117: Pediatric Chiropractor

Hi everybody. Welcome to the KC CHIROpulser podcast, brought to you by Kats Consultants. I'm Dr. Michael Perusich, and I'm joined by my guest host today, Dr. Kelly Fredericks. Kelly, how are you? I'm great. How are you? I'm fantastic. I'm fantastic. So I appreciate you coming on today. Uh, you and I talk frequently. In fact, we're almost neighbors. Yes. Because we live very close to each other. But, uh, and, and by the way, everybody, Kelly is my chiropractor, so, um, Yes, sir. But, uh, one of the reasons why I wanted to talk today was because you have a pediatric practice. I had a pediatric practice and, you know, we get a lot of questions and things from, from doctors out there who are always asking questions. You know, what's it like to be so laser focused Yeah. In your practice, in such a cool, fun specialty. Mm-hmm. , that, those are my words. Oh yeah. It is. It is very fun. Every day is so different. And we also say that every shift almost has its own personality. So when Oh, that's true. We have our, when we have our afternoon shifts, that's when all the families are coming. That's when the kids are coming after school. It's crazy town and it's so fun. Um, you never know what each day is gonna bring. Um, you have to have a ton of energy and your staff has to have a ton of energy. Because you have to be ready for what's gonna come, but we love it. Right? It's so much fun. , right. You know, everybody always asks, you know, do I, do I need to go get certified in pediatrics and so forth. And, you know, personally, I, I think as a chiropractor, I think you're pretty well equipped to, to treat kids. But I do think that intensive study, um, in, in really understanding healthcare, the natural healthcare of kids is incredibly helpful as well as gives you a little bit more authority. And you've had some great additional training just just like I have. And how has that helped really develop your practice and your experience? Um, it's, it's been critical. Um, I actually did a lot of my training when I was in chiropractic school. Mm-hmm. . So I went, I started my I C P A mod, uh, modules while I was at Palmer. And I really didn't know what I was doing at that time, because I hadn't really, I hadn't been in patient care. Um, I had obviously been with kids a lot, you know, earlier before then. Once I got into practice, I felt like just having that baseline knowledge from I C P A was so great. And then once I started practicing and getting my hands on kids, then I started fine-tuning that and tweaking it and going back mm-hmm. For more. Mm-hmm. And back for more because. There's just so many new things that come up and, and honestly, since I graduated, I feel like the kids have changed significantly. Sure. I mean, we just went to the, through the pandemic. Right. Which has made a huge difference in the babies that I'm seeing, in the kids that I'm seeing everything from. You know, the way that they had to go through school to all the new technology, it's a totally different game. So you always have to be upping your game and always be growing in your knowledge, because you never know what's gonna change from year to year. Well, you're absolutely right. Mm-hmm. not only, uh, is it in e uh, evolving the, the way you just said, just, you know, things change over time and I think the pediatric practice changes quite a bit over time. Mm-hmm. , but your kids change over time too. So you start out with a new baby who's maybe three months old and five years from now when they're five years and three months old, the, the, that's a totally different patient. It is, yeah. It, it. It's funny that you say that because I am now into ninth year of practice. Mm-hmm. . So when I first started, it was like I had a bunch of kiddos that were just starting kindergarten, and now those kids are, they're driving. They're graduating, right? They're getting into high school sports. They're going to college and, and it's, and it's, oh, it's so fun to watch them come in the door and all of a sudden, you remember little Tommy who was five and now is driving and talking to me about girls and it's, it's fun to evolve with them and to evolve with the families. Um, yeah, but it's, but it's a very different. A, a different patient, like you said, from when you start with them to, you know where they're at now and they have different needs. That's true. Yeah. And their bodies have changed and you know, so you're, you're really not just a doctor who's treating babies, you really become this. I think very genuine, very natural family doctor approach. Yes. Even though, even though we say we're pediatric based, that's kind of the entry point, but you, you create literally lifelong patients. Yeah. I, I had, you know, I was in practice long enough that I got to see the. The babies go all the way through elementary school and high school and go through college. And one of my favorite things was when they'd come home from college and Yeah. You know, I'd hear about all the excitement and things that they were doing in college, and then after college