Utilizing doctors' attitudes toward staff training to inform a chiropractic technology curriculum

The purpose of this study is to determine attitudes of doctors of chiropractic regarding the importance of staff training in specific skill areas to inform the curriculum management process of a chiropractic technology program.

A survey was distributed to registrants of a chiropractic homecoming event. On a 5-point Likert scale, respondents were asked to rate the degree of importance that staff members be trained in specific skills. Descriptive statistics were derived, and a 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test differences between groups based on years in practice and level of staff training.

Doctors place a high level of importance on oral communication skills and low importance on nutrition and physical examinations. Comparing groups based on years in practice revealed differences in the areas of passive physiotherapies (F = 3.61, p = .015), legal issues/regulations (F = 3.01, p = .032), occupational safety and health regulation (F = 4.27, p = .006), and marketing (F = 2.67, p = .049). Comparing groups based on level of staff training revealed differences in the areas of occupational safety and health regulations (F = 4.56, p = .005) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (F = 4.91, p = .003).

With regard to their assistants, doctors of chiropractic tend to place high importance on office skills requiring effective communication and place less importance on clinical skills such as physical examinations and physiotherapy.