Dr. Kristina Stitcher is a sought-after international speaker, consultant and advocate for family wellness care through chiropractic. Dr. Kristina is the clinic director of Family First Chiropractic in Salt Lake City, Utah and is the chiropractic coach and owner of Practice Evolution, which focuses on creating extraordinary family chiropractors. With her husband Craig, she raises 4 children, all destined to change the world and spread the chiropractic message.

TRANSCRIPT

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  You've made the Chiro Hustle. Sit back and learn from the greatest influencers in the profession on the world's number one Chiropractic podcast. Before we dive into this powerful episode, please remember to subscribe to our channels and give us a 5 star rating on iTunes and continue hustling. This episode is sponsored by Transact Card, Align Life, NeuroInfinity, Imaging Services, Chiro Health USA, Chiro Moguls, Pure Chiro Notes, Titronics, Sherman College of Chiropractic, New Patients in a Box, Life Chiropractic College West, Pro Hockey Chiros, Pro Baseball Chiros and the IFCO. Let’s hustle.

LUKE MILLETT (PRODUCER):  Hey guys, welcome to episode 527 of the Chiro Hustle Podcast. I'm your producer, Luke Millett, and here's your host, James Chester.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  So, today we have the opportunity of interviewing Dr. Christina Stitcher. If you want to hear a story about how to get people well and actually get them well, stay tuned. Welcome back. This is another episode of the Chiro Hustle Podcast. The shirt here says, Chiro's Hustle Harder. I do think that that is a big truth and we're going to talk about Chiropractic doing the right thing today. Then hustling for good causes. I have Christina Stitcher with me today out of Utah. We're going to talk about her practice evolution program that she does to help support chiropractors. We're going to talk about Chiro Heroes, something that I know that every chiropractor needs to understand and to be a part of. And yeah, but before we jump into episode 527, I'm going to let everyone know the big why. Why do we do what we do over here? Chiro Hustle, first things first, freedom of speech, first amendment. Really important to not only our country, but to the medical world. And we've seen people's voices, shadow band and stymied over the past couple of years, which is it's not supporting the first amendment. As you guys know, we've never censored anyone on this show, which is pretty cool. Even if people have opposing viewpoints of me. After that, family health freedom is integral to the development of freedom and medical health freedom on top of that is something that interweaves all that together. And I believe that we have to support those practices for not only families, but the individual. From womb to tomb, cradle to grave, first breath, the last breath. We need to have these things as the integrity for the people of this country. In any worldwide nation, I would agree. And then we do protect B.J. Palmer's Sacred Trust. If you guys want to know more about chiropractic, go search for on your favorite search engine, B.J. Palmer's Last Words, our B.J. Palmer Sacred Trust. You're going to learn more about chiropractic than you ever knew before. And then we do support self-luxation based chiropractic. It's a big word. Go look that up too. And then we support any intelligence, any universal intelligence. We still believe that there's men and women in this world and that when men or women, the physical gets adjusted and connects them to men or women, this spiritual. And with that being said, Dr. Christina, welcome to the show.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  Thank you for having me. I'm very excited for this.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  Yeah, you know, I felt like I always have to front load this message that we have like the airwaves for. And I think that when people get a tone of what we're doing over here at Chiro Hassel, they're like, wow, those people stand for something. It's not what they stand against like you're saying.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  It's really one. I said it right before we got recorded. So I'll repeat it here as I had a coach early on, Tommy, don't be known for what you stand against. Be known for what you stand for. And I'll tell you, it totally changed. It changed everything about me, it changed how I thought, which then changed how I spoke, which changed how I impacted people. And as you go into medical freedom, health freedom, I teach a lot on vaccines and the choice with vaccines and give lots of information. It's actually one of the first things that I will teach is that if we believe in informed people who live in body autonomy, then you have to know and you have to know all your options. I think it's really important that we speak to help in that place of knowing and then being able to make a choice.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  Yeah. And I think that that's, I've had this conversation and I've talked to at least one doctor a day. And I tell people that chiropractic is the last piece on the chessboard. And I hate to be so vocal about that because it sets a polarizing option for the opposition. But when you think about it, chiropractic is the only medical profession out there that stands in between medical tyranny and big pharma, like having complete control of our households. Chiropractors are the megaphone and the voice for the free world right now when it comes to like having, you know, medical freedom, medical choice, family health freedoms and having that ability to make informed decisions.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  It's, as you say that, it's like it makes me look at these last few years and a lot of chiropractors were disinherding and downtrodden and through it. And at the same time, like our practice blew up. And it's because what happened and as patients were coming in and practice members coming in, they're saying like, I don't want, I don't want to be told. I don't like the research. I don't like the lack of the research. I don't like what's happening. And they were starting to see that it was, you're being told, you're being dictated. You're not allowed to think and you're not allowed to make decisions. I said, I really want to choose a care provider who will help lift up my health and build up my health and go, we've always been here. I think a lot of people during the whole COVID time, they tried to speak against COVID. Again, go back to where we started this. And I said, and I talked with all my docs, I mentor and work with it was like, no, no, keep on speaking the same message. We don't need to change our message. Our message is always strong that your body is powerful and capable of healing and repair. And it's about removing interference and this inside out approach and practices, like I said, we all blew up. And it's so important because people are already looking for us. We keep on thinking like what's that like elusive new patient like, no, they're already looking for you. You need to be ready for them.