Scope of Practice, Licensure Requirements, and Definitions
Domain 1 tests whether you can place a described act with the right person: a Florida chiropractic physician, a certified chiropractic assistant, or no one licensed under chapter 460, F.S. It also tests the vocabulary - "chiropractic medicine," "chiropractic physician," "department," "board" - that every later item quietly assumes.
A deliberately "nonmedical" definition
Section 460.403 defines chiropractic medicine as a nonmedical approach to health care built on the body's inherent recuperative power and the relationship of the spine and nervous system to health. The practice acts enumerated there are spinal analysis; diagnosis by physical examination and radiography; adjustment and manipulation of the spinal column and other articulations; and the use of physical modalities such as light, heat, cold, electricity, sound, and exercise. Because that list is the outer boundary, a chiropractic physician may not perform surgery or prescribe or administer legend drugs. Diagnosing sits inside the boundary; drugging does not.
Titles and personnel
"Chiropractic physician" is the Florida title. The "department" is the Department of Health, which handles applications, renewals, and investigations; the "board" is the Board of Chiropractic Medicine, which sets professional standards. Chiropractic assistants are certified by the board under s. 460.4165 and work under supervision - the adjustment and the clinical diagnosis stay with the licensee.
Licensure requirements (s. 460.406)
- at least 18 years old and of good moral character;
- graduate of a chiropractic college accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education, or an equivalent the board recognizes;
- pass the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners examinations and the Florida laws-and-rules examination;
- file the application and fees with the department.
Worked example
A patient with a warm, spreading rash asks the doctor to "call in an antibiotic." The chiropractic physician has already diagnosed cellulitis, and diagnosing is within scope. The requested act - prescribing a legend drug - is not on the s. 460.403 list. Correct handling: urgent referral to a physician, clear documentation of the findings and the advice given, and no prescription. The reasoning is not about competence; it is about the statutory list.
Traps
- Believing chiropractors cannot diagnose. They can; they cannot prescribe.
- Treating assistant certification as a junior license: no adjustment, no independent diagnosis.
- Mixing up board and department in "who decides" items.