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For all you LMT's who work in a Chiropractic office!
Hello! :)
I am currently working at a Chiropractic office.. I am an employee! my pay-check is maybe $450 every two weeks. I make $13 a 1/2 hour session. But I don't get a whole lot of hours. I am still paying for school loans..and have a house and am looking to start a family. So lately I have been thinking about what I bring to the table and its not much! I need to step up and do something about it! Usually my hours are: Mon 2-6 Tues 2-6 Wed 9/12- 2/6 and Fri 9-12 / 2-6. But of course there are slow days or days that kind of just dwindle down do to people who cancel or no show. I really want to have more hours.. but I'm thinking that would mean I need to step up and do some CEU's or look into some kind of billing and coding program.. I was wondering if there are people out there that are or have been in my situation. Are there any of you who work at the Chiropractors do extras beside massage? Did you take a course in coding and billing to get extra hours? I want to talk to my boss about this and see what the best route would be for me to take. I would love some advice from you who work in Chiropractic offices. I need to weigh my options.. and know are there any other options I am over looking? Are there other modalities I can do to help add to the practice? Many questions! :)
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions and give me advice.. its much appreciated.. my brain hurts from thinking far to much on this topic!
Views: 873
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Haldas on
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Hi Jessica! I too work @ a chiro office. When I first started 2yrs ago I was lucky if I got 12hrs/wk so I also worked at a spa to supplement my income (tips are great gas $). So there are a few factors to consider for income. How busy is the office + does the Dr. Speak well of you + the benefits of massage paired w/ chiro care? It will take time to build up a client base as w/ any massage business and the advantage of a chiro office is people are there for medical reasons, usually regulary. And on the subject of CEU's never stop learning, take advantage of as many classes as you can (when the $ is available of course)!
Best of luck!
Jennifer
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Permalink Reply by Gordon J. Wallis on
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Sounds like you are saying that the office is not busy enough, or you aren't good enough to be busy...? You have a license right? Thats good enough..Everybody gets better at what they do the longer they do it. Are you working with experienced therapists that clients are requesting?..What does the patient pay for the massages you give? And is the office busy? I work in a spa, and a couple of the therapists I work with also work in chiropractic offices...And I have been in the profession long enough to know that you dont have to be uhm, very good, in order to be busy. From what Ive read..It sounds like the office is not that busy? If thats the case, see if you can work part time in a nice hotel or day spa...Like some of the therapists I work with.
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Hey Jennifer! The office is considerably busy.. but the massage aspect it really depends on what they have for insurance..not all insurances cover massage.. but I can get up to 10 people a day.. but sometimes I may only have 2 or 4.... I think our office could use a little more of a push in the educating on massage. We have a new lady at the front desk.. and I have actually been busier since shes been there! She is really good at getting people booked in and keeping track of everything. I actually came across some research about Kinesio Taping this afternoon. It sounds like a great treatment to add to the office! I think my dream would be 30 hours a week in Massage and maybe 10-15 more doing the Kinesio Taping. Does your office do the taping?
Jennifer Haldas said:Hi Jessica! I too work @ a chiro office. When I first started 2yrs ago I was lucky if I got 12hrs/wk so I also worked at a spa to supplement my income (tips are great gas $). So there are a few factors to consider for income. How busy is the office + does the Dr. Speak well of you + the benefits of massage paired w/ chiro care? It will take time to build up a client base as w/ any massage business and the advantage of a chiro office is people are there for medical reasons, usually regulary. And on the subject of CEU's never stop learning, take advantage of as many classes as you can (when the $ is available of course)!
Best of luck!
Jennifer
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Permalink Reply by Jody C. Hutchinson on
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Jessica,
I worked in a chiro office for 14 years and as a male therapist, I was very busy. Here are some pointers:
get the DC and all the staff on your table, they are the sales people when you are working.
tell the DC you need more people, talk about some kind of plan, with goals, etc.
remind the DC that you are making them $$ and helping keep the patients in compliance with their care.
consider a cash price for those without insurance.
ask if you can see your clients in the office during slow times, nights or weekends.
Good luck
jh
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Thanks Jody! I agree we really need to bring up our numbers by offering Massage for those without insurance. I'll have to push forward and hopefully we can figure something out. I also want to learn Kinesio Taping I think it would be a nice extra treatment to have.. Did your office do taping? I want to talk to someone who has done it and get some information on it!
Jody C. Hutchinson said:Jessica,
I worked in a chiro office for 14 years and as a male therapist, I was very busy. Here are some pointers:
get the DC and all the staff on your table, they are the sales people when you are working.
tell the DC you need more people, talk about some kind of plan, with goals, etc.
remind the DC that you are making them $$ and helping keep the patients in compliance with their care.
consider a cash price for those without insurance.
ask if you can see your clients in the office during slow times, nights or weekends.
Good luck
jh
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Hello Jody. Your reply caught my attention because your tips will surely help me. Thanks for this one.