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  Here's the thing though, if they as we talk about they, the people and opposition of truth and that want to like corrode family health freedoms and medical freedoms, what they're trying to do is corrode the whole medical system. They're trying to have a full along collapse of people's ability to have access to anything. So I think that if we're wise, we do support our local mom and pop shops that are willing to take us and take care of those cases and to take care of the families and to stand in the gap and say, you know what, whatever that thing is doing over there, we're in disagreements with that, but we're just going to support an intelligence universal intelligence. We're going to go back to our roots, we're going to talk about subluxation based chiropractic. We're going to talk about the 33 principles. We're going to talk about the sacred trust, the big idea, the penalty of leadership. We're going to talk about these things and you guys can talk about those narratives over there, but we're going to talk about how to keep people healthy, how to keep them off of drugs and surgeries and how to keep them more active and keep talking about vitalism.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  It's one that I think the conversation has been leading that way, but again, it's who do you listen to? My answer is rather than just who do I like, I purposely choose who I listen to and I'm very careful with who I listen to because I realize what comes in is going to come out and I want to be an example. I want to be an advocate for our community. I also believe where there's a lot of opportunity. There's also massive responsibility. And so as chiropractors, we really need to guard our headspace and we need to guard the fact that what we say matters and people in a place of responsibility need to be even more careful how they speak, which means speak up and lift up and support. I would rather be known as someone who's a major cheerleader in every way for the fact that your body is powerful and capable. And so when they go home, they can be making these decisions in the moment of hold on pause rather than grab this. Let me think through this process as a normal physiology of my body and then be empowered in themselves. And I think that's where you change communities.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  Yeah, you know, I'm so on board with what you're saying there. And if people just, there's an old saying, if people knew what we know, then they would do what we do. And I was at the gym train this morning with my workout partner and the little exercise bike that I do for 10 minutes before I go lift weights, I can't turn the damn screen off. Okay. So I'm like, turn off, turn off, turn off block delete and it won't go off. And it's the news. Right. And I was like, it wouldn't be so bad, Mike. If what's on there, I could agree with. I go, but it won't go off. And he's like, I was like, and it would be great if they would like share something like positive like I do on my show. Right. Like imagine if we were on like one of these big box like news stations and we were talking about this, like people would be like, what, what is this chiropractic stuff? Who are these people? What is an intelligence? Think about how many Google searches and intelligence would have. Think about how many Google searches, universal intelligence would have. Think about how many times people will search for the sacred trust of chiropractic, like go blow up. And I was like, I don't want to watch that. He goes, well, they tried to put good programming on the news, but no one watched it. I go exactly then that we don't need news then.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  I think it's really one of those you like you say, it's one of going control what we're looking at and what leads is like what the joke is, of course, if it bleeds, it leads. And yet we wonder why depression is going so high, anxiety is going so high and we don't take responsibility within that. And we look at like I've got 14 age or still and I look at this, what they're going through. And I think it's really one that it has helped me become a little bit more bold with how I speak because my kids are the future and what their generation is being raised with and what they're being exposed to and go, hold on, there are choices. And I think that's the biggest thing that we really need to is like, yes, we take care of our families, but then the mom of Aaron, he says, okay, now I take care of the families within my practice and all of them. So now my community. So now these arms have to get bigger because it's not just about me. It's not just about me and my family. And it's not just about me and my family, my practice family. It's like, what is going to happen this next generation? And they're so like, I'm a huge, off this, optimistic person. So it's like, okay, how are things going in the right direction? Because that's where I can focus and that's where I can put more energy into that rather than sitting over here complaining that things aren't going the way that I would hope and that we're into times. It's like, nope, I'm living. So I've got a lot of control and I have a lot of control over this, which means I have a lot of control on what I support and who I support as well.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  This takes me to like a really random area, but I was out having dinner last night and there was like a group of like five preteen boys and they were all like this. Yeah. Like, and I'm like, these kids don't know anything about vital lung capacity. They don't know anything about their posture and the nerve going from their neck to their arms to their heart to their lungs. Like they're crushing their vitalism by holding up posture. And I watched them the whole time I ate, none of those kids like moved. Like they're all down on this like forward, like, I'm like, are they breathing? Are they alive? Yeah. But how do we correct that?