they'd start their career and get married, and pretty soon they're bringing their own kids in. Yeah. Yeah. And, and to me that, that's like the ultimate, ultimate thing is it's so cross generat. It's the ultimate practice builder, right? Oh my God. You're starting, yeah. You're starting fresh and then all of a sudden they're, you're getting one new patient, two new patients, and you're also getting grandma and grandpa. Right? And you're getting the aunts and the uncles and it, it just grows. I, I started with one. One woman, um, came into my practice and then within a couple weeks, then all of a sudden she brought her daughter. Yeah. And her daughter was an adult. Her daughter now just had her first baby. And I'm also seeing all of the cousins. I'm seeing all of the aunts. I'm now starting to see all of the neighbors and have this towns. Yeah, I said we're gonna have Thanksgiving at my office because like the family dynamic has gotten so big. I love it. Um, but it, it's great. It's so, it's so rewarding and um, it just gets you out of the monotony of the back pain, right? Because when, when you see four or five adults in a row and then all of a sudden that kid just comes running and jumps up on the table, it's a whole different, it just shifts your whole perspective on the day. And it's so great. It's so. So you just gave me a fun idea. I wish I'd have thought of this a long time ago. Wouldn't it be fun to have somebody come in and paint a family tree on one of your walls? Yes. Yes. And then have every kid after their first adjustment, or the moms or whoever go up and put their name up on the wall. Yeah. Yeah. And just watch it grow over time. And, you know, I'm, I'm glad you brought this up because, you know, we see doctors all the time trying to get new patients and doing. Crazy things. That's another podcast. But crazy things to get new patients and so forth. And the pediatric based practice is an amazing, not only retention tool, but new patient generator and you just pointed it out. You, you get, mom brings in the, the little one, the three month old who's got colic and nobody in the house is sleeping because. And so you help the child with colic. Mom's super impressed, so she's asking, well, what can you do with my six year old? Yeah, bring em in. Let's check em out. You know, you get the six year old then in under care, and then before you know it, mom's in care. Yeah. And dad's impressed. He's at home. You haven't even seen dad yet. Dad's totally impressed because now he's sleeping again. Yeah, mom and the kids are happy and excited about what's happening at the chiropractic office and who's the hardest new patient to get and keep dads. Then the dad comes in on his own admission. and all of a sudden you've got an entire family and once you get the whole family, at least this was my experience, once you have the whole family, you've got 'em for life. You've got 'em for life. Yes. Yeah. I agree. I agree. Yeah. I, I have one, um, larger adjusting room, which we call the family room. Yep. And often it's mom, dad, two kids, three kids now, sometimes four kids. Um, all coming together. For one appointment. So you imagine from a time perspective, you're now putting mom and kid, dad, and kid all together in your schedule. You're double booking your times, you're triple booking your times. You don't have to change out the table, move from room to room, it's much easier. Right. You just say next it is. And the kids are so fun. Yeah. Yep. The kids are so fun. It's wonderful. It was, was the best decision I ever made to, to really hyper niche into, to pediatrics and family. Right. Yeah, I totally agree. And you know, going back to the extra education and the certifications and the diplomats and those kind of things, I went through all that too. Um, You know, part of what I enjoyed about that process, the knowledge building process was those are CEUs that are totally different than what most CEUs are. They're fun. Yes, yes. They're, they're not CEUs where you're fumbling with your phone or you've brought your iPad and you're watching a, you know, a show in the back. Right. Or reading a book, you're, you're literally paying attention and involved and truly learning, and you take away so many great jewels and nuggets from it. Yeah, absolutely. And it's so great that so many of 'em are online now, right? So you can do everything virtually and, and it's things that, like you said, you don't get bored with it. There's always something new to learn. Right. And, and kids come in with so many different things. You know, you might see colic and earaches and constipation and failure to thrive and, you know, then they get a little bit older and they start playing sports. And now you're seeing the sports injuries. Yes, and yes, yes. Ankle sprains, knees, knee. I've got baseball players that it's, you know, they're pitchers. So you give shoulders, you've got knees, you've got ankles. Um, also, Unfortunately, one of the bigger things that we're starting to see is anxiety, anxiety and stress. Mm-hmm. in our teens. Mm-hmm. . Sure. So, um, you