Chiropractic Women of the World Unite!
INTERVIEW
Interview with Cynthia Shaft-Toll, DC
By The American Chiropractor
Cynthia Shaft's introduction into chiropractic care started at the age of two months. She had a very rough delivery, which resulted in converging strabismus and unexplained febrile seizures, which ultimately resolved itself through chiropractic care. Cynthia grew up in a home office, and started working at the office, emptying ashtrays at age six! She was so inspired by the incredible results of her father's practice that she wanted to be that person who helped so many people as well. Cynthia accelerated her education and graduated with both undergrad and chiropractic degrees at the young age of twenty-two. She was the youngest in her class, was married and had two children. She graduated in the same class as her husband,
at that time, and they started a practice in Michigan. Their family was complete with seven children. After a divorce, Dr. Shaft had to rebuild her life, from the ground up and she realized that if she didn’t have the wonderful support system in chiropractic that her family
provided, she wouldn ’t have otherwise succeeded. This is how Women Chiropractors was born. “I didn’t want to see someone go through intense struggles and not succeed as a chiropractor, ” Dr. Cynthia Shaft-Toll (CS)
says. Read on to see what else she shares in this exclusive interview with The American
Chiropractor Magazine (TAC).
L-R. Cynthia Elwart Shaft-Toll DC CEO, Founder WDC, Barbara Eaton DC, Donna Craft DC, Secretary, Rosemary Batajanski DC, President, Amanda Apfelblat DC, Susan Blaskay-Carver DC, Nicole Poirier DC, Nancy Elwartowski Cooper DC, Treasurer.
TAC: Can you tell us about how many chiropractors of those currently graduating are women?
CS: Of all those who're currently enrolled in chiropractic colleges, around 50% are female.
TAC: How did you become interested in creating a support group for women DCs?
CS: I am one! I created this group because I knew that every tune that I connected with other women chiropractors (WDCs—I coined that phrase, by the way), I learned so much that wasn’t taught in chiropractic colleges. I learned how to cope with life and family issues, and how to balance my life as a wife, a mom, and a doctor of chiropractic. It’s a driving passion for me. I have also seen so very many WDCs straggling in practice or never going into practice, or just stressed out and leaving practice early. But there are so many really successful WDCs, and I keep finding more of them every day on the Women Chiropractors Facebook group and www.womenchiropractors.org. It’s really fascinating how many are unbelievably successful, but no one in the profession really knows who they are. They’re busy in their lives balancing all of the things that women typically do, and then they have million-dollar practices and are amazing practitioners!
TAC: How are women DCs faring as graduates?
CS: Wow, we did a survey in our Women Chiropractors group. It had a very significant number of WDCs taking that survey, and some of the answers saddened us a lot. There are really great things happening, and then, as I said before, overall WDCs aren’t doing as well on average as male DCs. This has to change or chiropractic and our society will really suffer. There are great answers, and we are getting great feedback from the WDCs in our group that even just what is happening in the Facebook group is changing and helping them become better doctors and more successful financially, and they have hope and answers. I found a big need. Women DCs are rushing in to get this help.
71C: Is there a model that has been more effective than others for women DCs?
CS: WDCs are very much the same as their male colleagues. Overall, though, if female DC s are moms, they tend to do better when they practice with another DC .It’s incredible how many different variations there are in techniques as well as practice styles. It goes all the way from multi-doctor owners not practicing anymore, like Rosemary Batanjski, DC, who is president of Women Chiropractors, to those who are just managing business, to husband-and-wife DCs practicing together, and to female DCs on their own, women sharing space with each other, and women “wealing” their babies while adjusting! Some WDCs have nurseries in their offices. Stand-alone clinics, traveling clinics. I think WDCs,
as a whole, have different measures to say they’re successful. I have fabulous WDC friends who are single and have milliondollar practices, and then there’s someone like me who has had seven childr en and owns and operates a clinic with an associate doctor. So even though I haven’t yet achieved the million-dollar practice, I feel successful in the fact that I raised seven healthy and successful human beings while practicing. So many of the other WDCs in our group say the same things as well.
