Specialist chiropractor to physiotherapist
A specialist chiropractor already meets 66% of what the physiotherapist role asks for. The move turns on 29 required skills not yet in the profile.
56.2/ 100
1 How much of what a physiotherapist is expected to do is already part of a specialist 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 physiotherapist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A physiotherapist role treats 61 of its required skills as things a specialist chiropractor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- adhere to health well-being and safety
- advise on healthcare users' informed consent
- advocate health
- apply context specific clinical competences
- apply organisational techniques
What stands in the way is 29 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 63 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A physiotherapist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a specialist chiropractor background worth leading with.
- already held measure effectiveness of the service provided information skills
- already held obstetrics and gynaecology health and welfare
- already held prescribe healthcare products assisting and caring
- already held advocate health communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held develop plans related to client discharge management skills
- already held provide learning support in healthcare management skills
All 63 carried skills, including the 61 the physiotherapist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 35 missing skills fall into 8 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 orthopaedic manual physiotherapy required
- still to learn emergency surgery required
- still to learn intensive care medicine required
- still to learn respiratory therapy required
- still to learn surgery required
- still to learn kinetics required
- still to learn medical terminology required
- still to learn psychiatry required
- optional, not held hydrotherapy optional
- optional, not held sport and exercise medicine optional
- still to learn adjust physiotherapy interventions required
- still to learn correct potentially harmful movements required
- still to learn provide information on the effects of physiotherapy required
- still to learn provide stroke rehabilitation services required
- still to learn triage clients for physiotherapy required
- still to learn adhere to organisational guidelines required
- still to learn provide self management support required
- optional, not held apply acupuncture optional
- optional, not held prescribe medication optional
- optional, not held apply massage therapy optional
- still to learn develop physiotherapy services required
- still to learn develop strategic plans for physiotherapy services required
- still to learn manage physiotherapy staff required
- still to learn supervise physiotherapist assistants required
- still to learn manage a healthcare unit budget required
- still to learn supervise physiotherapy students required
- optional, not held analyse personal fitness information optional
- still to learn conduct physiotherapy assessment required
- still to learn engage in physiotherapy research required
- still to learn provide physiotherapy diagnosis required
- still to learn assess physical conditions of clients required
- still to learn listen actively required
- still to learn physics required
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a physiotherapist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 orthopaedic manual physiotherapy study this
- 02 adjust physiotherapy interventions practise this
- 03 conduct physiotherapy assessment 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 63 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held adhere to health well-being and safety skill
- already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- already held advocate health skill
- already held apply context specific clinical competences skill
- already held apply organisational techniques skill
- already held biomechanics knowledge
- already held collect healthcare user's general data skill
- already held communicate in healthcare skill
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- already held conduct health related research skill
- already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
- already held contribute to quality physiotherapy services skill
- already held contribute to the rehabilitation process skill
- already held create solutions to problems skill
- already held deal with emergency care situations skill
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- already held develop plans related to client discharge skill
- already held develop plans related to the transfer of care skill
- already held develop therapeutic relationships skill
- already held educate on the prevention of illness skill
- already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
- already held employ cognitive behaviour treatment techniques skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held first aid knowledge
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held formulate a treatment plan skill
- already held general medicine knowledge
- already held geriatrics knowledge
- already held human anatomy knowledge
- already held human physiology knowledge
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held interpret medical results skill
- already held manage clinical risk skill
- already held manage healthcare staff knowledge
- already held manage healthcare users' data skill
- already held measure effectiveness of the service provided skill
- already held medical informatics knowledge
- already held neurology knowledge
- already held obstetrics and gynaecology knowledge
- already held orthopaedics knowledge
- already held paediatrics knowledge
- already held pharmacology knowledge
- already held prescribe healthcare products skill
- already held promote health and safety policies in health services skill
- already held promote inclusion skill
- already held provide health education skill
- already held provide learning support in healthcare skill
- already held provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health skill
- already held psychology knowledge
- already held record healthcare users' progress related to treatment skill
- already held refer healthcare users skill
- already held rehabilitation knowledge
- already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
- already held therapeutic massage knowledge
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
- already held work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held use foreign languages for health-related research skill
- already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn sociology required
- still to learn maintain physiotherapy equipment required
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held analyse personal fitness information optional
- optional, not held apply acupuncture optional
- optional, not held hydrotherapy optional
- optional, not held prescribe medication optional
- optional, not held apply massage therapy optional
- optional, not held sport and exercise medicine optional
16 held skills the physiotherapist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply clinical chiropractic competencies in sport skill
- not needed by the target role conduct chiropractic examination skill
- not needed by the target role develop chiropractic services skill
- not needed by the target role engage in chiropractic research skill
- not needed by the target role manage chiropractic staff skill
- not needed by the target role manage personal professional development skill
- not needed by the target role manage the neuropsychiatric sequelae of stroke skill
- not needed by the target role microbiology-bacteriology knowledge
- not needed by the target role neuroanatomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide chiropractic diagnosis skill
- not needed by the target role provide chiropractic maternal healthcare skill
- not needed by the target role provide chiropractic paediatric healthcare skill
- not needed by the target role provide clinical chiropractic neurology skill
- not needed by the target role provide information on chiropractic treatment outcomes skill
- not needed by the target role supervise chiropractic students skill
- not needed by the target role triage clients skill
12 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 orthopaedic manual physiotherapy required
- still to learn emergency surgery required
- still to learn intensive care medicine required
- still to learn respiratory therapy required
- still to learn surgery required
- still to learn kinetics required
- still to learn medical terminology required
- still to learn physics required
- still to learn psychiatry required
- still to learn sociology required
- optional, not held hydrotherapy optional
- optional, not held sport and exercise medicine optional
Common questions about this move
Can a specialist chiropractor become a physiotherapist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A specialist chiropractor already covers 66% of what a physiotherapist is expected to do: 63 skills carry over, 61 of which the physiotherapist role treats as required.
What skills does a specialist chiropractor need to become a physiotherapist?
29 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by health and welfare. The single most important is orthopaedic manual physiotherapy.
How hard is the move from specialist chiropractor to physiotherapist?
Its learning distance is 56.2 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.