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  So I think it's one, it's like I'm speaking on it this weekend as well. So when we talk with teenagers, we got to be really careful. Again, we don't polarize. It's very much like the parents will say to us, it's like, well, I tell them to stand up straight. And it's immediately the parent just put us against the child and they're hoping that we get on the parent's side. And in this teenager, what you got to realize is if you get on the parent's side, then you're just going to be seen as another parent. And now you're the next person that's just going to nag on them. And so you got to be really careful when we're taking care of these teenagers because that's to me an underrepresented population within their profession. Most chiropractors who are seeing teenagers are in a sports medical like medical model. I'll say that. And yet they do amazing things like you look at talk to a lot of chiropractors, what got them into chiropractic was their experience. And it was often related to sports injury. So I say, okay, Docs, if you're seeing sports, seeing sports injury, I sure hope you're talking about Elizabeth. I'm sure hope you're taking the and not just that we're healing this and we're going further. And I'm a huge believer in the and how do we connect the parents? When a parent says, I tell them to stand up straight, I go, I trust that you are and you probably need to remind them. But then I look at the kid and go, does it feel comfortable to stand up straight because this posture is a reflection of the brain and whether brain perceives a stress and what's happening within their body. So you got to first fix the fact that the brain is perceiving stress all the time and it's in a fight, flight and potentially freeze, which is even worse. How do we help unwind that? And then the posture naturally starts to restore itself. So it's not that I'm going to say stand up straight. I agree with your mom 100%. My answer is mom, keep on, yes, keep on saying it because they need to be aware. They do need to be working on it. But this is a brain issue. This is a nervous system issue. This is an inability to adapt to their environment. So it's how do we help both of you and most importantly, how do we help this connection? Being a mom of teenagers, I need people to stand up for me and to help me as a mom going, your mom's doing a really good job. She's doing the best she can. She's screwing it up, but she's still doing the best she can. She's not your public enemy. She's actually your greatest advocate. And here's how I can help support you in this really pivotal time of your life that you feel like you have to make all the decisions and you don't. Let's just help you and support you and you are powerful and you are amazing just the way you are. And that's what I can help with these teenagers and these kids. And I believe that's what they need to be hearing from many adults and many providers because that's going to help set them up long term.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  The parents and providers need it too. Yes. And we have to tap into the emotional code of people and speak passionately to each other like we're doing right now. Like this is the missing link. Like for humanity, is somebody to give enough care to actually become passionate about service and support and guidance. And I think that when I was growing up, we had guidance counselors. They didn't guide me. And we have coaches. And I think that the parents are the coaches of the coach now. So a coach couldn't coach a game if they wanted to because they have so many people chirping in their ears about what to do and what not to do. And then we got the kids and they just want to do it right. And then they have the parents or the parent of the kids and the coach and the people and the people. And I think that you're right. Even though I'm bullish and I'm like, just do what we say and you'll get a good outcome. And then, you know, it's the parents that are telling this to the kids. And they're in this model of do what I say, not what I do. Because the kids are watching the parents do the same behavior. And then we're like, well, do it that way and the kids like, no, you're doing it this way. I learned from your behavior. And if they went, here's the thing though, is if they went to the chiropractor, the kids would want to go to the chiropractor.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  Yes. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's, and you look at this and his research just came out this, I saw this last weekend, which is the mom's health and how active a mom is directly correlates with health over children. And I go first, it's like, you know, it makes total sense. Moms are the healthcare decision makers in the home. They're actually the financial care, like financial healthcare decision makers as well, even though she may not be the one that's earning majority of the money, but that is turning as well. More and more women are becoming the primary bread earners while they're also raising their families. And so we look at this as saying, who, like, we got a market to, who am I going to speak to? I was, I speak to moms because moms have this ability and there's innate power within them to impact massive generations. We look at coaching and the thing that I want that I thought of as you're saying this and I completely agree, we coach the coach, which is unfortunate. We do. And we shouldn't because my belief is, and I firmly believe in the four agreements is that I'm always trying to do my best. And so if I'm trying to do my best, I actually give a lot of, I give a lot of compassion, a lot of grace, because I'm assuming you're doing your best. And so when I look at a coach, if they're going to volunteer their time, they're going to put their energy and their effort, you know what, I'm going to support you unless something gets to the point where I'm really concerned. But I feel like parents come into going, you need to earn my support and trust and go, no, no, I get that as a doctor. I do need to earn support and trust, but I should get that in the first few minutes. I should get that immediately, not because I demand it, but because how I come in and how I care and how I, and I support like I'm there for you and your child, it immediately levels the playing field because they realize, oh, hold on, we're all on the same team. And we're all, we're all going towards this goal of improvement and perfection and I'm not saying in a bad way perfection, we're trying to get to the best we can and we're all trying to do our best. And I think that that's like that grace has to start here, that I'm trying to do my best and I give myself grace, which means I now have the capacity to give other people grace. So in the flip side, if we're not giving other people grace, it's probably that this self talk is probably really crappy. And that's why we start.