Case studies: Chiropractor: Donna

Donna owns and runs three chiropractic clinics in the North West of England. She was one of the youngest students to study for a chiropractic degree in her year group.

When I was six years old, my dad had chiropractic treatment for a neck problem and for some reason I went along to his appointments with him, and it made a huge impact on me. An aspect of chiropractic that I still love now is being able to treat a patient there and then just using your hands. When I saw my dad benefiting from this as a young child, I knew that I wanted to be able to help people like that.

I studied at the Anglo European College of Chiropractic (AECC), which has a great course specifically designed to prepare you for all aspects of chiropractic practice. The chiropractic degree is very specific and totally focused on preparing you for practice. You must complete a chiropractic degree from a General Chiropractic Council (GCC) accredited institution before you can practise. The course covers detailed anatomy, examination and diagnosis skills, as well as numerous manual treatment skills focusing on manipulation, the keystone of chiropractic.

After graduating I began work as an associate chiropractor in Bristol; then after 18 months I bought an existing clinic and now have two more clinics. All chiropractic jobs in the UK are advertised in the Contact magazine, published by the British Chiropractic Association, so it’s easy to see what’s available. Application is usually direct to the clinic and, if they like your CV, this is followed by an interview for the position.

Clinically my role comprises examination, diagnosis and treatment in a one-to-one setting, governed by patient management and communication. My role has developed because I have changed from being an associate to owning and running my own clinics. However, in clinic with patients my role is just the same. When working with people you are constantly learning and developing your skills, which is what keeps the job fresh and enjoyable. 

I very much enjoy working with people, which is essential for anyone thinking of chiropractic as a career. It’s massively rewarding to have patients present in pain and see them through to recovery and back to enjoying their daily lives. It’s good to have a job that has a positive and realistic impact on people’s health and life.

I think that any job is what you make it and the more you put in, the more you get out. The best and worst aspect of chiropractic is that you deal with people. It’s on a one-to-one basis and it’s real. Patients often present in pain, which means they can be scared, emotional, grumpy or confrontational. If you are a people person and good at communication, you’ll thrive at the opportunity to turn this around, but you’ll need to be good at it to enjoy it.

Chiropractic is very varied as a profession and clinics work in different ways. It’s a good idea to visit a few different clinics before graduating so you know how you want to work, because although getting a job is important, being good at it when you get the job is just as important. That only happens when you can be confident and comfortable with the environment in which you are practising.

In the future I would like to become more involved in sports chiropractic, which is something that I’m currently working on.