We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Toshina Crockett_Espinoza . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Toshina below.
Toshina , so great to have you with us and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with the community. So, let’s jump into something that stops so many people from going after their dreams – haters, nay-sayers, etc. We’d love to hear about how you dealt with that and persisted on your path.
I knew I was in for a bumpy ride when I decided to change my career after the birth of my first son at the age of 32. What I didn’t expect was a straight out opposition of my new path. During my pregnancy, I was high risk and had very bad pain with walking. I was able to overcome the pain when I would see my chiropractor regularly. I knew I wanted to help other mothers going through the same ordeal. I decided to switch my career from pharmacy to chiropractic. Upon my entry interview to chiropractic school, I was warned that I had less than a 2% chance of completing the 4 year program. I was given 3 major reasons why I would fail. Firstly- I am a women. Only 30% of American chiropractors are women. This statistic didn’t mean much to me. It didn’t deter me one bit. Secondly- I am a mother. Mothers struggle more during college than any other group, let alone during a doctoral program. For this reason- I felt it gave me more of a reason to push through. Failure is not an option for me. I have children who rely on me. Lastly- I am Native American. Less than 0.5% of the population of doctors are Native American. I cant even find any stats on Native chiropractors. For this reason, I knew I wanted to be an inspiration for my tribal members. I believed in myself, so no amount of nay-saying could stop me. I want that message to be heard by anyone who needs to hear it.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Hello everyone. I originally wanted to focus on pregnancy chiropractic because that is what inspired me. I realized very fast that every member of the families I would see needed care. I wanted to make sure that I was able to properly provide care generationally. I studied special populations, special branches and techniques of chiropractic care. I started noticing a gap in care. So I did an additional 2 years in functional medicine. After I completed that, I became a certified medical examiner so that I could properly perform physicals for department of transportation and sports physicals. I am continually in education mode. Every chance I get, I take another class. I really love learning, not just for my patients, but to be a better mother and informed person.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Perseverance goes far. My first few exams were very, very bad. Every week, I learned from my mistakes. I had to actually learn how to learn. Sounds funny, but it took practice. I once heard a very successful business man describe how he would rarely speak in the presence of people he could learn from. He noted if he spent his time talking, he wouldn’t have the opportunity to listen and learn from the best. Listening, truly listening and absorbing someone else’s experience is a great skill.
Lastly, I had to learn how to become flexible. Because I am a mother and my time was limited, I had to be strict with my schedule. I had to adhere to the daily plan to be able to meet my goals. I found out that things rarely went the way I planned. I struggled with this and started to feel a victim mentality. I started to feel sorry for myself. I eventually learned to adapt. This helped me deal with patients. Patients didn’t walk through the door with textbook symptoms. I am so glad I learned how to adapt to be ready for the real world.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
Over the past year I have realized that social media is playing a big role in the way the public perceives chiropractors. There are so many TikTok Docs. They give Little information and just show fast clips of “cracking videos” For this reason, many people don’t see chiropractors as doctors, but rather as “quackery”
Contact Info:
- Website: Crockettfamilychiropractic.Janeapp.com
- Instagram: Dr.toshi.dc