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  Amen. And here's the other end of the spectrum. If somebody's not doing it the right way, you become a coach.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  Right. And you see this too, so you see it's in the chiropractic field all the time. We all share their horrible stories. It's like, well, hold on, you learn a lot from those docs, you learn a lot of what you want to do and you learn a lot of what you don't want to do. So you just learn a ton. So kiddos, you're going to learn things from that coach that you don't like. Great. That makes you a better player. And it actually helps you think better and think through things, which is really what we're all trying to work with is really learning how to process and why things are happening rather than just take it. But you're right. Good kick in the butt to say, get out and coach and find the time. Make the time to be involved in your children's lives.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  You've made the Chiro Hustle. Sit back and learn from the greatest influencers in the profession on the world's number one Chiropractic podcast. Before we dive into this powerful episode, please remember to subscribe to our channels and give us a 5 star rating on iTunes and continue hustling. This episode is sponsored by Transact Card, Align Life, NeuroInfinity, Imaging Services, Chiro Health USA, Chiro Moguls, Pure Chiro Notes, Titronics, Sherman College of Chiropractic, New Patients in a Box, Life Chiropractic College West, Pro Hockey Chiros, Pro Baseball Chiros and the IFCO. Let’s hustle.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  Yeah.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  And cheer them on. Yeah. And don't take it personal. Yeah. And don't don't take it personal again. And it's not your ego. If your kid was good, they'd play. And maybe you should coach them. Make them better. Instead of micromanaging the forecast of the team and trying to have influence when maybe your kid's not good. Yeah. So anyways, we could talk all day about like the politics of sports and the politics of teams, but chiropractic is a big team. You know, and, and I think that there, there's a lot of different influences and needs for support. And I do want to talk to you about practice evolution, because I don't know a whole lot about it. I know it's something that's near and dear to you, something that you put your heart and soul into. So share with our audience a little bit about practice evolution. And then I'd really like to like hammer home Chiro heroes to you.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  Okay. So practice evolution was started by Oge Rassell. So I hired him as my mentor and coach 16 years ago. And he has retired and offered me the baton to continue with the thing that I love about practice evolution is it's individual coaching. And you can't do a lot of that. And so it's a boutique style because I only take on a few docs at a time. And it's all about defining success right now, helping you be an amazing chiropractor. The whole program is subluxation based corrective chiropractic care. And I believe, and this is my stance of what I stand for, is you can't have a wellness practice unless you get people well. And so you need to know what getting people well looks like and being healthy, what that looks like. And so many people want to just place their patients on a wellness schedule and call it a wellness practice. And yet their patients are getting sicker over time. And I believe that's our responsibility as chiropractors is if we're going to profess health and wellness and we need to have examinations and objective measures and conversations and communication styles of what does it look to actually be healthy and well and how do we know that we're heading in that direction. So that's where I work is within that space. And I help doctors be incredible. I help doctors grow their practices naturally and neatly from within because as they communicate better and at a higher level, their practices blow up. A lot of the times the docs need that sometimes just a good kick in the ass that they are the problem and they are the solution. And I love that I can get in and speak so plainly. And by doing one on one, it's very much like, where are you in your life? And I'm willing to have those conversations because your practice is a reflection of you and a reflection of your life. And we all go through times in our lives that are wonderful. And we all go through times in our lives that can be very traumatic and painful and grieving and how do we serve and how do we show up. And so it is. I've heard my heart because it's really about helping to maximize each doctor not to give from an empty cup, but just the opposite of saying, I am an amazing doctor. I have systems, procedures and communication to help me speak from here now and to be from here. And as a result, I can serve a lot of people in a really big way and I can make a bigger ripple in this profession. I believe that our profession is only again, you guys already know I'm optimist because I believe our profession is only getting better. I believe that this is an amazing time to be a chiropractor and I believe that the impact and the opportunity that we have is phenomenal and we have to step into that role. And so it is, is asking doctors to step up and be a bigger role model and a bigger leader in their communities. And I do that very much just from the heart. And so like this weekend I'm teaching my module, docs are flying in from all over the world to come to my practice and say, here, let me share and in what works and sometimes what doesn't work and I'm in practice. And so I've got associates and I love that opportunity