Jody C. Hutchinson said:Jessica,
I worked in a chiro office for 14 years and as a male therapist, I was very busy. Here are some pointers:
get the DC and all the staff on your table, they are the sales people when you are working.
tell the DC you need more people, talk about some kind of plan, with goals, etc.
remind the DC that you are making them $$ and helping keep the patients in compliance with their care.
consider a cash price for those without insurance.
ask if you can see your clients in the office during slow times, nights or weekends.
Good luck
jh
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Jessica,
Glad I can be helpful. I do a little KT applications. I learned them from uTube videos and by practicing. I usually don't charge people as the tape costs about $2-3 per application and sometimes it just falls right off. It is a good product and it does work well. Just make sure you really clean off the skin or it won't stick.
Cheers,
jh
Jessica Belanger said:Thanks Jody! I agree we really need to bring up our numbers by offering Massage for those without insurance. I'll have to push forward and hopefully we can figure something out. I also want to learn Kinesio Taping I think it would be a nice extra treatment to have.. Did your office do taping? I want to talk to someone who has done it and get some information on it!
Jody C. Hutchinson said:Jessica,
I worked in a chiro office for 14 years and as a male therapist, I was very busy. Here are some pointers:
get the DC and all the staff on your table, they are the sales people when you are working.
tell the DC you need more people, talk about some kind of plan, with goals, etc.
remind the DC that you are making them $$ and helping keep the patients in compliance with their care.
consider a cash price for those without insurance.
ask if you can see your clients in the office during slow times, nights or weekends.
Good luck
jh
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Thanks! I am looking into doing a hands on seminar for the CEU credits! We would have to charge for the Kinesio Taping at the office though, since I'm an employee. I know a lot of Chiro offices in my area that do it.. and make good money. But the tape I see on the official site is pretty pricey!
Jody C. Hutchinson said:Jessica,
Glad I can be helpful. I do a little KT applications. I learned them from uTube videos and by practicing. I usually don't charge people as the tape costs about $2-3 per application and sometimes it just falls right off. It is a good product and it does work well. Just make sure you really clean off the skin or it won't stick.
Cheers,
jh
Jessica Belanger said:Thanks Jody! I agree we really need to bring up our numbers by offering Massage for those without insurance. I'll have to push forward and hopefully we can figure something out. I also want to learn Kinesio Taping I think it would be a nice extra treatment to have.. Did your office do taping? I want to talk to someone who has done it and get some information on it!
Jody C. Hutchinson said:Jessica,
I worked in a chiro office for 14 years and as a male therapist, I was very busy. Here are some pointers:
get the DC and all the staff on your table, they are the sales people when you are working.
tell the DC you need more people, talk about some kind of plan, with goals, etc.
remind the DC that you are making them $$ and helping keep the patients in compliance with their care.
consider a cash price for those without insurance.
ask if you can see your clients in the office during slow times, nights or weekends.
Good luck
jh
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Permalink Reply by Stephanie Garner, LMT on
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Hi Jessica,
I've been working at a chiropractors office for about a yr and half and when I first started her the massage side of things was very slow. The therapist who was here before me didn't do any marketing and didn't have many skills to bring to the table. I started here in June and by the end of July I had taken my first CE class to get certified in Infant Massage. I've taught infant massage classes her at the clinic after hours to help build up that portion of business. I've also went on to become Pregnancy massage certified and has proven to be very beneficial. I work with 3 chiropractors and one of which is currently 7 months pregnant. She wanted me to become certified in pregnancy massage so I could work on her and also other patients who are pregnant. Since this was her idea the office paid for me to take the class. They also pay for any marketing I want to do. I've sent out postcards, we put ads in the local papers and have done TV commercials. I recently went through all of the old massage files and called patients who haven't been in for the past 6 months to year. It shows them that you are interested in their care and well-being and also puts it back in their mind that they should come in for a massage soon. Do you get paid hourly or on a per patient basis? I work by appointment only so I'm only at the office if someone is scheduled. I get 50% of whatever the patient is billed. All of my sessions are a minimum 30 mins so I make no less than $15/30 min. We bill most of our patients through insurance which pays more then cash paying patients or those who don't have insurance. I can walk away with only having one patient for the day and still make $96/hr but that is of course if they are billed through insurance. Also try opening up your availability if possible. My availability is Monday 9a-7p, Weds 9a-6p, Thurs 8a-5p and Fri 8a-6p (we close from 12p-2p for lunch everyday). When I started I was working Monday thru Sat. I built the practice up from only having maybe 5 patients a week to having over 100 in a month. I'm currently going back to school to get my Bachelors degree in Alternative Medicine so I can bring that knowledge to my patients also and the doctors here all love the fact that I'm doing so. My ultimate goal is to get my Master's in Acupuncture and they can't wait for that day to come, neither can I :)
Never stop learning and take as many CE's as you can and talk to the doctor to see if the office will be willing to help cover costs. I'm a single mom too so I know how hard it is to try and make ends meet.
Good luck!
