The latest salary and expense survey from Chiropractic Economics shows a brighter outlook for those interested in an integrative chiropractic medicine career.

The chiropractic field continues to grow (17 percent by 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics) with a trend toward specialization and advanced training in the field. In 2016,Chiropractic Economics reports that there has been an even larger boost in multidisciplinary and integrated practice and that these practices are bringing chiropractors (DCs) greater salaries, higher reimbursement rates and better total compensation.

Over half of the DCs surveyed reported that they operated in a multidisciplinary clinic compared to 29 percent last year. About a quarter responded that they work in an integrated practice–up significantly from 6 percent the previous year.

A multidisciplinary clinic is defined as a practice that staffs at least one other complementary or alternative medicine practitioner. An integrated clinic has both a DC and a medical doctor on staff.

The survey found that chiropractors at integrated practices or multidisciplinary clinics make significantly better total compensation per year. According to the survey, chiropractors at integrated practices make $184,000 compared to $121,900 a DC makes at a solo-clinic while chiropractors at multidisciplinary clinics make $135,900.

This growing shift and the increased total compensation may be due to higher amount in billings these settings see on average. Multidisciplinary clinics reported an average of nearly $100,000 more in billings than solo-DC practices while integrated healthcare practices reported about $290,000 more on average than solo-DC practices.

National University of Health Sciences is one of few schools that help students prepare for this promising future in integrative medicine.  NUHS prides itself on the integrative environment of its classrooms where students from various health programs study side-by-side. While interning at the on-campus Whole Health Center clinic in Lombard, Ill., students learn first-hand how to work collaboratively with professionals from other fields.

In addition to working with other health care practitioners, NUHS students also have the opportunity to earn multiple degrees themselves. NUHS remains one of only two universities that offers degrees in chiropractic, naturopathic medicine, acupuncture, oriental medicine along with certification in massage therapy all on one campus, giving students the unique opportunity to get degrees in multiple programs at once.