New Graduate Volunteer Membership Program

Serve and save on your membership fees!

At OCA we want to help you through your professional journey. That’s why we offer new graduates the opportunity to volunteer with the OCA, instead of paying for their membership in their first membership year (August to July) as licensed chiropractors.
If you graduated within the past year or will receive your Ontario license this year, you’re eligible to participate.

Specifically:

★ You must contribute 20 hours of your time to OCA initiatives between this coming September and June of the following year (after submitting your application to this program).
★ If you’re a new grad who joins the OCA during the second half of the membership year (which runs from August 1 to July 31), you’ll receive pro-rated volunteer hours for your assigned role.
★ When you agree to this volunteer commitment, we’ll waive your fees in your first membership year (August to July) as a licensed chiropractor and offer you immediate access to all our membership benefits.

For a full list of benefits, visit the Member Benefits page.

How it works

When you register for your OCA membership, you’ll be asked to choose between a paid or volunteer membership. If you choose the volunteer membership, we’ll contact you within a month for you to select your top picks from a range of available volunteer opportunities.
You will be required to sign a standard volunteer agreement, including a code of conduct for you to follow when participating in volunteering opportunities. We will coordinate training, scheduling and follow-up at an appropriate time for your chosen opportunity.
There’s absolutely no risk to you. You can switch between a paid or volunteer membership once during your first year of OCA membership, if desired. Any volunteer hours completed by the time of your change will be honoured and the amount charged for your paid membership will be adjusted accordingly.

2024/2025 New Graduate Opportunities

Opportunity Location:  Remote
Date Range: September 2024 to June 2025
Volunteer Hours:  20
Opportunity Lead:  Anthony Tabinga
Volunteer Capacity:  12

Opportunity Description

In this role, you will help to shape the OCA’s new early career video series. The entire group of volunteers will participate in brainstorming and prioritizing key topics of interest for early career chiropractors in Ontario. Small groups of volunteers will research and summarize selected topics for new video tutorial supports designed for those just starting out in practice.

Volunteer Responsibilities

  • Participate in brainstorming sessions to identify and prioritize key topics of interest for early career chiropractors
  • Review all available resources relating to the assigned research topic and summarize findings
  • Coordination efforts with your fellow volunteers assigned to the same or related topics

Volunteer Benefits

  • Help inform new OCA supports for early career chiropractors
  • Gain in depth knowledge of important topics for early career chiropractors

Opportunity Location:  Mainly remote
Date Range: September 2024 to May 2025
Volunteer Hours:  20
Opportunity Lead:  Member Programs
Volunteer Capacity:  4-5

Opportunity Description

Every year, the OCA releases the Jumpstart Your Career Guide along with an accompanying webinar to the graduating CMCC students. This guide provides useful OCA resources and advice on the necessary steps to complete once you graduate from a Chiropractic college. The role of this committee is to ensure that the information presented in Jumpstart and the Jumpstart Webinar are accurate, relevant and helpful to our OCA members just starting out. At the end of the volunteer period, the committee members will participate in the rollout strategy of the jumpstart guide, including communications drafting and webinar development.

Volunteer Responsibilities

  • Research and identify knowledge gaps within the current jumpstart guide in order to determine additions or edits
  • Examine and utilize OCA resources in order to develop a comprehensive guide or playbook on what to expect post-graduation
  • Develop a webinar to serve as an engagement event, coinciding with the release of the Jumpstart guide, highlighting any updates, sharing experiences, and programs the OCA offers

Volunteer Benefits

  • Valuable contribution in updating a crucial resource the OCA provides to it’s new-grad members
  • Recognition amongst peers for their efforts – credited in the guide?
  • Engaging with the OCA and its members via the development of the Jumpstart Webinar
  • Networking and collaboration with other committee members

Opportunity Location:  Remote
Date Range: September 2024 to June 2025
Volunteer Hours:  20
Opportunity Lead:  Jonathan Murray
Volunteer Capacity:  Up to 12

Opportunity Description

Knowledge Translation (KT) tools and initiatives play a pivotal role in advancing the chiropractic profession within Ontario for both patients and chiropractors. For chiropractors, KT tools help to bridge the gap between research findings and clinical practice. For patients, these tools bridge the gap between misconceptions or unknowns, and chiropractic practice. By developing and disseminating KT tools, the OCA empowers chiropractors to deliver high-quality care tailored to the unique needs of their patients in Ontario, while also empowering patients to better understand the benefits of chiropractic care.
Volunteers will have the opportunity to initiate, and possibly complete, an identified KT initiative to move the chiropractic profession forward. Initiatives are developed by a team of OCA staff members and consultants according to current profession priorities and needs. Final products of these initiatives may include: an Infographic, an animated video, a lay summary of recent emerging chiropractic research etc. Depending on the initiative, volunteers may not see the final product all the way through. Volunteers will work collaboratively with a KT and communications team at the OCA to provide direction and insight on the selected initiative.

