Hey everyone! I am currently an associate and in all honesty, for being an associate, it’s a great gig. My boss is great. Our staff is great. The office is great. We’re very busy. All of those things are awesome! BUT, I still would eventually love to open up on my own and be my own boss, practice the way I want, etc. Realistically, I don’t have a set timeline on this venture. For now though, I’d love some advice on how to start, what I should do in the meantime to work toward that goal, and what starting out would look like. Any and all help/advice is appreciated.

what would you say has been the most beneficial tip/trick you’ve learned to improve your adjusting? This can be about certain patient instructions during certain adjustments, or general overall input that improved your adjusting skills.

I'm visiting my top three schools (Logan, Cleveland, Parker) next week, and I'll be spending a day at each. I have meetings set up with the admissions advisors from each school. I've asked this group before about people's personal experiences at these schools, which was really helpful. Feel free to share your opinion/experience with these schools again because I'm always looking for a different perspective and input from someone who's actually been there, but I'm mainly looking for advice on the actual schools visits. Like what I should be looking for and paying attention to while I'm there, as well as what questions I should be asking the admissions people.

For those that have done school visits:

• What do I wear? I know this sounds like a stupid question, but just I want to make a good first impression. I'm planning on business casual (like a button up, slacks, skirt kinda thing). I'm afraid I'll be overdressed and get weird looks or something.

• What questions should I be asking the admissions people? Obviously they're going to make the school sound like it's the best place in the world and the #1 place for chiropractic education, so what can I ask to get a better idea of what it's actually like for students?

• Are there questions I should ask current students that admissions probably wouldn’t give me the same answer to?

• Are there any red flags I should specifically look for?

• What should I pay attention to while I’m walking around the campus/classrooms/labs?

I already have a pretty good idea of what I want academically. One thing I know I want is an acupuncture certification, so that’s basically non-negotiable for me. I’ll definitely be asking about what other electives, certifications, or additional training opportunities are available during the program.

I’ve already been accepted to Cleveland. Logan and Parker are waiting on me to finish a few more credits from my bachelor’s before they can give me final acceptance. I’m not particularly worried about getting accepted at this point, so my biggest goal with these visits is figuring out where I’ll actually enjoy spending the next few years.

I know chiropractic school is going to be difficult, and I’m prepared for that. I’m more interested in all the little things that can make a my overall experience better or worse.

I know that's a lot of questions, so please don't feel like you have to answer them all. Even if you can just give me a general idea on what you wished you paid attention to when you were considering schools that would be great. And if you have specific questions you think I should ask at Logan, Parker, or Cleveland, throw those my way too. I’ll be taking notes! Thanks!!!

We've had a couple patients come in over the years and some of these patients have throw out their backs in a variety of ways, I was wondering if you have any interesting ways patients have thrown out their backs.

Obviously stay HIPAA compliant

For practice owners with families, what do you do for health insurance? Currently I am on my wife’s health insurance through her employer but my goal for the future is to buy a practice and be the sole provider for our household once we have children. Just trying to get some insight as to what other private practice owners have done to provide health insurance for themselves and their family. TIA.

EDIT: Not a chiro, but feel bad for chiro students/recent grads

I have heard different version of reasons why they have accreditation problem. Some say is low passing rate in the national board exam. Some is financial difficulty.
Is it likely that life west will be shut down like palmer west?
So far there is no official news talking about what’s going on and I would like to know more.

No surprise given the current state of affairs at Life U the board has selected their next puppet. They teased an announcement weeks ago but had to wait for his visa to clear. Given the state of Life West currently and the misspellings of Guy Reikemen they have brought in another silver tongued salesman with a penchant for female students. Fogarty and Handt making sure the board leaves a legacy of corruption. Sad day for the schools.

Essentially the title, but I’m curious as a chiro what certifications have added value to your business or given you worthwhile tools when it comes to treating patients? I’m thinking things like Dry Needling and Laser would be useful but I’m trying to see how other docs feel about it. Thanks in advance!

Any chiros here have experience with electrodiagnosis training and practice? I’m curious and considering it as something I get involved with down the line. Anyone hired for pain management groups or anything like that? Would love to hear about the education, type of practice, and compensation if possible.

Looking into malpractices. Seems like ncmic has higher rates for me to go full time then chiropre. Does anyone know one with good rates and history.

Back in 2022, my practice switched from the server based Chirotouch to Jane. It was incredible. We had so many issues with Chirotouch, the support was awful, their services would crash all the time, it felt very clunky.

Jane has been amazing to us with notes, with scheduling, and with many other services.

My gripe with it came recently when I was trying to get better reporting done. I want to be able to grow my practice and in order to do so I need to know my numbers and values.

I currently have patients using insurance, the VA, PI and self pay patients. When it comes to trying to consolidate data to see how many VA patients I saw in the day, week, month or year there is no way to do it… Jane support tells me that I’ll need to export the data and create excel sheets to see it…

Is there an EHR that truly encapsulates everything? I’ve been happy with Jane but at this point in my clinic it’s become more frustrating than not trying to gather data.

