Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dr. Erika K. Shaw. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Dr. Erika K. thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
When I was in middle school, my grade was made to take a career placement test that would find the best career options based on our personality, interests, etc.. The results were alphabetically listed and “Acupuncturist” was the first one on my list. It was at the ripe age of 13 when I decided that was what I wanted to be when I grew up. Fast forward to junior year of high school, I had started researching colleges and realized that I was going to have to fall into a staggering amount of student loan debt to be able to pursue this career. I came to the unfortunate conclusion that it just wasn’t going to be in my cards. That is until I dislocated my rib during a soccer game. My rib was out of the facet joint for several hours until a chiropractor could come onsite to put it back into place, only for it to slip back out later on the drive home. After a very disappointing ER visit later that night, I was left feeling dejected and still in an immense amount of pain. The pain was so excruciating that I had to skip school the next day. When my mom got home from work, she decided we were going to go try out an acupuncturist for the first time because why not? Nothing else was working! After 30 minutes of retaining the needles, just elbows and knees down—not even locally, I walked out of the clinic completely pain-free, like it never happened! It was truly miraculous. In that very moment, I decided if I could do this for even one person, it would be worth the astronomical debt I would have to acquire to learn it. It was the closest thing I had ever felt to magic and yet, it was a medicine! How cool would it be to perform both AND be a doctor!? I then started shadowing with that acupuncturist, Dr. Cindy Conlin, all throughout high school and college. I will always be grateful to her, as well as my mom, for changing the trajectory of my life with such an amazing experience. Due to this as well as my life-long experiences as an athlete, I am especially passionate about treating orthopedic and sports-related injuries in particular!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I work at a non-profit community acupuncture clinic in Long Beach, CA! I am passionate about providing quality healthcare at an affordable rate. We operate using a sliding scale fee system that often matches the prices of many people’s copays. As far as my specialties, I love treating orthopedic disorders from literally any sports-related injury to the good ole “computer neck” and low back pain that is more often associated with a sedentary lifestyle or a desk job. My absolute favorites to treat are neck and shoulder pain, low back pain—with or without sciatica, and knee pain! Migraines, diarrhea and/or constipation, autoimmune disorders, as well as anxiety and depression are also wonderful honorable mentions. I was a massage therapist for 7 years prior, so I always like to include bodywork at the end of my sessions when there is a musculoskeletal complaint. This previous career has helped hone and develop my understanding of human anatomy and physiology in such a way that I can easily palpate and find the trigger and motor points of muscles that greatly contribute to my patients’ postural dysfunction and pain. Having participated in an array of sports, I have a strong idea of my patients’ mechanism of injury and how to best address it going forward. I like to joke that if I haven’t personally had the injury, a teammate of mine has! I grew up on a farm rough-housing constantly, played soccer as a toddler all the way to the collegiate level, ran track and field since elementary school, wrestled during middle school, and for the last 8 years to present, have been training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Some other sports that I did more for fun were swimming, ballroom dance, volleyball, and aikido.
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
Although the student loan debt is massive and daunting—and which profession’s isn’t when it requires a master’s or doctoral degree, I would choose this career all over again in a heartbeat. It truly is the closest I’ll ever come to performing magic, and I still feel that way even after years of learning the science behind it. It was a godsend for me on my healing journey and I don’t take that honor lightly when my patients trust me with their care. I had originally come into acupuncture school thinking I was going to specialize in Five Elements and focus on the psycho-emotional and spiritual aspect—which I still love. But throughout my time in the school clinic and at my offsite shift at UCSD’s RIMAC, I realized that the orthopedic focus truly aligns with my soul and interests the best. The great thing about acupuncture is that it’s a holistic medicine. So, I still can practice both the spiritual and more orthopedic styles, even on the same patient and within the same treatment should that be what the situation calls for! One of the many reasons why I went into this field and would do so again, is that I will never know it all. Some may not find that comforting, but I’m grateful that there will always be more to learn and pursue in this medicine!
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
It is a sad fact in this field that some of the best at their craft won’t succeed or even stay practicing 3 years after graduation. You could be the world’s best acupuncturist, but at the end of the day, if you don’t know how to run a business or clinic, you won’t be able to fund that dream. I’ve known several people who struggled to make it and ended up falling back on an old career of theirs that paid the bills since they weren’t generating enough income as an acupuncturist. A general rule of thumb is if you can succeed for your first 3 years, you’re going to be okay. With 6 figures of student loan debt, it was daunting to even consider taking out a business loan to start up my own clinic straight out of school, and honestly, wasn’t a risk I was willing to take. I chose to garner more experience and work in other clinics before I would even think about branching out and starting my own. I consider myself extremely lucky to have come across Urban Salt and Dr. Candace Lopez! She provided a wonderful opportunity for me to work full-time at the non-profit community clinic—which, little-known fact, qualifies me for student loan forgiveness after 10 years! Talk about divine timing! If you don’t know how to run a business, I would recommend apprenticing under someone who does, learning what you want to take from their business style, what does and doesn’t work for you, etc.. I’ve now worked in almost 10 clinics (chiropractic, acupuncture, med-spa, etc.), and many simultaneously, within the last 10 years—both as a massage therapist and an acupuncturist. I can now comfortably say that I have a crystal clear image of how I would run mine for when that time comes!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://urbansalt.org/
- Instagram: @precision.acupuncture
Image Credits
All of the photos above are of me. The blonde woman on the left sitting on the massage table is Dr. Cindy Conlin who mentored me and was my first ever acupuncturist. This was from my last acupuncture treatment during a trip home to Oregon and was taken by my twin sister, Nadine Shaw.