that I have. And at the same time, we're still trying to make things work because things change. And this time with people's stress level and fatigue of stress has changed how people think and how people are making decisions. So we have to be able to pivot and help and support through that. And so it's a huge way to leave this profession better than I found it. This is one of my big ways. I do it in a big, and I do it in a few big ways, but, but actually helping and mentoring other docs. I want them to be successful because it is one that we need to step up as a profession. We need to help each other as a profession. We need to realize that we're all in this for the same cause, the same purpose, which is to connect man physical with man spiritual and what an opportunity we have at the table. And I keep on repeating it, but with that opportunity is responsibility and I believe we can do a better job in that responsibility. It's not that we're not doing good enough. It's one of going when we have more skills and more resources than automatically we upgrade. And then we're able to take care of bigger and tougher cases because to me, the goal is if a parent is in crisis, they know that a family chiropractor is one of the solutions to that crisis, whatever the crisis looks like, whether that's a mental, emotional, physical issue, whether that is just balanced in their own life or whether it is something that their kid is just being bounced through the medical system. And they don't have solutions and they don't have answers and they're being left out in the cold and then they know that chiropractic should be and is someone they could go to and that's the bigger reach. That's the future I see in our profession is that we're only going to, we're going to become the mainstream. We're not going to be the alternate. It's going to be one that is like, no, everyone has a chiropractor and everyone has someone who grows their health and we are like, I remember when I graduated over 19 years ago, we were told chiropractic is part of the next trillion dollar wellness industry. Well the wellness industry came and yet we were not part of it. And I believe it's because we were so afraid to step up in our power and in our place that we are part of a healthy wellness lifestyle. We have a place within it and we let the influencers run with wellness and whatever we use that word and it became trite and it became overused. And yet let's speak to, let's speak within our authority of the fact that the body is powerful and capable. The nervous system is what runs the systems and runs everything in our body and a nervous system free of interference means it's full of life and Nate is life. And I think it makes sense. It's logical. It's fun and then we can full circle in service. And so Chiro Heroes is okay if I jump right into that one.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  Yeah, I mean, I just had some ideas around like the polarization of where we're at today. And the coaching like arena, like I'm under like this idea does chiropractic need another coach. And if the chiropractic colleges and the preparatory systems actually did a good enough job, then we wouldn't be so dependent upon these people to step in and do the right thing, become coaches, like they could really focus on practice. And I know that we all have different skill sets in this world, but I just kind of like shame on the educational model for taking so much, you know, exchange for the financial institution part of it to say, hey, now you got to go get a coach when you finish school. But we're not paying for that. We're not taking care of that. You're on your own now. I'm glad that I'm glad that you made it.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  And it's interesting. I don't know if you know, I taught at Parker as full time faculty. I made it a year. I loved every minute of it. I just couldn't I couldn't I miss practice too much. And it was a great decision for our family. I learned a lot in that process, I actually learned the time the place for schools. And it goes back to to me, the regulation is that the schools the purpose of the school is to get a student to graduate and most importantly to me, they can passports. The place of philosophy and education and business, like that's what I taught when I was there was I taught business and I taught communication and it was like the students loved it because I came from a practice that was highly successful. And I shared. And I shared. And as I laughed, I offered to continue teaching it. And they said, no, because we have our full time faculty teach it. And they just it's like I'm frustrated as an outsider now because I believe there's so much talent within our profession. I believe there's so much talent that we're willing to give back. Like I would still teach that class in a heartbeat and do it from here and everything else and just keep on pouring on the students, which is what I do a lot of because I know the students desperately need it. And I think the schools are sometimes too caught up in the regulation that they don't realize that we're trying to help. And if they just look around at these doctors that are really willing to help, it could actually uplift and get more. The students could leave a lot more supported and have resources or at least a network and that would change this need for a coach that you have to hire as you graduate, just set up a practice. And yet it's like, I look at obviously I am a coach and I mentor, but I do it one on one and I do it in different ways and I, yes, I teach systems and procedures, but I don't believe that you have to go in debt and massive debt in only one way. And it's really one of going, a lot of times I'm like, let's talk about what booze trapping a practice looks like versus getting a full SBA loan, a conservative one versus a full big one. It's like, what does that matter and why does it matter and what are your goals? What are your goals in your life? Because it has to be an individualized approach of what's best for you. And I think that's what we're forgetting is it's, well, this works for me. So it must mean it works for everyone else. And I believe that when you get the numbers and you've been able to take care of a lot of docs over the years, we go, well, that must be the only way. And I, that's how I, it's like I very much graduated. I'm 19 years in practice now. And it was an old, a good old boys club. And I mean nothing against men. What I mean by that, it was one way, only way. And like I started a family practice and I was told there's no way you'll be successful in a family practice. And well, somehow it worked out because I didn't listen to them. And I wish that's the thing that we would help us say, what do you want? What is your goal and how do we help you get there? The quickest way you can in actually making the fewest mistakes because mistakes are costly and that limits your growth.