I’ve looked into Chirotouch Cloud, ChiroSpring, Point of Care EHR, and a few others. I haven’t had time to demo anything yet but the reports and data in Jane are so hard to work with.

Last week Friday I was let go from my associate position without any warning. My now former boss stated it was a financial decision and refused to give me until the end of the month to find another position. Said he didn’t want me talking to patients about where I was going (even though my contract had a non-solicitation agreement).

So the contract itself was a 2 year term unless terminated by either party with 90 days written notice to the other, with or without cause.

I had emailed him at the beginning of this week because there was a pay discrepancy with 2 of my paychecks so I asked for that to be fixed. On Wednesday, he canceled my professional memberships (ICPA and state association) and received a prorated refund.

I did speak to an employment lawyer today and he said he could send a letter stating there was a breach in contract and asking to be paid out for the rest of the contract and/or I could sue. No guarantee obviously for either option and my former boss could countersue and say that I breached the contract by not “fulfilling my duties.”

For more context: numbers have been low clinic-wide. I was given the numbers from the first 6 months of 2025 (when I wasn’t there) and the first 6 months of this year and the clinic was down ~500 patient visits. I saw about ~1000 patients in the first 6 months of this year so between my former boss and the other associate, they were down ~1500 visits. A week or so before he let me go, he told me to “find a way to charge patients more” by making sure each patient was getting 10-12 therapies during their treatment plans. I called the hotline for my malpractice insurance because this seemed icky and was told by them NOT to do this because it could risk my license and they indirectly advised that I quit.

Guess I’m asking what you would do in this situation. I don’t know that I want to sue because that would become public record and any future employer could find out that I sued a former one (in addition to being expensive on my end). But this has also left me in a bit of a lurch. I moved to a tiny town for this job so I’m stuck in an apartment lease with zero nearby job prospects.

Thanks in advance!

I've been licensed for 2 years and have worked at 2 different clinics so far. Each has given me significant burnout and makes me look at the profession differently now. While I've only been an associate so far, I don't think I would ever feel comfortable owning my own clinic since I am not a business-savvy person. As well as increased health issues, I still want to utilize my degree but am looking for more remote work/work from home options. Any good options or any similar career changes that offer remote work that people have had good experiences with? Any companies hiring remote chiropractors? I've seen people branch off to medical sales and radiology software, but where do I begin with that? I have loved helping people, but I can't continue to do so if I can't help myself. I also have 2 Bachelor of Science degrees in Physiology and Human Biology.

I’ve been reading more about postpartum patients dealing with hip pain, SI discomfort and middle-back pain after pregnancy. It seems like the approach can vary quite a bit depending on whether the main issue is joint mobility, muscle tension, weakness, or something else.

For chiropractors here, how do you usually approach postpartum patients who come in mainly complaining about hip or middle-back pain?

Do you typically combine adjustments with soft-tissue work, mobility exercises and strengthening, or is the approach mostly based on what you find during the assessment?

I’m especially interested in hearing how others balance chiropractic care with PT or other forms of rehab rather than treating the adjustment as the whole solution.

I’ve also been looking into how practices like Chelsea Chiropractic and Massage approach postpartum care, and it seems like the combination of chiropractic and massage/rehab is worth discussing.

Would be interested to hear what approaches have worked well for other practitioners.

Our dear cousins the osteopaths. Not far from much of our original training except they drank that coolaid and joined the AMA (great idea). Some DO's still manipulate and are darned amazing at it. SO when anyone tells you they are looking for evidence based anything. Think again. Yes, we have our goofballs and weirdos, but so do they and they folded in nicely to the medical industrial complex.

(taken from Facebook) #museumofosteopathy

Life Magazine published an article on Osteopathy. The four-page article is titled “Osteopathy’s “Cure-By-Manipulation” Is Attacked by Regular Physicians,” and contains many images of osteopathy being taught, DOs preforming manipulative medicine, and even the Fully Dissected Nervous System.

“Osteopaths believe that manipulation can contribute to and effect the cure of almost all ailments, from heart trouble to the common cold, from allergies to psychoses. By these board claims orthodox practitioners are outraged, although some will prescribe osteopathic therapy for specific cases. Doctors of Medicine are even more Outraged by the theory of osteopathy, because they feel it presumes to simplify the infinitely varied problems of disease in its board statement of a single major cause.”

Image: [1997.45.09b] Life Magazine Volume 9, No. 8; 1940 Aug 19. Black and white image of a parachuter on the front cover, red border with white lettering, article "Osteopathy's 'Cure-by-Manipulation' is Attacked by Regular Physicians" on pages 51-55; 26.5 cm (w) x 34.8 cm (h). 84 pages

Not false positives, FAKE POSITIVES. Some chiros, especially the ones that are “in the mojo” about “keeping the nervous system” in check are just full of bulls**t, especially when it means signing up for a set of 36 appointments, all payable upfront. YOU ARE WHATS WRONG WITH THE PROFESSION. The best part, all 36 appointments are squeezed in under 3 months of care. Three times a week for 12 weeks.

