In a conversation with The American Chiropractor (TAC), Dr. Sherry McAllister (SM) shares with us what inspired her to become a chiropractor, the secret to evolving as a professional, and everything the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) has to offer chiropractic and the incredible projects they've been working on.
TAC: How did you get interested in becoming a chiropractor?
SM: When I was 19 years old, I was heading off to a country dance lesson right before the Calgary Stampede. We were at a red light and a man who was continuing to go 60 miles per hour down the road, distracted by his dog’s recent surgery, did not see that the light was green, and smashed just right into the back of us where we were stopped. Immediately after impact, my first thought was, "My feet are tingling. I can't feel my legs." Went into an MRI. Strangely enough, two days later the low back pain was not as bad as the headaches. And I was, at that time, doing research in a genetics lab in cellular, molecular, and microbial biology with the hopes of being involved in pediatric oncology, so that meant a lot of hours behind a microscope. And the problem was, the longer I was behind the microscope, the worse the headaches were, and that plummeted me into some significant pain, so I would do anything to get out of pain. When I went to the doctor, and he said, "Here's what we know. There's no fractures. There's nothing we can see. We're not sure where the headaches are coming from, but here are the pills." So I was taking pills like they were going to heal me. I did not know that they were simply for pain. About seven months later I gave up on the pills, because my stomach was chronically upset. One day I went to my physics class, and there was a fellow across the table, and he goes, "You look like you're suffering." I said, "Well I've given up on the pills. They make me sick. But I really want to be functional."
Right there, he slid a card across the table, and it was a chiropractor. When I went in for my appointment I was skeptical. But then, he was the first doctor who actually touched me, step one - that was odd - and it was the first doctor who actually showed me X-rays, and actually went through the X-rays, and then told me what he was going to do. Because every other experience was, "Here's your pill. Here's your pill." No touching. No conversations... And when he did the adjustment, I was headache-free. I really, truly thought it was just a fluke. And I waited that night for the headache to come back, because there's no way I was in pain for six months, and some guy out of nowhere used some crazy little clicker thing that didn't even make sense, and my headache was gone. It changed my life after that one night, and it has propelled me to be that doctor.
TAC: How did you evolve into the position and all of the work?
SM: When I graduated, I wanted to continue really building the skill sets that would help me help my patients, which, then, became a master's in science and learning more about education. When I did the education part of it, then I started working at Palmer College to be an associate professor. I think the best way to help our youth is to be where they're at. And that became my whole purpose, "How do I find them to teach them?" because I don't want anyone to suffer like I did. So I taught a natural holistic class at the local college, and opened my practice right after graduating. I always had a saying that, "Saying, 'Yes,' is better than saying, 'No."'. And so I just kept saying, "Yes," to everything that came my way, "Yes. I'll do the whole foods seminar. Yes. I'll be an associate professor. Yes.
Dr. McAllister's Bio
Sherry McAllister, DC, M.S. (Ed) CCSP, serves as the President for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP), the national not-for-profit organization showcasing the benefits of chiropractic care across multiple platforms with over 31,000 members.
Dr. McAllister earned her Master's in Science from the University of California East Bay and is a graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic West, where she served as an Associate Professor. Recently appointed to Forbes Non-Profit Council.
Dr. McAllister served as a Qualified Medical Examiner, Expert Chiropractic Witness for the State of California, and has been in private practice in San Jose since 1996.
She has been featured in several publications including: Forbes, Becker's Spine Review, Momtastic, LiveStrong, Managed Healthcare Executive, BOSS Magazine, News Break and Martha Stewart Living.
Awarded: Top Women in Healthcare: PR News Access Intelligence, Person of the Year Dynamic Chiropractic, Chiropractor of the Year by Women DC organization.
The F4CP has been honored with: PR World Awards Gold Winner in Healthcare Achievement, Digital Healthcare Award Adjusted Reality Podcast (Host), Viddy Award for outstanding videography in a commercial and the prestigious Gold Telly Award for the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Commercial.
I'll teach at the college." And all of these things started to accumulate. I was asked to be on the SWAT team - true story - as the preventative medicine healthcare provider there, and what an amazing experience. I learned so much in security and opportunity to help our men and women in blue. One of the things that got me to where I am right now is saying, "Yes." The chairman of the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress called me at my office and asked me if I'd be willing to volunteer for the foundation, and the answer was yes. And whatever they needed, whenever they needed it, I just wanted to be of service. And it continues even to today.
TAC: How would you describe the holistic approach in your practice?
SM: Creating discussions with patients on what is in fact important to them and how this is impacting their life. Holistic is to the patient the internal and external environmental balance.
TAC: What's new at the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP)?
SM: The F4CP is hosting ChiroThon 2022 - a live and virtual event to celebrate, elevate and support the profession. The event will kick off August 25 at FCA The National and feature special guest speakers through August 28. Save the date for the live stream, which will be visible from the Foundation’s website (f4cp.org/chirothon), Facebook page and YouTube channels. This is a public event, absolutely everyone is invited and we will feature special guests: Chicken Soup for the Chiropractic soul author Mark Victor Hansen, Highly sought after top notch Las Vegas Comedian Mr. Marvin Lee and Am azing Patriot, Medal of Honor Recipient and Chiropractic advocate, Mr. Shiloh Harris to kick off this exciting celebration. So much to learn, celebrate and support on this weekend. All proceeds raised will go to funding four “Naturally Chiropractic” commercials highlighting the impact of Chiropractic at every stage of life.
..."It's not what you get, it's what you give, and when you start looking at it from that perspective, it changes the way you do things."...
