College of Chiropractic
What Do Chiropractors Do?
Chiropractors help people lead better lives. They are experts on ensuring the brain and spinal cord have a clear communications conduit to all body systems, which helps patients tap into their innate potential for peak health and performance.
Your career and chiropractic training will give you tremendous freedom and autonomy to design your own life on your own terms. You can be a solo practitioner, an associate in group practice, or select a career path in teaching, research or college administration.
As a chiropractor, you can look forward to an attractive salary: but your greatest satisfaction will probably come from the positive impact you’ll have on the lives of your patients. In fact, a recent chiropractic college alumni survey found more than 90 percent were very satisfied or satisfied with their careers. Chiropractors enjoy an enviable sense of purpose.
To become a chiropractor means to become an expert on the nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). You’ll study how it controls and coordinates the activities of every cell and system of the body through a network of spinal nerves. By ensuring the brain and spinal cord have a clear communications conduit to all body systems, you’ll help your patients experience more of their innate potential to heal and be healthy over the course of their lifetime.
While studying to become a chiropractor, you’ll begin to understand and respect the body’s innate ability to adapt and maintain itself in a state of health. This vitalistic philosophy is in sync with the demands of sophisticated consumers who seek drugless, surgery-free approaches to optimum health.
The use of chiropractic methods has reached an all-time high. In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor says the chiropractic profession is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2012. Fast Company magazine recently rated chiropractic one of its top five careers based on job growth and salary potential. One in three of today’s chiropractic school students is female and one in four is from a minority ethnic background.
With low overhead and space needs, you will likely be able to open a practice soon after graduation. Average gross billings for a solo chiropractic practice, including part-time practices, is $150,000-$249,000 with nearly half reporting seeing patients 30-39 hours per week.
Life University Chiropractic Education
If you want to become a doctor of chiropractics, it makes sense to study at Life University because our chiropractic school is at the forefront of the profession. We’ve tapped into five key areas that will help you become successful right out of school:
· Many techniques and more hands-on technique training means that you will be confident with your own patients right away
· Our rigorous and comprehensive business training track gives you the tools you need to successfully run the business side of your practice
· Clinical experiences from your first quarter mean you will be comfortable working as a team with other health care providers
· Life’s unique philosophy sets it apart from other schools by teaching you a vitalistic approach to total wellness.
· You will be well prepared as a chiropractic scientist to not only be successful when taking the national boards, but ready to serve your patients as a knowledgeable health care provider
More Hands-On Technique
At Life, you’ll get more time learning how to adjust the vertebrae of the spine in technique classes than students at any other chiropractic college.
Life University’s Doctor of Chiropractic program requires more than 34 credits of adjusting technique and related classes. Rather than just learning a series of ways to move bones, you’ll be trained in five techniques that let you analyze the problem so you’ll know exactly how to adjust the spine, no matter what the situation.
You’ll be taught technique in small groups of twenty students or less, compared to typical classes more than twice that size at many schools. In addition, your instructors are expert faculty - not teaching assistants- who provide you with individualized, hands-on instruction.
Business Success
Life University’s Doctor of Chiropractic program offers what is unquestionably the most comprehensive business preparation program in chiropractic education. With the unique advantage of having an on-campus business department, you’ll learn the business side of practice from experienced faculty, many of whom are still actively in practice and have advanced degrees.
Beginning immediately in first quarter, you’ll start learning concepts necessary for business success. You’ll gain extensive patient/office management procedural education where you’ll be immersed in all aspects of office management from front desk procedures to coding and explanation of benefits. You will learn from a variety of instructors who can help you better discover the tactics needed to plan and create the kind of chiropractic business that will suit you and your talents.
But what really sets Life University apart is the Fourth Year Capstone Experience, where you’ll receive extensive training from one of two top chiropractic management consulting firms in the country. Although established practitioners and recent grads pay thousands for this exact same training your choice of one of their programs is included in your curriculum, and covered by your tuition.
With more than 25 credit hours of business education, you’ll have the business acumen and confidence many doctors take years to develop.
Clinical Expertise
As a student of the chiropractic school at Life University, you’ll have the unique opportunity of living the clinic experience from day one. In our state-of-the-art Campus Center for Health and Optimum Performance, students see more than 40,000 patient visits each year. You’ll progress from clinical observer and patient, to assisting in procedures and learning the steps, to finally founding and running your own on-campus chiropractic practice. This one-of-a-kind learning opportunity takes place in a highly professional setting equipped with the latest high-tech features, such as digital x-ray and thermography.
Vitalistic Philosophy
Life University faculty, students and staff share a strong respect for the wonders of the human body. Our vitalistic philosophy recognizes the inborn healing abilities of the body and the inner wisdom that regulates it in a state of health. It is this belief in the power of the human body and its relationship to your spine and nervous system that informs our work. This vitalistic philosophy is what sets Life University’s chiropractic training methods apart from many other health science disciplines and is the foundation for your future practice. Your exposure to rigorous study in this area will shape countless life changing conversations with your future patients for years to come. Our philosophy is so important to what we do that it is interwoven into all curriculums and even in our administrative decisions.
Next Steps and How to Apply
We’re here to answer all your questions about becoming a doctor of chiropractic. Call or email us (770-426-2884, 800-543-3202 or admissions@life.edu). We’re here Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to talk with you personally and can respond quickly to email.
We would also love to connect you with a practicing doctor of chiropractic who can give you the full scoop “from the trenches.” Call or email us and we’ll link you with a doctor in your area you can email, call or even visit. We are also happy to connect you with current students.
Most prospective students tell us the most important thing they did while considering which school to attend was actually visiting the campus. Click here to find out more about our Campus Tour or call 800-543-3202.
We are looking forward to meeting you and helping you design the future of your dreams.