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  And you just knocked out of the park because my talking point that I've been like brewing on this whole time is that the chiropractic colleges fail the education model, then they should have to give rebates back for coaching at the end of the graduation to say, hey, I know you didn't get what you needed here in college. And it looks like you're about to go default on your loan. We're here to help you with these coaches. They're going to be the ones that save you and put you on the right path. And I think that that is the accountability model that we're missing in higher education. We'll, we'll for sure put that little price tag on their head and watch them articulate through their program. But it doesn't mean that they're going to be capable of doing what that, their dreams were. So I think that there's a place on the bus for everybody. And I don't want to like, you know, labor the educational institutions too heavy, but there has to be some accountability at the end of the day to make sure that one in five are, I think it's one in two chiropractors go out of business after five years. And it's the same fail rate as a small business. So you teach in, you know, business and communication, there's a problem within doctors that go through the boards and pass all these things and not have practice after, you know, half of a decade, that's a huge issue. And that would be the most glaring issue that I could ever see within the chiropractic profession. It's not whether we believe in each other's philosophies. It's not whether we believe in each other's techniques or what school we went to or any of the kumbaya stuff. It's real hard facts. And that's the business.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  Well, and I say you can't serve people by working a job at Home Depot. And I mean, nothing against Home Depot is the fact that you're a chiropractor and you cannot serve in this profession. If you have to pay the bills and get the food on the table by working at Home Depot. And I think that's the saddest thing is that people are leaving our profession going. It didn't work for me. And the answer is it can. Just the model that you've been told is the only way to be successful is not the right one for you. And I wish that that's where that accountability, I think there should be a calendar. Accountability with boards. If you can't pass boards then the school should be responsible for that too. Because it's one of going, if we say that you're good enough to graduate and we better help each other be successful, we would only benefit from more chiropractors being successful, not less.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  And I come from the other end of the spectrum. If a chiropractor can finish college, they don't need boards. They should just be able to go practice. They've proven their academic excellence. They've proven the fact that they could become a chiropractor. I go practice. She won.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  Well, and I will say, so there's a flip side because I also get to help out with national boards like part four. I'm an examiner with those. And I'll tell you some of those students come in. I know it's nerves. I know it's stress and then sometimes they just don't have a clue. And that's where you smack the head and go, then how did they graduate? Because they shouldn't have. And I feel like that's the problem. And so we look at it going, I think accountability is huge on every side and I don't think anyone wants to take accountability within that.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  And nobody wants nobody wants to say what we just both said.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  And we may have a few naysayers on that one and go, while I'm trying to speak really sweet leadable sides because I understand the limitations. And I also understand that there's opportunity. And we're not saying that I can be accountable with them. What can I do? That's not, I'm not saying fix everything, but start somewhere.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  And me coming from the non-chiro space as an educated guy, I'm like, so they pass chiropract school. Let them go practice. What are they doing? That's a medical exam. That's a medical test. Chiropractors aren't medical people. They're chiropractors. And we've been put into a construct that the chiropractor has to go past a medical sanctioned test board in order to go do something that's not medical. And I think that there's a place for both of those types of conversations. But that's another reason why the chiropractic profession is so damn hard for chiropractors because they don't think with that part of their brain. So you're like, it's just a nerve thing. I'm like, yeah, I get it. The chiropractor's like, I'm an artist. I'm a healer. Like I don't think that way. And you guys are now making me think that way at the end of my graduation. Awesome. Thank you. You know, it's kind of like a double standard.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  And it's also one I'll say I also take the responsibility of being a primary or a port of entry physician. I have a lot of people who choose not to see their medical providers on a regular basis after they start seeing us. So then I say, okay, then that up levels what I need to be able to do. I can't ignore that whole side because they're not not because it's fear based, but because it's part of a healthy lifestyle. I better know what health looks like. And I feel like that's where we try to make this like it's only chiropractic and it's only nerve. And yet we go, hold on. But yet we want to take care of families and not have them ever see the other side and go, well, then you better be able to better open this just a little bit.