TAC: Is there a preferred technique?
CS: Our survey showed that diversified and instrument techniques are the most popular.
TAC: How would you say the rate of abandoning the profession compares between the sexes—male versus female?
CS: Do you see any comparisons? It pains me to say that WDCs are leaving the profession in a much greater level than males. Part of the big reasons for WDCs leaving is one of my pet projects. WDCs graduate during their peak years to have a family. So many women put off going into practice or may have issues getting in a good enough position to work even as an associate when they are pregnant during that time. I totally understand why as a practice owner. They may have difficult pregnancies, and some who do side-posture techniques cause themselves to have to have C-sections, which keeps them out of practice even longer postpartum. As a whole, WDCs will make more family sacrifices to be out of work for the sake of their offspring. This is a problem after they may be out of practice for two year s or
more, and they feel like they’ve lost then edge to practice or never have practiced. We have stalled a new program called ReEntry to address that problem. I’m really familiar with that myself having only practiced part-time while my children were growing up. I found myself having to take the practice over after a divorce, and found that I was scrambling to fill in gaps of knowledge. I have already successfully helped an associate of mine leam to practice for the first time after being out of practice for 10 years. Her husband’s well-paying job resulted in transfers to different states, and her pregnancy was difficult. All this time she was wanting to practice, but it was really tough to find help to put the pieces together and practice, as well as be a good adjuster and a good businessperson. Today, she has her own practice. I want to multiply that success. I know that this can really change the tide of so many WDCs and perhaps some male DCs as well who don’t know where to look for such extensive help to get back into practice. Today, it’s normal to come out of chiropractic college with $250,000 in debt or more. Can you imagine the stress that brings when you feel inadequate to practice? That’s where the ReEntry program comes in.
7 1C: Do you see a change in the professional landscape today versus what was in place 20 or 30 years ago?
CS: Absolutely. It has changed phenomenally. I used to be looked at as quite a rarity as a WDC. When I was at seminars, I may have been one of the only WDCs in the room full of men. Even then, so many thought t was a wife or CA and not a doctor. My class was around 10% female when I graduated from Palmer Chiropractic College in 1981. The urgency to help WDCs succeed wasn’t as great then as it is now. We have to help. When I graduated, the “mom-and-pop” shop was the norm. In fact, it was the model my father, Ray Elwart, DC, had. My father adjusted patients, and my mom managed the office and watched the money. How different it is for us as WDCs. The whole society has changed even for the men. There are so many male DCs married to career women, so they can’t rely on that old system either.
7 1C: Do you think it is healthier for women entering the market today versus 20 years ago?
CS: I know it’s healthier. I know it’s changing. I know just having the Women Chiropractors group and the movement that is growing around it is going to help WDCs strategize, grow, and showcase their inherent ability to practice. Studies have shown that female doctors of all sorts are rated better than their male peers. I’m not certain that’s so in chiropractic, but I do know that our profession will really grow and reach that tipping point of reaching a greater percentage of the population that we are all looking for when we help lift up these amazing WDCs! We are currently at over 6,000 vetted WDCs and WDC students in tlie Women Chiropractors Facebook group alone. We have over 32,000 interactions per 28 days. We add at least 100 new WDCs or WDC students every week. It’s been growing at a feverish rate. We are truly a grassroots movement. There isn’t any college or organization behind women chiropractors, by the way. The board of Women Chiropractors was chosen from a group of my successful WDC friends. 1 needed help, so we formed the board last year. 1 bought the URLs to this many years ago to protect it from someone who may not have used it hi such a philanthropic manner.
TAC: How did you get involved in chiropractic?
