Meet Allison Harvey, DC, instructor in Logan’s Master of Science in Chiropractic Pediatric program.
Specializing in pediatric care, Dr. Harvey has been treating children since 2006 and is one of the only board-eligible Diplomates in Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics (DICCP) in Missouri. In addition to serving as the senior clinician for the pediatric department at the Montgomery Health Center on Logan University’s campus, Dr. Harvey teaches pediatric courses to trimester 7 Doctor of Chiropractic students and oversees the very specialized, highly sought-after pediatrics rotation.
Dr. Harvey is certified in acupuncture and has attended multiple seminars and programs in her nearly two decades providing chiropractic care. She regularly speaks on chiropractic pediatric topics in local media and has facilitated in numerous workshops and webinars. Learn from Dr. Harvey in the Pediatric Case Management 2 and Advanced Pediatric Case Management courses for the Master of Science in Chiropractic Pediatrics.
What drives your passion for pediatric care?
My passion for pediatrics comes from diving into motherhood myself. The ability to study my own children – their development, immune system and overall physical and emotional wellbeing – has been an incredible and valuable experience. Spending late nights researching symptoms, milestones, head shape and even how to treat skin disturbances ultimately led me to completing a full diplomate in pediatrics.
With this being said, I do not think you need to be a parent to excel and be driven to help the pediatric population. For me, I didn’t know the passion existed until my doula handed me two newborn girls to now care for. In a way, we were all born that day. I was born into motherhood and a desire to help from that moment forward.
Why is there a need for more advanced training and education in this area?
Creating resources for doctors to enhance their expertise is a vital part of Logan’s mission. Creating a community of educated doctors with diverse interests is what sets us apart. We are lucky that Logan has put together an outstanding program to meet the needs of those interested in helping their younger patients. The interest and demand for pediatric care is growing significantly. Students are expressing interest in the pediatric population as early as trimester 1.
For the parent population, gone are the days of only seeing one type of practitioner or taking a “watch and wait” approach. Parents are searching for options to help manage their child’s health, development and overall wellness. They are monitoring milestones, studying food habits and even googling cranial work for tongue tie nursing problems. The parents we see in Logan’s Pediatric Center are highly educated and looking for results.
Most pediatric cases are difficult to navigate with multiple underlying contributors. If we don’t continue to build our pediatric knowledge, parents will look to other practitioners to do what we do best. This demographic needs early intervention in order to overcome life’s challenges. Having a program dedicated to pediatric chiropractic and integrative medicine allows doctors to have multiple strategies to diagnosis and treat infants to adolescence.