TAC: What kind of benefits does a member of the F4CP receive?
SM: It's not what you get, it's what you give, and when you start looking at it from that perspective, it changes the way you do things. As a member, when you come into the foundation, with almost 32,000 members, you’ll be helping monumental moments happen. When you join the F4CP, you are supporting the entire profession, as well as receiving individual benefits for your practice. There's a purpose-driven mission for the foundation, and it's to use your dollars wisely, boldly, and bravely, so that when we go out into the community, we look sharp, we look well put together, and we're using the latest research. We have 16 colleges working with us. So when the research drops, we get it. We then start to put together the infographics, the white papers, the presentations, whatever the doctor and practice will need. These evidence-based resources can build your social media presence to prospective patients, position yourself as a healthcare professional in your local community with customizable presentations, brochures and flyers, as well as content for your website, patient newsletter and practice reception area. There are bronze, silver and gold membership options, with gold membership being the top tier option. Gold allows you a featured profile in the F4CP’s National Find-A-Doctor Directory, which is linked to all national promotions. Gold’s key benefit is the opportunity to brand all F4CP material with your practice contact information. As a gold donor, you also receive personalized social media training for your staff, marketing toolkits and targeted media list creation to generate positive press for your practice in your local area.
TAC: What are the upcoming plans for the F4CP?
SM: In September, the F4CP will sponsor September Drug-Free Pain Management Awareness Month - an observance to build awareness of chiropractic as a safe and effective approach to manage pain before opioids. Local and state proclamations will be passed, advertisements placed, as well as a robust social media campaign to generate visibility during the month. With 136 Americans dying every day from an opioid overdose, this crisis continues and we need to showcase chiropractic as a natural solution to address pain.
..."The nation needs to know that, not only are we good at our job, but we're resilient as a profession."...
We have a record breaker history maker podcast with Dr. Louis Sportelli. We’re going to educate the consumers around the world on the celebration of our birthday on September 15th. It’s going to be launching during Palmer homecoming, and it’s going out to every consumer as large and as big and as beautiful as we can. Because now, when the nation hears that we were being stripped and bullied and processed into this quackery, you can’t unhear that. The nation needs to know that, not only are we good at our job, but we’re resilient as a profession. They’ll hear what we had to go through to get to where we are today. And now that we’re shaking hands with our medical professionals, and that even the medical professionals have no idea why they felt slanted towards us, they’ll know, thanks to the podcast. Dr. Louis Sportelli wifi talk about where we’ve been as a profession, how we’ve been malaligned, and why the word "quackery” came up. The consumer needs to learn how well-trained we are. This podcast is meant for every single person, whether you're a chiropractor and you're proud to be one, or you're a patient that might be thinking, ’’I might want to try chiropractic.”
This October, the F4CP wifi launch an in-app marketing program with the chiropractic colleges for one year to reach consumers with more information about following a rewarding career as a chiropractor. We want to be able to encourage the students to have that impact as soon as they graduate. I remember leaving chiropractic and thinking, "What now? How do I do this?" So when they get the one-year complimentary membership with the foundation, they can get running with this material so that they're effective in their community and maximize what they want to focus on.
Also in October we're going to be doing the first ever nationwide job fair. If you're looking to hire, you can come up to us in September, put in your application and build out what it looks like. And if you're looking to get hired, we're going to be offering a webinar to tell you how to be the best applicant out there, and then come to the job fair and be that best applicant. We have corporations that will be coming and looking for chiros. We have a variety of people around the nation.
TAC: Up to now, what kind of data can chiropractors around the country attribute to the efforts of the F4CP?
SM: For the past five years, the F4CP has co-opped with its 47 Group Member State Associations in dozens of billboards, train wraps, newspaper and magazine advertisements and marketing support of legislative events. All ads include a link to our Find-A-Doc Directory, which includes profiles for the F4CP’s 31,000 members.
In addition to supporting the Chiropractic State Associations, the F4CP most recently achieved numerous awards for its :30 second commercial, which ran during the Tokyo Summer Olympics. The commercial showcased an Olympic athlete who was injured in competition and due to the team chiropractor, was able to compete. After her career as an Olympic track and field athlete, she then followed a career as a doctor of chiropractic (DC). The call-to-action leads to learn more about chiropractic or become a chiropractor.
With 25 placements and 6 animated billboards on NBC Networks (NBC, USA, NBC Sports) during the Olympics, the spot reached 58 countries and had 209 million views. Within one week, the F4CP’s FindA-Doc Directory garnered over 133 000 hits and our site hit 1.2 million impressions.
The commercial was a part of the F4CP’s Optimizing Performance through Chiropractic Care campaign, which features 18 Olympians sharing their success with chiropractic care. As a member, doctors have the ability to utilize the 18 posters and 18 video testimonials in their practices.
Chiropractic’s success at the Olympics also included in-app marketing with three chiropractic colleges. Placing the :30 second commercial in in-app advertising resulted in over 400k impressions for the schools and leads to the college’s call-to-action to learn more about a career as a DC.
TAC: Anything else you want to share with our readers?
SM: The efforts we make now for millions of Americans will pay off in dividends in the future. The American population is hurting as we have noted in multiple articles regarding Mental Health and Opioid Epidemic and how many lives have been lost. The time is now to educate the consumer, to do this we need everyone to maximize their optics in their communities. Please help us. We cannot do it without your participation. We walk hand and hand with every chiropractor to make this Nation healthy with Chiropractic care!
You may contact Dr McAllister at [email protected] E@3
Catch this interview and many more TAC-TIC Talks by scanning the QR code or visiting this link: www.bit.ly/McAllister4408