CS: My first adjustment was given to me by a woman chiropractor when I was only two months old. I had convergent strabismus and febrile seizures. My father, Ray Elwart, DC, had just seen Dr. Carolyn Ream as a last resort measure to help him with his severe narcolepsy. There was no real help for him at that time, so he tried the “quackopractor” (that’s what he thought the profession was called). After Dr. Ream adjusted him, he had no more narcoleptic symptoms for the rest of his life. He wondered after that if perhaps she could help me, and she did! No more febrile seizures or crossed eye. My father went to Palmer and inspired over 50 people to become chiropractors. As of this date, we have 22 DCs in three generations of my family. Some notable members are Donna Craft, DC, the first female president of the NBCE who is now a trustee of Palmer Chiropractic College, and my late sister, Linda Elwart
Atkinson, DC, who held the first license to practice chiropractic on mainland China. Nancy Elwartowski Cooper, DC, is also my cousin and has helped immeasurably with this project. She is the one who designed the website and does an incredible amount of work with it. She also has an enormous pediatric practice. Both Dr. Craft and Dr. Cooper are on my board of Women Chiropractors.
TAC: Are there any sponsors or products that you think have been particularly good or supportive of women that you’d like to point out or draw attention to?
CS: We have several sponsors already. Dr. Barbara Eaton, who is a practice coach and on our board. ChiroSecure has really stepped up. Vickie Palmer, who is the great granddaughter of D. D. Palmer, is incredibly excited and is supporting us. Palmer’s Institute for Women’s Studies has developed in a very large part around this and my story. We are hoping every chiropractic college jumps on board with this movement as well. We are not college-specific. There are so many others who are looking to support us. We really need everyone’s help in this very noble project.
TAC: What are your plans for the future?
CS: Right now, I continue to practice, but the demands on my time are great. This will be the project I spend the rest of my life on. It is my “mission from God.” I will continue to develop programs, to teach, to speak, to write, and to lead Women Chiropractors in their quest to become successful in the profession by their own definition. WDCs need tools, support, and some specific education. What we need almost more than anything else is to be connected and learn, develop, and grow ourselves. I feel like that is the greatest reason for this success.
TAC: How can women join the movement?
CS: You can join our nonprofit group that has so many benefits at www. womenchiropractors.org at the $17-permonth level. If you’ve made it in practice and need a group that understands your level of success and specific needs, and you want to give back as well as get great information, you can join at the $97 level. Our Facebook group is Women Chiropractors, which is free of charge. It is a closed group, so you need to apply so that we can care fully vet you. We also have a WDC app. Local groups are just starting to form as well, and if you’re
interested in doing this, contact us. We already have had so many asking us for this. There’s just something amazing about connecting and making friends with someone in your local community area who “gets” your challenges, joys, and life.
TAC: Are there any opportunities for men to help support this effort?
CS: Absolutely. We have a sponsor’s group, and we have WDCs who need people to hire in some part-time positions. We aren’t anti-male—we all love men. WDCs just need more skills because, as a whole, the profession was created with men’s frame size and culture in mind. We’re just frying to figure out what that means for females and translate that into success for us. Please spread the word—the profession you may save is your own.
TAC: Any final words?
CS: I want to thank my other board members—Dr. Rosemary Batajanski, DC (National), Dr. Donna Craft (Palmer), Dr. Nancy Elwartowski Cooper (Palmer), Dr. Susan Blaskay (Life), Dr. Amanda Apfelblat, (Life), Dr. Nicole Poirier (Palmer), Dr. Barbara Eaton (Logan), Dr. Kelly Milano (Life) and Dr. Anna Olivetti (Logan). I’m thankful for my family too, who are extremely supportive, as well as my husband William Toll IV.
Our profession cannot miss tins opportunity to change tins tide for WDCs. What will happen if we don’t help WDCs stay in practice longer and become more successful? Who will take care of the public if half of our profession is taking care of fewer patients and staying in practice a shorter time? Who will give back to the colleges, the research organizations, the state organizations? We as WDCs are really strong. Together, this profession will be stronger and will reach the world with our amazing gift of chiropractic care.
You may contact Dr. Cynthia Shaft-Toll at: [email protected], atwww.womenchiropractors.org, and on Facebook, where she is registered as Cynthia Shaft-Toll DC. Cover photo courtesy of Heather Allen Photography.