know, we're really focusing heavily on the nervous system-based chiropractic and, and what we can do to help them just handle all of the stressors that they're getting coming day to day. You know, so it's Right. A huge, yeah. It's not just colic and constipation anymore. It's a lot of things. . It's a lot of different things. Yeah. Mm-hmm. , and it's a lot of fun. You know, I saw a lot of kids, um, in fact, we had a special program for CH Kids on the Spectrum, and oh my gosh, I loved working with those kids. Mm-hmm. , they were so fun. Especially the autistic ones, you know, and you, you think of autistic kids sometimes you, you would think they'd be very difficult to work with. They're. One of the most rewarding things I ever did. In fact, one of my favorites isn't autism, but one of my favorite chiropractic stories just in my entire career was I had this, um, I think she was five or six. The mom brought her in. They'd been everywhere. This poor little girl wet the bed every single night, sometimes more than once, and they'd tried medications. They'd tried hypnotherapy. I mean, they tried everything under the sun. They'd even tried chiropractic before, but then they heard about. , our clinic being more pediatric focused. Mm-hmm. . So she brought her in. We adjusted her like three times and they came in. Mom is just crying. She's, she comes in and says, I can't believe it. We've gone a week without wetting the bed. This poor little girl couldn't spend the night at Grandma's house anymore. She couldn't spend the night with friends. Yep. And, and within just a few weeks, literally she was, no, she wasn't wetting the bed any longer. And here's the final. The mom told me that the little girl had taken my business card after the second visit, which had my picture on it. Yes. And she slept with it under her pillow. Oh. Oh my God. Wow. I mean that's the kind of things you get from a pediatric practice. Yes, yes. I mean, it just goes right to the heart and to the whole to the soul. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. And they, the thing about the kids is that they're so in tune with their body that they know how good the adjustments feel and they come running into your office or they're telling mom and dad. It's time to go to Dr. Kelly's. I need an adjustment. My, my atlas is out . I love it when the parents come in and they're like, Timmy said that his atlas is out and he needs to come in for an adjustment. But, but they know and they feel it. I just had a little guy start this week and he has been going to PT and OT for torticollis and um, his grandma brought him in yesterday. Uhhuh and. Almost in tears because she's ta. She takes him to all of his appointments and she said they would be sitting in the lobby waiting for the physical therapist and as soon as they would open the door and he would see the PT come out for him. Instant tears because he just, no, he just hated it. He absolutely hated it because it didn't feel good. And when they come into my office, he's all smiles and he feels good, excited and, and he was, he just loves it. And she was so grateful because she felt like, Even though they understood that the body work was important, that he just didn't like it and this he likes and he knows how good he feels after he gets adjusted. Sure. So it was really, it was special. The grandma was very grateful. Oh, I love that. Well, and the atmosphere in your office and your staff is just amazing too, so, yeah. Yeah. Um, it's high energy and very fun. It is. What would you recommend to somebody who calls up or, you know, just wants to know in general? I'm thinking about moving my practice more in a pediatric, pediatric direction. I can't talk today. , what would you recommend? I mean, what, what are the first steps in your opinion? Um, well, I definitely feel like starting with some training is really important. So start doing your research on, on the training. So my, my top, um, ones would be pediatric experience with Dr. Ebel, which is in Okay. Incredible. And then also the I C P A courses. Yep. So just start looking, you know, start diving into a couple of their ES… Pediatric Experience has a new CE course that they're doing at Life University. That's, I mean, second to none. It was incredible. I just finished it last year and just did my life. Um, uh, last month I went and finished my life. and um, so just start little by little diving in and just learning. Mm-hmm. . And then you also have to get your hands on kids. So start with your current practice members. You know, start talking to the moms that you have and just let them know that it's even an option and say, Hey, have you ever thought about bringing your child in to have 'em checked? And because I promise you they've never thought about it. Right. A lot of people just don't even understand. That it's possible for kids to get adjusted because they're thinking of how they're getting adjusted as an adult. Sure. And pediatrics is totally different. It's totally different. Very light. It's very gentle. So, um, you know, just start talking to moms, but