Palmer College doesn’t just provide students with a chiropractic education they simply can’t get anywhere else. Palmer’s uniquely close-knit culture also gives them opportunities to engage with an alumni network unlike any other. The relationships students and alumni forge open doors to enriching experiences and exciting possibilities for mentors and mentees alike — and the whole profession stands to benefit.
“GIVE ME A LITTLE, AND I’LL GIVE YOU A LOT.”
These are familiar words to patients of Roland Cayer, D.C. (Florida, `07). A passionate practitioner of Sacro-Occipital Technique (SOT), Dr. Cayer is known for the uncommon care and attention he invests in forging close bonds with the patients who visit his Celebration, Florida, office. For him, longer hours and lower volumes are a small price to pay for the opportunity to provide the kind of chiropractic care be believes his patients deserve.
Getting to know his patients on a deeper level has another payoff, too: It’s how he builds a pipeline of prospective Palmer students, potential preceptees and even possible future SOT torchbearers. “I talk to my patients — I get to know them at various times of their lives,” explains Dr. Cayer. “Intuitively, I can tell who would respond well to studying chiropractic.”
Over the years, he has referred seven students who went on to graduate from Palmer, hosted twice that number for preceptorships and welcomed upwards of 50 to shadow his practice. “Originally, I wanted someone to work with me in my office, someone who had the heart and soul for the profession and was willing to practice this technique that entails cranial work, organ therapy, even working with emotional issues patients might have. Those are the people I’ve sent to Palmer.”
Maria Boyd is one. A Florida native, she met Dr. Cayer long before stepping foot in his office. She remembers him visiting her family’s house to tutor her brothers in Latin, and as a child, she played with his children. Later, in high school, she became his patient. It was during an undergraduate internship at his practice that Maria decided, with Dr. Cayer’s encouragement, to apply to Palmer Florida.
“Through that experience, I was able to witness chiropractic in a way that I hadn’t before, and I said, ‘I want to do this,’” recalls Maria. “Dr. Cayer’s office is such a positive place, and everyone leaves happy. He’s so good at making you know that he cares.”
Just over a year into her Palmer education, Maria continues to benefit from Dr. Cayer’s advice and his listening ear. When the time comes, she hopes to return to his office for a preceptorship and gain more firsthand exposure to SOT.
“Every doctor in the field should be anxious to mentor young doctors because the survival of the profession depends so much on passing down what we’ve learned,” says Dr. Cayer. “But it’s important to be open to learning as much from young students as you’re teaching them.”
“This is a challenging profession, and you have to be humble,” says Maria. “That’s one of the things Dr. Cayer has taught me.”
WHY WE DO THIS
For Palmer students in the final trimesters of their chiropractic education, what could be better than a job offer? One night over pizza with their preceptors, Zach Wurth, D.C. (Main, `19), and Brynn Wurth, D.C. (Main, `19), found out.
A former member of the Palmer Student Alumni Foundation, Dr. Brynn first met Robert Ault, D.C., M.B.A. (Main, `07), and Rebecca Ault, D.C. (Main, `07), at a donor dinner, where she and Dr. Rebecca connected over their shared hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. Later, Dr. Zach got to know Dr. Robert after he spoke at the Palmer Center for Business Development. The two couples stayed in touch, and before Dr. Brynn and Dr. Zach knew it, their three-month preceptorships at the Aults’ northeastern Ohio practices were coming to an end.
“At the time, they were looking for new associates, and I thought, ‘If they offer us positions, that would be fantastic,’” Dr. Brynn remembers. “Instead, they said: ‘We want you to go open your own practice. We know you’ve been planning, and you’re ready for it. We’ve got you.’”
That was just the vote of confidence the Wurths needed to choose the riskier and more arduous path of setting out on their own. And it only begins to illustrate the profound impact their mentors have made on their career after Palmer.
“We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them,” says Dr. Zach from the Erie, Colorado, practice he and Dr. Brynn opened in August 2020. “From watching them engage in patient care to seeing how their businesses are run, we modeled a lot of the things we do after them.”
Dr. Robert helped them craft a business plan to pitch to local banks. Their logo? He designed it. When he and Dr. Rebecca remodeled one of their offices, they called up Dr. Zach and Dr. Brynn to offer all their old tables and traction equipment for free, an incredible gift to the budding business owners.
“We saw the opportunity to leverage our experience to help them achieve their dream, and we wanted to pay it forward,” says Dr. Robert, who is quick to point out that the Wurths’ ultimate success comes down to their own commitment and abilities. “At the end of the day, they’re where they are because they work hard, they take a real interest in their patients and they’ve become part of their community.”
A TRUE GIVE-AND-TAKE
From the perspective of an aspiring sports chiropractor, Alan K. Sokoloff, D.C., (Main, `85), is living the dream.
Founder and owner of the Yalich Clinic in Glen Burnie, Maryland, “Dr. Sok” got his big break with stints at the United States Olympic Training Center, the Goodwill Games and the Pan Am Games. Today, he serves as team chiropractor for the Baltimore Orioles’ AA club, the University of Maryland Terps and the Baltimore Ravens, where he has been a fixture through four heads of sports medicine, two head coaches, two team owners and three different medical-group providers since 1999.
Still, there is one thing Dr. Sok hasn’t mastered: social media.
He admitted as much during a presentation this year to the Main Campus chapter of Palmer’s Sports Chiropractic Club. Afterward, one student approached him with an offer to help. Grace Wendels isn’t just a student representative for the club — she’s also its social media manager. She harbors hopes of someday providing chiropractic care to athletic teams through her own practice, like Dr. Sok.
Only a few months later, Grace is learning invaluable lessons from her new mentor. “One of the first things Dr. Sok spoke of was leaving your ego at the door, which made me feel as though I could be myself when talking to him,” says Grace.
“It’s a true give-and-take with Grace because I know nothing about social media, so this is a different kind of mentorship,” adds Dr. Sok. “I encourage her to push me just as much as I push her. She knows that it’s not insulting or rude to ask for what she needs more than once. It’s her job, which she does so well.”
Just as Dr. Sok was willing to make himself vulnerable and ask for help that day on campus, his long journey to success is a model of hard work and dedication for Grace and others to learn from.
“I enjoy teaching and sharing from a real-life perspective rather than from books,” says Dr. Sok, who fondly remembers setting up his chiropractic table in smokey bowling alleys as he worked on finding his footing in professional sports chiropractic. “Persistence is one of the traits that has helped me get to where I am today, and I think it’s important for young people to learn and hone that skill.”
With Dr. Sok’s social media presence growing, Grace knows she’s building skills that will serve her well in the future. But it’s her relationship with Dr. Sok that matters most. “I’ve gained the best mentor I could think of,” she says. “I definitely couldn’t imagine doing all of this without him. He has become family to me!”
BETTER TOGETHER
Dr. Brynn has one word for her experience with the Palmer Student Alumni Foundation: invaluable. “It can open so many doors — for students and alumni.”
Dr. Rebecca and Dr. Robert, who are members of the Founder’s Circle giving recognition society, couldn’t agree more. “The Palmer logo is only as strong as the engagement between alumni and today’s students,” says Dr. Robert. “Our whole profession is better when help each other.”
REFERRALS MATTER!
If you know someone who would make an amazing chiropractor, let us know using our online Prospective Student Referral Form.
MORE: Read more from the Spring 2023 issue of Palmer Proud Magazine.
