ROAR members come from all over the world. Our current interview is with Dr. Kevin Phalen, co-owner of Balanced Living Chiropractic Clinic in Amherst, NY. Dr. Phalen gives great insight on how he was a resident of NY, fell in love with the "size of the heart" of Sherman, and returned home to practice in NY.
Why did you choose to become a chiropractor?
Chiropractic was a third career choice in my life. I had been in retail management for 15 years and wanted a change. I had always enjoyed working with people on a personal, one-on-one level, and started looking into various healthcare fields. A friend suggested I look into chiropractic. I have a very holistic viewpoint of health and wellness, and the more I read about chiropractic the more I felt that this was the correct choice for me.
What technique(s) do you practice?
While I utilize my knowledge of many techniques in my practice, including Diversified, Thompson, Pierce and Instrument adjusting, the bottom line is that I use what I believe best serves the needs of the individual patient. Chiropractic is not a “one size fits all” art. Each individual presents with a varied assortment of factors. At each visit I assess my findings and adjust the patient in a way that I find works best with their body.
How did you get into such technique(s)?
As a Chiropractor, you take the bank of information you have learned over the years and create your own individual, unique style of adjusting. That’s the art in the philosophy, science and art of chiropractic that we talk about.
How did you choose the site for your practice (i.e. hometown, new territory, underserved, near family, etc)?
Because of personal, family needs, I knew that I was going to go “back home” to set up my practice. I graduated from Sherman College in September and would not be taking Part IV of the National Boards until November. This meant I would not be licensed to practice until sometime the following February. In the interim I took my time canvassing different areas and neighborhoods to find what felt right for me. I considered the demographics of the local communities that would be served, traffic patterns and costs.
What type of practice do you have (i.e. home, small office, franchise, part-time, mobile, rented space, etc)?
I am co-owner of a two-doctor practice and lease space in a small professional development which serves two of the largest suburbs of Buffalo, NY. My business partner is also a Sherman College grad. Our practice is strong and growing. We are currently assessing increasing our office space and adding additional doctors to the staff.
Why did you decide to go to Sherman College for your chiropractic education?
As a resident of New York State, I first thought of attending a New York college for my education. This would have afforded me the luxury of being close to home in the event of an emergency, or just when I felt I needed to get away from school. I attended the career day at the college in New York but felt no connection to the people or the area. Indeed, when I asked various students why they had chosen that school, I was surprised that no one had chosen it as their first choice. It was always a compromise decision, one out of convenience or necessity. The faculty and administration were very aloof and business-like, concerned more with their school’s prestige than their students or prospective students.
I was also considering Life College, the alma mater of my personal chiropractor. A friend suggested that I also look at Sherman College, since I would be down in the area.
I toured Life College the day after I attended Sherman College’s Career Day. At Life, I found a school with a very high student population which seemed rather over-whelmed with their studies and the “hustle and bustle” of hectic student life. The faculty seemed very uninvolved and focused on the “busy-ness” of the day. I saw the proximity of Atlanta as a definite attraction, but also realized that it could pose a major distraction to studying.
I’m from a big city so at first, I was taken aback by the small size of the campus. Later that day, however, I was over-whelmed by the immense size of the “heart” of the school. I met students so excited about their school and “turned-on” to their career choice, and faculty and administration very dedicated to chiropractic, the school and its students. It was then that I knew, somehow, some day, I would attend Sherman College and be a part of this excitement. I knew I wanted to be a “Sherman- Chiropractor.”
What is your most important piece of advice to students going through the Doctor of Chiropractic program at any school?
Concentrate on your studies. Challenge yourself to be the best you can be. This is a very important phase in your life as you explore all facets of the chiropractic profession and mold yourself into what you are in the process of becoming. This is your special time to learn not only the academic coursework you need to graduate and pass the National Board exams, but also to form who you are inside, to develop your perspective on the issues of health and wellness which face us today and in the future.
What are your future plans within chiropractic?
My present plans include the continued development and growth of my practice to serve the needs of my community and to continue to educate those around me in the ways of true wholeness in health.
I also plan on continuing my work with pre-chiropractic and chiropractic students, to guide them and help them as they further discover chiropractic and develop who they will become as tomorrow’s chiropractors.
I also plan on continuing my personal development through enhanced studies of health and wellness and to further contribute intellectually to my profession.
What do you envision the future of chiropractic becoming?
I hope to see a profession which continues to serve an ever-growing number of people of all ages and from all walks of life as they seek a life of enhanced health and wholeness-of-being through more holistic choices.
Kevin Phalen, D.C.
Balanced Living Chiropractic Clinic
2140 Eggert Road, Suite B
Amherst, NY 14226
(716)-832-1818
http://www.balancedlivingchiro.com/