Thoughts on Chiropractic Assistant as HCE

[RCKimeryJr]

Hello everyone! I am very excited to announce that I had an interview today for a Chiropractic Assistant position this morning, and withinh a few hours later, received a call ffrom them offering me the position! Essentially, I will be acting as a care extender (similar to the relationship between a PA and a MD) working with patients on a variety of rehab techniques and a variety of other treatments. My role is directly working with the patient using the methods/guidance from the Chiropractor all the while communicating directly with the patient and the Chiropractors on the treatments and whatever else is important. I feel as though that is an incredible opportunity to get great health care experience while working with a doctor who has been in the field for over 26 years! There are also 4 other Chiropractors and a Physical Therapist that work for the practice. Generally speaking, I am extremely excited!

 

I will be applying to PA school at the end of the Spring of 14' (next Spring) and will have 5k hours as a Personal Trainer (Counts for a couple of the programs I am looking at), the hours as a Chiropractic Assistant (somewhere around 1k hours I would presume), and between 50-100 hours of shadowing experience in various settings. I know that my health care experience is unique, but what do you think of it?

[TarheelGirlx3]

Sounds like you are really excited! I dont know what PA schools you are applying to, but ik all the ones I'm applying to don't accept any kind of chiropractic work, so it all depends on where you are applying.

[Max1692]

Congratulations! I spent a little over a year as a Chiropractic Assistant, so I have an idea of what you will be doing. I think it all comes down to what types of activities you will be responsible for at the clinic. If you are just directing patients to rooms, applying hot and cold therapies and stretching, I think many schools would consider it low quality if they considered it at all. But if you are going to be in charge of rehabs to some extent, then I think you can make a strong case that it should count as quality HCE.

 

I was in charge of the rehab and rehab strength programs at my clinic and I had a very similar job to a PTA. I would help assess patients and choose exercises to strengthen the muscular weaknesses that were causing or contributing to their issues. The Chiropractors and I would communicate about their progress and make changes that would lead to better results. So you could talk with an admissions counselor or have your chiorpractors write and explain that in this position, you worked as part of a team, worked independently at times, were able to assess, create and execute plans for patients, and were a figure who was directly involved in making the patients you saw get better. It's not the safest position to get HCE, but I don't regret what I learned working under a chiro. I think it's fantastic experience if they give you enough responsibility.

 

Which programs consider Personal Training as experience? I'd love to check them out.