My name is Darren Scraper; I'm a chiropractor. I've been a chiropractor for five and a half years. A chiropractor treats bio-mechanical problems. We concentrate on the neuro-musculo-skeletal system, which is primarily the spine and other joints in the body (the related muscles and tissues).



[Decision To Enter This Particular Occupation:]

I decided to be a chiropractor because of my long time interest in the human body, my involvement in athletics and the injuries and treatments that I had.

[Type Of Education:]

My education consists of four years of university. I have a Bachelor of Science degree on to the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, which is a four-year diploma. The requirements currently are a minimum of three years university and then on to the college.

[Personal Characteristics & Attitudes:]

The personal characteristics that I think are helpful to be a chiropractor is you need to:

have good interpersonal skills;
be a good communicator;
be a good listener.

There's a propensity for learning because the educational requirements as well as the continuing education that you go through as you practice.

Patience
Ability to listen
Problem solving

[Teamwork Skills & Positive Attitude:]

Teamwork skills are becoming more important all the time. The management of certain conditions might involve a multi-disciplinary approach, so you might be working with a therapist or a physician. There's teamwork skills involved in the clinic itself. I'm working here with other chiropractors; there's staff members.

A positive attitude is very important. It's picked up by the people you're working with and the people that you're working on. People come to me – typically, they may be in pain. Their injuries can affect a number of facets of their life. A positive attitude can be picked up by the person, by the people you're working on.

[Change In This Particular Occupation:]

The profession is changing all the time in terms of patient management. Times are changing. People are becoming more health conscious. I think their demands on caregivers are increasing.

Since I started here in Saskatchewan, chiropractors became partially de-insured, meaning that there was a charge onto the patient. That came in about three months after I started practicing. So, that served initially as a bit of a disincentive, but it's no longer that way.

The other changes are the multi-disciplinary approach. I think there's more involvement with the medical community - physical therapists, occupational therapists – working together, trying to get to the root of the problems.

[Ongoing Training:]

We have continuing educational requirements set upon us by our professional association. So, there are seminars usually a few times a year and seminars all over the country you can go to. There are different techniques, different skills that can be upgraded or refreshed.

[A typical day for me as I arrive at work:]

I start at 9:00 am in the morning.
I'll have patients booked through the morning and through the afternoon.
There are often breaks in between patients where I'll do some paperwork or make telephone calls.
I do a bit of consulting work on the side, doing independent assessments on patients for insurance companies. So that may take me out of the office a half a day a week.
There are issues to deal with in running a clinic. So there is housekeeping, I guess, ordering paper and tasks like that.
I'll take some report writing home with me.
Sometimes I'll be in on a Sunday if I'm managing a really acute patient.
We do work extended hours, so I'm here in the evening. It's not typically necessarily 9:00 am to 5:00 pm; it can be, but it usually isn't.

[Most Challenging Aspect:]

And there's a number of things that are very challenging that might involve some difficult cases that I'm dealing with or trying to manage. The variety of conditions that we see is varied. The people all have different responses to treatment. You're dealing with a number of personalities in the patients and both in the clinic, and some days that can be difficult.

[Most Satisfying Aspect:]

The most satisfying part of the job is dealing with the people. I meet all sorts of interesting people, inspiring people. I just like what I do.

[One Thing That You Would Change In This Occupation:]

If I could change one thing about the job, I would probably like to have less paperwork to do.

[Advice For Someone Entering This Field Of Work]

I think the advice I would give to somebody wanting to be a chiropractor would be:

spend some time with a chiropractor;
speak to chiropractors and really learn what it's all about;
go back to the educational requirements;
learn what it's like to be in practice;
and what it takes to get started.