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Osteopaths move, stretch and massage their clients' muscles and joints with the aim of improving their health and wellbeing.
You could work: in your own business; managing your own hours
You’ll help your client develop muscles, bones, ligaments, nerves and joints that work well together. As part of your day-to-day duties, you may:
You could work in an NHS or private hospital, in a therapy clinic, at a client's home or from home.
You can get into this job through:
To work as an osteopath, you need to complete a degree or postgraduate master's degree approved by the General Osteopathic Council.
Courses are usually full-time for 4 years, although there may be options for part-time study over 5 years.
You'll usually need:
You'll find it helpful to get some paid or voluntary experience with an osteopath before you apply for a course.
You could contact the voluntary services co-ordinator at your local NHS trust for further advice.
If you're already medically qualified, for example as a doctor or physiotherapist, you may be able to take a shortened postgraduate training programme.
You'll need to:
When applying for courses and jobs, you'll be expected to have an understanding of how NHS values apply in your work.
You can find out more about becoming an osteopath from the General Osteopathic Council and Health Careers.
With experience you could set up your your own osteopathy practice.
You could also take further training and move into an academic career teaching osteopathy students.
You could also move into osteopathic research.