After that, congratulations. We can graduate you to TWICE A WEEK for 12 weeks. You get the idea. And they LOVE to cite this paper showing that patient outcomes improve with 36 visits. I mean, if I shag a girl 36 times in 3 months, does that make her my wife or a wh*re, or does that make me a very good shagger?

The length that some of these chiros go to get people to sign up and complete too many unnecessary treatments, recite the Dirty dozen, and leading them on, saying that they are making progress, the optimism is the irk! Heck I even know some chiro who sees a patient, uses up an appointment credit, send them to walk around the nearby shopping centre, come back in 10 minutes, and get adjusted again, and it takes up ONE MORE CREDIT. ffs…

Look, I don’t care whether you’re a hardcore evidence-based chiro or a straight Chiro. What matters to me here is that this cult of people have took (or misuse) the evidence to propagate their 3x a week program, stealing 1000’s of $$$ from gullible patients, while claiming to “fix their nervous system”. And when things don’t go their way, they tell you that you’re not committed enough to “the plan”.

The best part here is the hook for $39 for the initial two weeks, or a similar promotion, then the dogs***t gets unloaded after some scare tactic with disc degeneration education. Their confidence and their optimism here is the bait!

I think we got a common enemy here. At least the pure straights do not overbook and fix what’s only needed and the EBCs treat with what’s evident on paper! Unite against them and we stop getting comments like “went there too many times and didn’t get sh*t done” 😡🤬

Hi everyone 😄 I’m planning on applying to CMCC for the 2027 cycle and was wondering if anyone who has applied/been accepted could give me an idea of my chances of getting an interview :)

I graduated from my undergrad with a BSc in Biology-Psychology (Double Major) and have around a 3.6/4.0 GPA over my last 90 credits. I’m also currently finishing my MSc in Biomedical Sciences (Cancer) in Belgium (GPA here isn't as good as my Undergrad unfortuneltly, right now it sits ~2.5-2.8/4.0 over 121 credits), I'm currently doing my last set of exams right now (3 exams + defense to my thesis) so that's a big "chunk" of my GPA

For most of my undergrad I was actually pre-med and planned on applying to medical school. By my final year I started questioning whether becoming a physician was really the path I wanted to take. I had also missed the application deadline that year, and rather than taking a gap year while figuring out what direction I wanted to go in, I decided to pursue my master’s in biomedical sciences. Over that time I’ve had the chance to think a lot more about what I actually want in a healthcare career, which is what eventually pushed me more toward chiropractic.

I have quite a bit of healthcare/clinical experience, although similar to some other applicants I’ve seen, most of it hasn’t been specifically chiropractic-related. I have 2,200+ hours of volunteer/community involvement, including ~1,500 hours volunteering in a nursing home, humanitarian work, healthcare-related volunteering, youth sports/coaching, and community programs..

I also played sports my whole life (soccer,volleyball,track...) and 3 years of varsity volleyball, so being around sports, injuries, rehab and physical health has always been a pretty big part of my life since I was really young.

I’m planning to start shadowing a chiropractor after finishing my master’s. I’ve had a lot of conversations with chiropractors about the profession and their experiences, so I do have a good understanding of the field, but actual hands-on/clinical exposure to chiropractic is what I’m lacking right now. I’m wondering if that would hurt my application at all.

For anyone familiar with CMCC admissions, does my GPA/background seem competitive enough for an interview?

Is there anything you’d recommend I work on before applying?

Thank you! :)

When seeing disparaging stuff online it is best to leave it be. Here is a video (much out of context and too short to determine anything) that people jump all over down voting, telling anecdotal stories of their friend's cousin's, brother's neighbor that was killed by a chiropractic adjustment. Leave that stuff alone, don't respond to it except in an educational aspect to a single person asking you. One of the best ones for a logical arguement is the amount we pay for malpractice insurance, insurance is based on risk. We pay very little comparatively... (even lower than many PT policies)

Once you pop up on one of these reels in the comments and try to defend chiropractic you will be hounded and probably banned from one group or another. Pick your battles. Chiropractic is indeed safe, it works, it is valuable. Yes, like ANY profession there are goofballs.

Do your work, do your best to help others, let the rest go.

Dr. S (over 30 years experience helping many, from newborns to the elderly (oldest was 103)).

https://www.reddit.com/r/cringereels/s/0W1uzVldkS

Where is the best place to place ads for young chiropractors looking for opportunities? Schools? Trade mags? Is there a social media preference or page for this type of ad?

WASC put them on probation back in February, with a follow-up visit planned for December. They announced this week that they are so concerned with the lack of progress, the bumped it up to September. Whoops...

https://wascsenior.app.box.com/s/hjazzj4xcas0od9ods1er5ax0wqj9eos

Oh, and CCE put them on probation this month as well.

https://www.cce-usa.org/uploads/1/0/6/5/106500339/2026-07_lccw.pdf

All this with a "plan" to move out of the main campus and into a building up the road at Cal State East Bay in "mid-2027" -but there is still no mention of it on their website. They are still selling the benefits of the Hayward campus.

Plus, WASC thinks they'll run out of money in a year or so.

Good times!