Description
Chiropractic assistants perform routine and administrative tasks to support patient care and work under the sole direction and supervision of a Chiropractor or Specialized Chiropractor. They may interview patients, keep records of the case history, assist Chiropractors or Specialized Chiropractors in providing patients examination and perform administrative tasks. Chiropractic assistants work within defined contexts using agreed protocols and procedures.
Duties
The duties of a chiropractic assistant typically include, but are not limited to:
- Greeting and welcoming patients upon arrival.
- Ensuring that the waiting area remains in excellent condition at all times.
- Answering phone calls and responding to e-mails.
- Scheduling appointments.
- Collecting and recording patients’ personal and medical information.
- Verifying payment methods, including patients’ health insurance coverage.
- Tracking and ordering inventory.
- Preparing treatment rooms prior to appointments, as needed.
- Administering screening assessments, such as blood pressure tests, as needed.
Other titles
The following job titles also refer to chiropractic assistant:
assistant etiopath
assistant to chiropractic
assistant osteopath
assistant neuromusculoskeletal therapist
chiropractic support worker
chiropractic’s assistant
assistant to licensed chiropractor
assistant chiropractic
assistant musculoskeletal therapist
Working conditions
Chiropractic assistants might work weekdays, some evenings, or Saturdays. It depends on the office schedule. Some work part-time. They may spend much of their time on their feet.
Minimum qualifications
In general, chiropractic assistants train on the job. Most often, a high school diploma is required. Additional requirements vary depending on the position. Computer and bookkeeping skills are assets.
ISCO skill level
ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:
- the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
- the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
- the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.
Chiropractic assistant is a Skill level 3 occupation.
Chiropractic assistant career path
Similar occupations
These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to chiropractic assistant.
physiotherapy assistant
doctors’ surgery assistant
waiting list coordinator
clinical coder
dental hygienist
Long term prospects
These occupations require some skills and knowledge of chiropractic assistant. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of chiropractic assistant with a significant experience and/or extensive training.
specialist biomedical scientist
optometrist
specialist pharmacist
orthoptist
advanced physiotherapist
Essential knowledge and skills
Essential knowledge
This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of chiropractic assistant.
- Customer service: Processes and principles related to the customer, client, service user and to personal services; these may include procedures to evaluate customer’s or service user’s satisfaction.
- Chiropractic terminology: Chiropractic terms and abbreviations, chiropractic prescriptions and various chiropractic specialties and when to use them correctly.
- Administrative tasks in a medical environment: The medical administrative tasks such as registration of patients, appointment systems, record keeping of patients information and repeated precribing.
- Medical informatics: The processes and tools used for the analysis and dissemination of medical data through computerized systems.
Essential skills and competences
These skills are necessary for the role of chiropractic assistant.
- Use e-health and mobile health technologies: Use mobile health technologies and e-health (online applications and services) in order to enhance the provided healthcare.
- Ensure proper appointment administration: Set up a proper procedure to manage appointments, including policies related to cancellation and non-appearance.
- Answer patients’ questions: Respond in a friendly and professional manner to all inquiries from current or potential patients, and their families, of a healthcare establishment.
- Maintain chiropractic equipment: Maintain the chiropractic professional equipment, supplied and professional spaces in the unit/office, making sure that it is kept in good working condition to support chiropractic services and maintained regularly as required by national legislative regulations.
- Maintain healthcare user data confidentiality: Comply with and maintain the confidentiality of healthcare users` illness and treatment information.
- Use electronic health records management system: Use specific software for the management of health care records, following appropriate codes of practice.
- Provide health education: Provide evidence based strategies to promote healthy living, disease prevention and management.
- Collect healthcare user’s general data: Collect qualitative and quantitative data related to the healthcare user’s anagraphic data and provide support on filling out the present and past history questionnaire and record the measures/tests performed by the practitioner.
- Advise on healthcare users’ informed consent: Ensure patients/clients are fully informed about the risks and benefits of proposed treatments so they can give informed consent, engaging patients/clients in the process of their care and treatment.
- Identify patients’ medical records: Locate, retrieve and present medical records, as requested by authorized medical personnel.
- Collect healthcare user data under supervision: Collect qualitative and quantitative data related to the healthcare user’s physical, psychological, emotional and social status and functional ability within set parameters, monitoring healthcare user’s responses and status during the performance of assigned measures/tests and taking appropriate action, including reporting the findings to the physiotherapist.
- Accept own accountability: Accept accountability for one`s own professional activities and recognise the limits of one`s own scope of practice and competencies.
Optional knowledge and skills
Optional knowledge
This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of chiropractic assistant. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.
- Medical terminology: The meaning of medical terms and abbreviations, of medical prescriptions and various medical specialties and when to use it correctly.
- Professional documentation in health care: The written standards applied in the health care professional environments for documentation purposes of one`s activity.
Optional skills and competences
These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of chiropractic assistant. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.
- Contribute to quality physiotherapy services: Participate in activities that promote quality, particularly in the acquisition and evaluation of equipment, resources, safe storage and supply management.
- Respond to changing situations in health care: Cope with pressure and respond appropriately and in time to unexpected and rapidly changing situations in healthcare.
- Inform policy makers on health-related challenges: Provide useful information related to health care professions to ensure policy decisions are made in the benefit of communities.
- Empathise with the healthcare user: Understand the background of clients` and patients’ symptoms, difficulties and behaviour. Be empathetic about their issues; showing respect and reinforcing their autonomy, self-esteem and independence. Demonstrate a concern for their welfare and handle according to the personal boundaries, sensitivities, cultural differences and preferences of the client and patient in mind.
- Record healthcare users’ progress related to treatment: Record the healthcare user’s progress in response to treatment by observing, listening and measuring outcomes.
- Use different communication channels: Make use of various types of communication channels such as verbal, handwritten, digital and telephonic communication with the purpose of constructing and sharing ideas or information.
- Communicate effectively in healthcare: Communicate effectively with patients, families and other caregivers, health care professionals, and community partners.
- Comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice: Apply quality standards related to risk management, safety procedures, patients feedback, screening and medical devices in daily practice, as they are recognized by the national professional associations and authorities.
- Comply with legislation related to health care: Comply with the regional and national legislation that is relevant to one`s work and apply it in practice.
- Work in a multicultural environment in health care: Interact, relate and communicate with individuals from a variety of different cultures, when working in a healthcare environment.
- Promote inclusion: Promote inclusion in health care and social services and respect diversity of beliefs, culture, values and preferences, keeping in mind the importance of equality and diversity issues.
- Apply organisational techniques: Employ a set of organisational techniques and procedures which facilitate the achievement of the goals set. Use these resources efficiently and sustainably, and show flexibility when required.
- Employ foreign languages in care: Communicate in foreign languages with healthcare users, their carers, or services providers. Use foreign languages to faciliate patient care according to the needs of the patient.
- Work in multidisciplinary health teams: Participate in the delivery of multidisciplinary health care, and understand the rules and competences of other healthcare related professions.
ISCO group and title
3344 – Medical secretaries
References
- Chiropractic assistant – ESCO
- Chiropractic Assistant: Occupations in Alberta – alis
- Chiropractic Assistant Job Description – Betterteam
- Featured image: Photo by Patrick Amoy on Unsplash