then you also have to educate yourself on why kids would come in for chiropractic because. It's not neck pain, back pain. So it's, it's very different. So, um, you know, start telling those new moms that, you know, if the kids are constipated, it's a great time to come in and have them checked. Um, if they're having stomach issues, have them checked. Um, sleeping. Sleeping is a huge one. If they're not sleeping well at night, then, um, yeah, just a really good spinal check is huge because I promise they've got some stuff going on in the upper cervical spine that you could be. Mm-hmm. A huge help with. So start with your current practice members and then just start talking to them about it and, and start getting those kids in for spinal checks. Yeah, absolutely. And you brought up a good point. Talk to the moms. You know, every day before your day starts, look at your schedule. See who's coming in that day. Yeah, see? See who the moms are that have kids. Dads too. But moms are usually more the decision maker when it comes to health. Yes. But look at your schedule and see who's coming in, and then start talking to the moms about their kids. Hey, how are the kids? What are they doing? Oh, they just started school. Great. Are they carrying backpacks? You know, did you know schools don't do posture checks and posture evaluations anymore? You know, bring 'em in sometime we do that here. You know, you can, it's a simple conversation. It is. Plus you just get to know your patients a little deeper. Yeah. And when you show interest in their kids, wow. They listen to you and all of a sudden you, you really are building that authority with your patient. . Well, and it change the changes the table talk too, because you know, you feel like you're getting all the time almost asking the same questions over and over again, and then your patient starts to get bored and they start to wonder, why am I coming anymore? So if you change that up and have a completely different conversation, then it's almost like you're re-reactivating their care. Another easy thing that just came to my mind is start inviting those moms to bring the kids with them. Yes. To their. Because once those kids start seeing, you know, what, what are you doing to my mom? And they start asking questions and then they wanna start helping you. And you know, if you're doing drop table work, they love putting their hands up there and you can get them involved. And then before you know it, the kids are wanting to jump up on the table and they're wanting to get adjusted too. So that's probably the easiest way, is just inviting the moms to bring the kids to the, to the practice. Yeah. And it's also important too. Moms can understand that they don't have to find a babysitter to come to get their adjustment. If they can bring the kids with them, they're less likely to cancel their appointments. Absolutely. And, and it's just a huge burden off their shoulders to know, okay, I can do self-care and, and also bring my kid along too. Right, right. And, and kids, I always loved it when the little kids would ask question. Yes, Dr. Prish, what are you doing? What what, yes. What are you doing with mom's feet? And let me, let me see what you're doing. And Yep. And they really just kind of keep the conversation going. They do. Which is so fun. They wanna help fun, they wanna help. And then they go home and they start playing chiropractor at home. And then they start telling dad to lay face down on the bed, dad. And then they're moving legs and, and doing all the checks on them. Yeah. That's so fun. Naturally to them. That's so fun. And then, , they get about the point, uh, where they're a senior in high school and they start asking you questions about what does it take to be a chiropractor. A chiropractor. Yeah. And I probably had a dozen kids that went on to chiropractic school and became doctors. Yeah. And that, that's the ultimate compliment. I think it, it is, it is. I mean, what better way to, to grow our profession than, than start them early, you know? Right. Because then they already know what chiropractic is about and it makes them going into their own practice so much. Exactly. Exactly. Kelly, thank you so much for being on here today. It's always fun talking to you. I know we talk all the time, but yeah, this is a blast. I love it. Let's do it again. Yes. Awesome. All right, everybody. If you haven't done this already, go to cats consultants.com, check us out. We've got all kinds of free downloads and things on there. Most importantly, if you want to talk about your practice and where you're at and how we might be able to help you, whether you want to go in the direction of pediatrics or some other kind of niche or just a general chiropractic practice, or maybe you want to convert to cash, call us. Let's talk about your practice. You can jump on my schedule. We love to talk to you guys out there. We do that for free because we like to give back. So from all of us here at Kats Consultants, thanks for tuning in to the KC CHIROpulse podcast. We appreciate you and we'll see you next. Bye.