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Thanks Stephanie!! :) I have always been interested in Pregnancy & Infant Massage..I had it as a Module in school...Wondering if I should take it as a CEU as well, if there is more to it than what I learned possibly? Our front desk lady does all the re-calls and she is really good at getting people in. But I should look into doing more marketing in other ways.. that's for sure! I work by appointment only as well, and I only get paid per massage..I get $13/per 30 min session as of right now. I graduated school in 2010, and prior to working in a spa for like 5 months (hated it crappy pay) This is my first job in the Health field. sometimes I help do other things around the office if needed and he will pay me for that as well. What State are you practicing in? I am in Maine. I'm wondering if the Insurance companies are different. we never get much from the insurance companies.. so far I think only Cigna is covering massage, $25 co-pay for 30 min massage and Adjustment! I had thought about acupuncture before but I'm having a hard time figuring out anything in Maine. Not many options, don't know where to start!!
Stephanie Garner said:Hi Jessica,
I've been working at a chiropractors office for about a yr and half and when I first started her the massage side of things was very slow. The therapist who was here before me didn't do any marketing and didn't have many skills to bring to the table. I started here in June and by the end of July I had taken my first CE class to get certified in Infant Massage. I've taught infant massage classes her at the clinic after hours to help build up that portion of business. I've also went on to become Pregnancy massage certified and has proven to be very beneficial. I work with 3 chiropractors and one of which is currently 7 months pregnant. She wanted me to become certified in pregnancy massage so I could work on her and also other patients who are pregnant. Since this was her idea the office paid for me to take the class. They also pay for any marketing I want to do. I've sent out postcards, we put ads in the local papers and have done TV commercials. I recently went through all of the old massage files and called patients who haven't been in for the past 6 months to year. It shows them that you are interested in their care and well-being and also puts it back in their mind that they should come in for a massage soon. Do you get paid hourly or on a per patient basis? I work by appointment only so I'm only at the office if someone is scheduled. I get 50% of whatever the patient is billed. All of my sessions are a minimum 30 mins so I make no less than $15/30 min. We bill most of our patients through insurance which pays more then cash paying patients or those who don't have insurance. I can walk away with only having one patient for the day and still make $96/hr but that is of course if they are billed through insurance. Also try opening up your availability if possible. My availability is Monday 9a-7p, Weds 9a-6p, Thurs 8a-5p and Fri 8a-6p (we close from 12p-2p for lunch everyday). When I started I was working Monday thru Sat. I built the practice up from only having maybe 5 patients a week to having over 100 in a month. I'm currently going back to school to get my Bachelors degree in Alternative Medicine so I can bring that knowledge to my patients also and the doctors here all love the fact that I'm doing so. My ultimate goal is to get my Master's in Acupuncture and they can't wait for that day to come, neither can I :)
Never stop learning and take as many CE's as you can and talk to the doctor to see if the office will be willing to help cover costs. I'm a single mom too so I know how hard it is to try and make ends meet.
Good luck!
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As for the pregnancy massage aspect the class I took to get officially certified was the same thing that I learned in school also. It was the same way with my Infant massage class. What my instructors taught me in school was the same thing we covered in the class. I am in Illinois. What the office I work for has started doing is checking to see if the different insurance companies will cover massage. We've found that there are companies who will cover it and it actually will give the patient a discounted rate if they get an adjustment and massage in the same visit. I still get my normal rate but the patient gets the discount. As for schools in your area, I did a search through Natural Healers to find out what was in my area and which ones offered what I was looking for. Given that for my Bachelors in Alternative Medicine I'm going through Everglades University who is based in Florida and I will have to take my courses online. There were schools in the Chicago area that offer the degree but they don't have the option for online and I can't afford or have the time for a 2 hr commute to school. When I get ready to go for my Master's I will be going to Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in Chicago so I'll have to make the time and I guess I better get to saving $ for the commute!
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Oh, really? I wonder whats the point in taking it then.. I myself would find it a little redundant to take that class then. I already paid to learn it once... and have my books. I'm thinking insurance will be different per State..because most of the companies our patients have do not cover Massage Therapy. Some will only cover it if the Dr. does it! *That makes no sense to me!!* But a few do cover and I think Anthem does a discount. Yeah I actually just looked for Oriental Medicine.. looks like Mass. is the closest... :( That's a 4 hour drive for me. So it probably won't happen. I love Maine.. but the opportunities here are far and few between unfortunately. That's why I didn't really get into Pregnancy Massage.. I called a few different hospitals..and there are very few birth clinics. I would always call and leave a message and they never returned any of my calls. My Teacher even helped me come up with a good voicemail message to leave so I could sound professional and get my point across.. because I am not always so good on the phone. Then while I worked at the Spa for that 5 months or so, I actually came across a client who had worked at a hospital doing Pregnancy Massage. But she was no longer doing it...not enough hours ect... to sum it up..she said "Maine-Care isn't going to cover massage!" A lot of pregnant women in Maine are on it....but I can see why. I can't even get benefits.. I don't work enough hours! Even if I did, I still couldn't.. I'm paying $200 a month in school loans.. plus my house mortgage ect... its just too much some days. I should of waited.. I went to school 3 months Before my 24th Birthday.. under the age of 24. they count you under your parents income..well in Maine they do anyways. So that really kind of screwed me over.. since my parents are not paying for any of it. I think I'll do a bit more research and see if maybe we are over looking some insurance companies.. but you said you can get 96 an hour from the insurance company?
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