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  Yeah. You know, I'm not on a licensing board. I'm not a state regulator. I'm not with the educational boards. I'm just somebody that wants to have a successful profession for all practitioners and everybody that walks through an office. And I want to make sure that we're putting the best team on the field. Absolutely. And whatever that looks like, that's the dogma of the profession. I just want to make sure that sometimes we have those hard conversations on this podcast because not many people have the ability to be as articulate as you and to see it from my perspective too. Because I'm sure that there's been other people that said, Hey, this is the way that it looks to me, like, why is that a thing? And just because it's the way it's always been done doesn't mean it's the way it should be done.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  Exactly.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  You know, now we have guys in baseball when it goes to 10th inning starting from second base. Now we got pitch clocks on the guy pitching, you know, there's now a lot of things that are going into like sports, or we have replays. Let's have a replay on that.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  It's definitely a level of what you need to be able to do. And I believe that's our opportunities to have level with what we do.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  Yeah. So I know we don't have a whole lot of time left. I'll probably go a little bit over with you if that's okay. But I think that we would be remiss if we didn't talk about Chiro heroes and the big mission behind that program. I know that I have like seven questions I sent you and we probably didn't talk about too many of them. We got really like in tune with like chiropractic and the profession. So let's close out with talking about Chiro heroes.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  So Chiro heroes was it is a nonprofit that was started for the sole purpose of helping survivors from human trafficking. It was named Chiro heroes not because we're the heroes, but because as car partners we're supporting the heroes and we're loving and not just supporting, but saying what can we do to make a bigger impact for them realizing that human trafficking is like the number one. It's huge. Like I'm just trying to get my words around it. It's the biggest sales that's happening is of human lives. And most people want to say it's not happening in my backyard. It's not happening in my state. It's not happening in my country. And the answer is yes, it is. It's happening everywhere. And when you realize that it's happening at such a high level and it's happening to women, to children, to boys, it's something that we have to stop up and we have to stop to do a bigger part. And so as car partners we got together. So Eric Harrison, you've interviewed him a couple of times, which is awesome. He's a president. I was asked to help start the nonprofit with him. So I'm vice president and I'm part of the board. And my big focus is that I came in and said, I'm totally willing to do this because I want as a chiropractor that we can serve them. And I'm in a unique position being female and I'm happy to leverage uniqueness because what we've realized in this process is that survivors of human trafficking do not want a man touching them for the majority of them and I can't blame them. But that is, that's what we're now dealing with. And I want them to be able to receive chiropractic care because they've gone through violence. They've gone through trauma. They've gone through spiritual, emotional, mental trauma and the biggest way in betrayal and the biggest way. And so I wanted to learn that there can be safety in touch. There can be healing in touch. And so my practice has become a center that we're giving care for survivors of human trafficking and it's humbling. It's something that we have to be really careful how and what we communicate within. And it really makes you very aware of every word you say. And yet it has changed me in the best ways because that's what life does. And that's what we should do. And what we're asking within Chiro Heroes is not for everyone to become a provider because there's got to be systems and places for that. We're actually working with OUR for the aftercare. But what we're asking is for chiropractors to know more about this and to share this and to start donating. So we are asking chiropractors to donate one adjustment a month. Do it as an ongoing. We're not asking for tons of money. We're asking for something. We're asking for something that you can do. Give back one adjustment per month to Chiro Heroes. We're already the nonprofit. We've already done all the legal stuff. We're working with other state associations to help raise money and funds. And that money actually will stay even in your state and will help with human trafficking in your state. And so it's one that it is growing. It has gotten massive recognition nationwide. And we're getting and I will say like one of the blessings on the flip side is it's getting chiropractic in the door in places we never would have gotten in before. And for us to stand up for a population that no one talks about because it's uncomfortable and it's embarrassing and it's something that we don't want to admit that slavery is still happening and that we're tolerating it. And when we say, OK, I won't tolerate anymore and I'm willing to have this tough conversation. I'm willing to lean into this discomfort. I'm willing to learn what the signs of human trafficking look like. I'm willing to learn how I can communicate at a higher level in my own practice, how I can communicate body autonomy, how I can create safety within my practice that's going to help heal and create opportunities for healing within our practices, but within our states and within our countries. And say, what can we do? Because these survivors, what we don't realize is that often they're taken from their homes at a very young age or teenage. I've had a couple that were taken in their early 20s. They're not getting proper education. They're not getting whether it's formal or informal education. They're not getting opportunities for work and opportunities to take