Chiropractic credentials’ impact on career trajectory and the advancement of the profession 

Professional credentials represent validated qualifications and achievements that demonstrate a practitioner’s training, competency and authority within a given discipline.

In healthcare, they serve as critical signals of expertise, fostering trust among patients, referral sources, insurers, regulators and the broader public. For doctors of chiropractic, the “DC” designation is foundational; however, it should be viewed as the starting point, not the culmination of professional development. Postgraduate coursework, teaching appointments and peer-reviewed publications are equally important components of a practitioner’s credentialed profile.

In recent years, a growing narrative has sought to diminish the importance of advanced credentials. Frequently, these perspectives originate from individuals promoting products, services or technologies that lack rigorous academic or clinical validation. While such approaches may generate short-term referral volume, they often fail to support sustainable professional growth.

The consequence is a recurring pattern: initial referrals are not followed by continued collaboration, and you become a “one-and-done.” Referral sources, whether attorneys, physicians or insurers, quickly identify gaps in clinical knowledge, diagnostic accuracy or documentation quality. This not only limits the individual practitioner’s opportunities but also contributes to a broader erosion of confidence in the chiropractic profession as a whole.

This dynamic has persisted for decades and is reflected in the profession’s relatively flat utilization rates. In contrast, sectors of healthcare experiencing significant growth, particularly corporate medicine, which is also hiring chiropractors, consistently prioritize hiring practitioners with advanced, verifiable credentials. These organizations recognize higher levels of education and specialization translate into improved clinical outcomes, stronger interdisciplinary relationships and increased institutional credibility.

Advanced credentials within chiropractic are increasingly aligned with this model. In the last few years, I have made the commitment and earned my fellow in primary spine care (FPSC) through the Academy of Chiropractic. That is a level of education recognized by all in healthcare, whose courses are co-credentialed through chiropractic and medical academia.

This level of credentials and the resulting knowledge I have gained has opened previously unimaginable doors and exemplifies a level of training widely recognized across healthcare disciplines. Most other practitioners who pursue such education often report on expanded referral networks.

Through advanced credentialing, my training has given me diagnostic skills far beyond my chiropractic school training. In looking back at the last few years, I have been able to properly diagnose and subsequently refer my patients with the following, otherwise unknown to them, conditions:

• Multiple myeloma
• Osteosarcoma
• Carotid and vertebral artery occlusion
• Multiple sclerosis
• Myelopathy
• Uterine cancer
• Ependymoma

If I had missed these diagnoses, would I have been another one of those cases of a chiropractor being sued over a missed diagnosis? Thankfully for my patients and those patients of other academically trained chiropractors, a delay in necessary care was avoided.

Orthopedic extremity surgeons now refer to me for shoulder problems, knowing there is a high probability of a cervical problem. They comment that I am the best diagnostician they have ever worked with. A well-renowned local neurosurgeon told me he was intimidated by my knowledge of MRI interpretation.

Eight different times, the courts were ready to throw me out as nothing but a chiropractor but with these credentials, I am confirmed to testify 100% of the time, which has saved my personal injury career. A friend, who is a primary care provider now, based on these credentials, refers approximately 35 cases to chiropractic, whereas previously they all went to physical therapy or orthopedic surgery for drugs and surgery. Lawyers now bypass medical specialists and start care with me as their first referral because of my credentials and expertise. The above is only the tip of the iceberg.

Without credentials, I would have a managed-care and cash-practice mix, often fighting for medically necessary treatment visits and fearful of the economy. The above scenario has played out with most of my colleagues with similar credentials. Increasing utilization is no longer an issue, and chiropractic’s reputation has skyrocketed in the healthcare and legal communities as a result.

Call to action

The profession must critically evaluate narratives that dismiss the importance of formal education and credentialing. Practitioners should be cautious of messaging that prioritizes short-term financial gain over long-term professional credibility. Instead, emphasis should be placed on structured postgraduate education, recognized credentials throughout healthcare and ongoing scholarly engagement.

Just as in medicine, after your basic degree, they have residencies and fellowship programs to specialize in their discipline. Chiropractic now has the same, and unless we, as a profession, advance our education through formal training and the recognizable designations that come with it, we are doomed to experience more of the same, flat utilization as a profession.

For chiropractic to achieve sustained growth and broader integration within healthcare, a collective commitment to higher standards is essential. Elevating credentials is not merely an individual career strategy; it is a professional imperative.

Don Capoferri, DC, FSBT, FPSC, is a fellow in spinal biomechanics and trauma and primary spine care and serves as an adjunct postdoctoral professor at Cleveland University–Kansas City, Chiropractic and Health Sciences. He is a clinical instructor at the graduate level for The State University of New York at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Department of Continuing Medical Education. He also lectures extensively to the profession on spinal biomechanical engineering and triaging the injured. With more than 44 years of clinical experience, Capoferri actively practices in Peachtree Corners, Georgia. He can be reached at drcapoferri@gmail.com.