31209 Other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating

What this occupation covers

Other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating, who are not elsewhere classified, diagnose and treat the diseases and injuries of patients. This unit group includes doctors of podiatric medicine, naturopathic medicine and osteopathic medicine, and also includes chiropodists and podiatrists. They work in private practices, clinics and hospitals.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 9 main duties for this code.

• Diagnose diseases, deformities and injuries of the human foot and communicate diagnoses to patients
• Treat patients using braces, casts, shields, orthotic devices, physical therapy, or prescribed medications
• May also perform surgery on the bones of the forefoot and the subcutaneous soft tissues of the foot.
• Diagnose diseases, deformities and injuries of the human foot
• Treat patients using braces, casts, shields, orthotic devices, physical therapy and subcutaneous soft-tissue foot surgery.
• Diagnose patients' diseases and disorders
• Employ natural methods of healing such as acupuncture and acupressure, spinal manipulation, reflexology, hydrotherapy, herbal medicines, biochemical therapy, clinical nutrition, homeopathy and counselling in their treatment.
• Diagnose disorders and injuries of the musculoskeletal, circulatory and nervous systems
• Treat patients with manipulative therapy, medications or surgery.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 9 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 31201 Chiropractors
• 31102 General practitioners and family physicians
• 31303 Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals
• 32209 Other practitioners of natural healing
• 31100 Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine
• 31101 Specialists in surgery

Excluded from this code

• Chiropractors (See 31201 Chiropractors)
• General practitioners and family physicians (See 31102 General practitioners and family physicians)
• Orthoptist (See 31303 Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals)
• Osteopathic manual practitioner (See 32209 Other practitioners of natural healing)
• Osteopathic manual therapist (See 32209 Other practitioners of natural healing)
• Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine (See 31100 Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine)
• Specialists in surgery (See 31101 Specialists in surgery)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

chiropodist · doctor of naturopathic medicine · doctor of naturopathy · doctor of osteopathic medicine · doctor of osteopathy · doctor of podiatric medicine (D.P.M.) · doctor of podiatry · foot specialist · naturopath - physician · naturopathic doctor (ND) · naturopathic physician · osteopath - physician · osteopathic physician · podiatrist

Employment requirements

• Doctors of podiatric medicine (D.P.M.)
• A four-year doctoral degree program in podiatric medicine available in the United States and in Quebec, normally following completion of a bachelor's degree program, is required.
• A medical residency is required in Alberta and British Columbia.
• A doctor of podiatric medicine (D.P.M.) degree is required to practice podiatry in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.
• Chiropodists and podiatrists
• An advanced three-year diploma program in chiropody (DCh) obtained in Canada or a first-degree program in podiatric medicine (D.Pod.M.) obtained abroad (United Kingdom) is usually required.
• A licence is required in New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
• Doctors of naturopathic medicine
• A university degree in pre-medical science is required.
• Completion of a university program in naturopathic medicine, obtained abroad or a four-year program in naturopathic medicine from a private institute is required.
• A licence is required in Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
• Doctors of osteopathic medicine
• A bachelor's degree is required for admission to a doctor of osteopathic medicine program.
• A four-year program in osteopathic medicine leading to a doctor of osteopathy degree and a minimum three-year medical residency are required. These qualifications are obtained in the United States.
• Completion of certifying examinations of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and licensing by the provincial or territorial licensing authority are required.