Volunteer Responsibilities

  • Developing a video script to succinctly summarize evidence or information on a relevant chiropractic topic
  • Creating a video to translate knowledge on a relevant chiropractic topic
  • Creating an infographic using lay terms to describe evidence, stats, and information on the selected KT topic
  • Summarizing emerging chiropractic research and discussing its importance and implications

Volunteer Benefits

  • Volunteers will contribute to advancing the chiropractic profession in Ontario by empowering and informing both chiropractors and patients through KT initiatives

Opportunity Location:  Toronto
Date Range: September 2024 to June 2025
Volunteer Hours:  20
Opportunity Lead: Jeremy Civiero
Volunteer Capacity:  5-10

Opportunity Description

Patient Education Content Creator and SME – 20 hours

The creation of patient education resources is a strategy that supports our mission, “To serve our members and the public by advancing the understanding and use of chiropractic care.”
Our goal is to educate the public on a variety of common health care topics, promoting chiropractic knowledge within each topic.
The volunteer will work collaboratively with OCA staff in conceptualizing and creating patient education content including but not limited to video, infographics, and blog articles.
Topic conceptualization: Assist in determining current topics and trends using a combination of patient feedback (if available) and social media research. Propose topics and narratives (e.g. Topic: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – Narrative: Volunteer to discuss carpal tunnel syndrome on-camera in a 60-second video. Define and describe the biomechanics of carpal tunnel using learnings from CMCC, and how a chiropractor would intervene with therapy, treatment or advice).
Video: Appear in and/or narrate videos to provide descriptions and demonstrations relating to co-developed topics and narratives (example above).
Infographics: Work collaboratively with OCA staff or contractor to create digital (or printable) resources that OCA members can share with patients. Source appropriate diagrams and imagery, and check content for accuracy.
Blog articles: Develop a topic into a 400–600-word blog article to be featured on chiropractic.on.ca. This blog may include a personal story of why the volunteer chose a career in chiropractic care, using involvement in sports or other activities to highlight the story. Work closely with communications staff in creating the format (e.g. interview format or first-person narrative) and writing the article.

Volunteer Benefits

  • Broaden understanding of how OCA staff supports members and the profession.
  • Gain practical experience in creating video assets for social media.
  • Develop and apply communications and marketing skills to support content creation and campaign management strategies to use in a chiropractic practice.

Opportunity Location:  Remote
Date Range: September 2024 to June 2025
Volunteer Hours:  20
Opportunity Lead:  Maryza De Silva
Volunteer Capacity:  Unlimited

Opportunity Description

This opportunity will allow volunteers to get hands on experience with OCA Aspire, Ontario Chiropractic Association’s (OCA) integrated practice management and electronic health record. The role would act as a chiropractic subject matter expert to project stakeholders to provide clinical perspective regarding software features, functionality and design.

Volunteer Responsibilities

Chiropractic Subject Matter Expert

  • Attendance at product development / focus meeting(s) to assess and prioritize new features or enhancements
  • Preparation for meeting(s) by reviewing documents circulated, delving deep into software features and being ready to share your opinions on the feature being discussed

Experience / Qualifications

  • Familiarity with OCA Aspire (training and support will be provided)
  • Understanding of the value that an integrated practice management and electronic health record can bring to a clinic
  • Willingness to share opinions and have constructive debate on software features
  • Proven ability to work well in a team environment

Volunteer Benefits

As part of this volunteer experience, graduates will get exposure and experience in the following areas:

  • Stakeholder Engagement
  • Member engagement and networking
  • Software Development Life Cycle
  • Project Management
  • Training
  • Program Analysis
  • Business Analysis
  • Written and Verbal Communication

Our OCA volunteer initiatives are designed to help further our profession while providing you with valuable learning opportunities as a chiropractor and a member of your professional community.