and equipment do you use to do your work? What do you like most and least about your job? How did you train for this field? What advice would you give to young people about preparing for the field and being successful on the job?

Consider making an appointment for a chiropractic examination so you can experience what it is like. You may even find a part-time or summer job in a chiropractic office.