Chiropractor to osteopath
A chiropractor already meets 57% of what the osteopath role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
53.4/ 100
1 How much of what an osteopath is expected to do is already part of a chiropractor’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the osteopath role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An osteopath role treats 15 of its required skills as things a chiropractor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply person-centred care
- comply with legislation related to health care
- contribute to the rehabilitation process
- develop therapeutic relationships
- diagnose musculoskeletal conditions
- empathise with the healthcare user
What stands in the way is 11 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 27 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An osteopath role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a chiropractor background worth leading with.
- already held diagnose musculoskeletal conditions information skills
- already held prescribe treatment for musculoskeletal injuries assisting and caring
- already held conduct physical examinations information skills
- already held maintain treatment records information skills
- already held endocrinology health and welfare
- already held musculoskeletal anatomy health and welfare
All 27 carried skills, including the 15 the osteopath role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 21 missing skills fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn follow-up on healthcare users' treatment required
- still to learn work in multidisciplinary health teams required
- still to learn listen actively required
- still to learn develop osteopathic treatment plans required
- still to learn apply deep tissue massage required
- optional, not held manage trauma through surgical means optional
- optional, not held refer healthcare users optional
- still to learn conduct gross examination of tissues required
- still to learn provide osteopathic diagnosis required
- still to learn osteopathy required
- optional, not held dietetics optional
- optional, not held first aid optional
- optional, not held general medicine optional
- still to learn health care occupation-specific ethics required
- still to learn health care legislation required
5 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an osteopath role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 conduct gross examination of tissues practise this
- 02 develop osteopathic treatment plans practise this
- 03 provide osteopathic diagnosis practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 27 skills that carry over
- already held apply person-centred care skill
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held contribute to the rehabilitation process skill
- already held develop therapeutic relationships skill
- already held diagnose musculoskeletal conditions skill
- already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held maintain treatment records skill
- already held monitor patients' progress related to treatment skill
- already held musculoskeletal anatomy knowledge
- already held prescribe treatment for musculoskeletal injuries skill
- already held provide health education skill
- already held record healthcare users' progress related to treatment skill
- already held therapeutic massage knowledge
- already held undertake healthcare examination skill
- already held advise on healthy lifestyles skill
- already held biomechanics knowledge
- already held collect healthcare user's general data skill
- already held conduct physical examinations skill
- already held endocrinology knowledge
- already held human anatomy knowledge
- already held human physiology knowledge
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held kinetics knowledge
- already held neurology knowledge
- already held obtain healthcare user's medical status information skill
- already held orthopaedics knowledge
The 5 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held create a diet plan optional
- optional, not held promote exercise programmes optional
- optional, not held food science optional
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
- optional, not held take and analyse blood pressure optional
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held take and analyse blood pressure optional
- optional, not held create a diet plan optional
- optional, not held dietetics optional
- optional, not held food science optional
- optional, not held manage trauma through surgical means optional
- optional, not held promote exercise programmes optional
- optional, not held refer healthcare users optional
- optional, not held first aid optional
- optional, not held general medicine optional
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
81 held skills the osteopath role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adhere to organisational code of ethics skill
- not needed by the target role advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- not needed by the target role advise on pregnancy skill
- not needed by the target role advise on rehabilitation exercises skill
- not needed by the target role advocate health skill
- not needed by the target role analyse X-ray imagery skill
- not needed by the target role apply acupuncture skill
- not needed by the target role apply clinical chiropractic competencies in sport skill
- not needed by the target role apply context specific clinical competences skill
- not needed by the target role apply massage therapy skill
- not needed by the target role apply specific manual chiropractic techniques skill
- not needed by the target role apply supports for spinal adjustment skill
- not needed by the target role assess chiropractic intervention skill
- not needed by the target role assist patients with rehabilitation skill
- not needed by the target role chiropody knowledge
- not needed by the target role chiropractic terminology knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate in healthcare skill
- not needed by the target role conduct chiropractic examination skill
- not needed by the target role conduct health related research skill
- not needed by the target role conduct neurological examination skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to quality physiotherapy services skill
- not needed by the target role develop chiropractic services skill
- not needed by the target role develop chiropractic treatment plans skill
- not needed by the target role develop plans related to client discharge skill
- not needed by the target role develop plans related to the transfer of care skill
- not needed by the target role educate on preventing injuries skill
- not needed by the target role educate on the prevention of illness skill
- not needed by the target role employ cognitive behaviour treatment techniques skill
- not needed by the target role exercise physiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow-up after patients' surgery skill
- not needed by the target role formulate a treatment plan skill
- not needed by the target role geriatrics knowledge
- not needed by the target role interpret electroencephalograms skill
- not needed by the target role interpret evoked potentials records skill
- not needed by the target role interpret findings from medical examinations skill
- not needed by the target role interpret medical images skill
- not needed by the target role interpret medical results skill
- not needed by the target role kinesiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain chiropractic equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage acute pain skill
41 further entries not listed here
9 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn osteopathy required
- still to learn health care legislation required
- still to learn health care occupation-specific ethics required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held dietetics optional
- optional, not held food science optional
- optional, not held first aid optional
- optional, not held general medicine optional
- optional, not held pharmacology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a chiropractor become an osteopath?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A chiropractor already covers 57% of what an osteopath is expected to do: 27 skills carry over, 15 of which the osteopath role treats as required.
What skills does a chiropractor need to become an osteopath?
11 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is conduct gross examination of tissues.
How hard is the move from chiropractor to osteopath?
Its learning distance is 53.4 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.