their life further. So they come out of human trafficking and often if they go back to the family, they're a family of origin, they're put back into human trafficking. That's the cycle that people don't want to talk about. So now they get them out of human trafficking and they can't go back to their family of origin. So now they have no resources and they have no support and people don't want to acknowledge that we have to stuff up for them at this stage as a survivor and that's where we're stepping up. So we've helped with education. We've created a scholarship for education. We've helped build homes for survivors of human trafficking. We're giving care for survivors. I would love to take it further to get into even some job opportunities and job shadowing and some trainings because we're small business owners and being small business owners all over the country and all over the world can give massive opportunity to these amazing people that need a hand up and we can offer that. And so we're growing and we're asking other people. We're asking doctors to get involved financially. We're asking doctors to get involved in a bigger way. We're asking associations to get involved. We're asking people to donate as the simplest thing up to offer education and offer resources because we're putting them together. And so go to ChiroHeroes.org. It is only growing and we're getting more involved with it and the purpose is so beyond us and it's going to ripple for many generations and we have to say in this generation, we're going to say no. And we're going to say like we look back during the slavery times and said, would I have helped people in the Underground Railroad to get through? I grew up in Maine. So it's like I was right at the Northern point of the Underground Railroad and so I was like, I know it very well and I would have said, yes, of course, I would have fought. Well now, now you got to prove it and now you got to say where are my actions? And so my answer is yes, I will fight and I will support and I will love and I will care and I will communicate some of these tough conversations that people are not aware of. And once we have that education, we can make better decisions.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  So everybody out there listening, there's three ways to support this. Give your time, your talent or your treasure and help these people with the chiropractic subluxations, physical, chemical, emotional stressors, thoughts, traumas and toxins. And you're right, this is epigenetic. It's an environmental thing and if we break the momentum of the epigenetic stressors, then we can change the future of people. It's not only where we live, it's what we think, it's what we eat, it's who we spend our time with. So we have to really take all this construct of reality day to day and minute by minute, hour by hour, week by week, month by month, year by year. And if we do this well, and chiropractors go forth and serve, give love, serve for the sake of loving and serving, expecting nothing in return, then the Chiro here is just the way to go guys. So Dr. Christina, what an episode, you're 527.

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  I love it. And I'm so freaking proud, 527 episodes within a profession, standing for truth, standing for freedom is such a powerful place to be and huge kudos to you for doing this because I know it's not easy. I know it's a ton of work and I appreciate you standing up for this profession.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  Well, I'm an independent journalist. I love what I do. I picked Chiro Pride because I saw the future in this profession. It wasn't just because I was a raw, raw guy, it was because I saw the miracles that were happening with this profession, how we were changing lives. I worked in a clinic for six years. I've scheduled more people than almost anybody else on planet earth for new patient visits. And maybe that's something we could talk about long term is creating systems to help these in recovery become advocates for other people with chiropractic. And I think that that could be the next evolution within the Chiro heroes is training the recoveries and teaching them how to become chiropractic warriors. And I think that if they knew what they could do to save other people's lives, then they would do it through chiropractic too. So if people want to work with practice evolution or they want to dive into Chiro heroes more, what web resources can we send them to?

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  So practiceevolution.com is my website. You can email me at dr. Christina at practiceevolution.com and then Chiroheroes.org is the website for Chiroheroes, please get involved with that.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  All right. So I have to ask you at the end of this. Is there anything I didn't ask you that you would like to share with your audience today?

DR KRISTINA STITCHER DC (GUEST):  I think this was, I love where this went all over the place. I think it's really one that my word this year is hustle. I think it's hilarious that we get to connect this year and say there's times that we invest, there's times that we get to reap. And so this year is a year that I felt very much going, I need to engage in a big way in this profession. I love, I serve this profession every way. And we all need a little bit of a hustle and drive, which means a good kick in the ass. And I believe that's a great way that we all need to say, are you doing what you can and great? And are you hustling? Because hustling doesn't mean burnout, but it means that we live with a purpose. We live with a passion. And we know that we have a little bit of urgency to it. And I think that's a great way to approach taking care of our communities is with a sense of urgency, passion, conviction and certainty.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  I love it so much. And thank you for being guest. 527 the Kyra Hustle podcast. I'm going to close out by telling everyone you're just one story way. Like Dr. Christina says, keep hustling. We'll see you guys on the next episode. Bye for now.

JAMES CHESTER (HOST):  Thank you. Thanks for listening to Kyra Hustle. Don't forget to subscribe and check back next week to continue hustling.

HASHTAGS

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