About
FMA is too cool to try to sum it up in
25 words, but if I had to pick just one,
it would be “Amazeballs”.
About Functional
Medicine Academy
It’s everything Dr. Z knows all rolled up into one – it’s like a casserole of clinical consults, practice mastery & business growth. Grab a fork.
There is a huge patient demand for Functional Medicine practitioners but not enough of them trained to meet that need. That’s a fact.
Despite this, some FM docs act like a “Debbie Downer” and want you to believe it is too hard, too costly and not fun or profitable. What?!? That’s nuts!
Oh boy, you have to watch the crowd you hang with. Come spend some time with us instead.
At FMA you will find practical clinical information you can use right now. You will find options for how to work with the patient/client that matches your license & scope of practice. There’s room for everyone and we need FM practitioners at all levels.
There are no dumb questions here. There is no “posturing” or egos or “hey my technique is better than yours”…it’s just not the way we play.
I’m passionate about creating a safe, open & comfortable learning environment so you can be your best self. That’s a big part of FMA. We have a special space for you. We get to know you and you aren’t just a “number” here!
Another key part of FMA is all the practice and business building skills. Read more about Dr. Z (me!) below & you’ll see why this is something that makes FMA unique and really sets us apart from the rest of the programs you may be considering.
The short version is: we take practice building seriously. My team and I will do everything we can to provide you with the information and tools you need to rock your practice and build a business that serves your unique needs.
This is our happy place – getting to serve a wonderful community of practitioners that we know by name – our ER doctors, our chiropractors, our nurse practitioners, our osteopaths, our nutritionists, our pediatricians, our pharmacists, our naturopaths, our therapists, our internists – we love them all!
Wherever you land for your FM training and practice growth – I sincerely wish you the best & much success!
Through her mentorship program, functional medicine academy, webinars, and in-person seminars I feel SO much more confident in not only my abilities as a practitioner, but also in setting up my practice to be successful from the get go! I can’t recommend her enough!
About The Dr.Z
Did you read the home page? That’s where the snazzy “About The Dr. Z” copy is located. A+ and earnest effort on that one.
Here, on the FMA “About” page, I want to get real with you. Maybe it’s because it’s the wee hours of the night and I feel like I want to whisper and tell you a secret, but here it goes…
Most trainers don’t tell the truth.
Okay, I’ve now typed that out and I can feel the wagons circling. The boys club isn’t always fond of a female teacher revealing the man behind the curtain.
What am I talking about?
Well, in my not-so-subtle way I’m pointing a light at the online training companies and marketers that are great at grabbing your attention but not delivering the goods.
I talk to practitioners every week and this is what I hear:
“I spent $12k on a training to make an evergreen online course. It’s a year later, the course isn’t done & my practice hasn’t started. I’m still paying off the loan.”
In one month I heard that from 3 different practitioners. Now, an evergreen online course can be great – but it’s not where you start. And, the training company didn’t share that. This is not where you begin if you want to launch a practice and get to 6-figures quickly. You need volume for that to succeed. If you start there you will be disappointed. It’s the wrong call.
“I’m an XYZ licensed practitioner in Texas but I’m going to work as a ‘coach’ doing Telemedicine across the US. This is what ‘insert guru name here’ told me I can do and several docs in the FM Facebook group are doing it too”
I hear this multiple times each week. I know the trainers that are out there teaching it, and it is illegal. It puts your license at risk. Listen, I’m a mom. So many of my clients are women. We don’t want a “risky” practice that keeps us up worrying at night. We want as much of a “risk-free” practice as we can have, great autonomy to deliver quality care, a business that provides for all our financial needs and to have a life. Remember those kids and the garden and the dog and the vacation – they need our attention too!
Side note: I take off 1-month vacations at a time. Would you like to do that too? I can teach you.
“I was overwhelmed in the training and embarrassed to ask a question. I felt talked over. It seemed like everyone else knew what was going on. I just need to get a few more certifications before I can start. I’m not sure I know enough?”
I LOVE getting practitioners into action, supporting them through those fledging stages of building their practice and seeing them soar. The learning never stops and patients will drive your next burst of clinical growth. You don’t need to know it all or be “everything” for the patient to have an amazing practice. You do need to start though.
Here’s the bottom line with FMA – we are real, we will fight for you to succeed and we will be honest and tell you what to do and what not to do when it comes to running your Functional Medicine practice.
FM and practice building is fun. Come join the party!
A Snapshot of FMA
The Academy online Clinical classes - the cheatsheet for patient & lab answers
The Masterclass for Practice Setup, Growth & Systems - don’t reinvent the wheel
The Certification for those going the distance & want proof on the wall
The Mentorship for live Dr. Z access - bring all your questions in real time!
The Mastermind exclusively for those in mentorship - a day of expansion!
The Retreat in-person for a select few - because business & beach go together
You Know You Can Call On Me
6-Figure Practitioner Clarity Session
We should talk. Really. Just give me a call.
That thing that’s swirling around your brain and telling you that you can’t have your own FM practice – I’ve got a solution.
That feeling of being overwhelmed and not knowing where to start or how it will even work – I’ve got a plan.
That doubt that you might not be capable or good enough or ready or “how dare I think of doing this” – I’ve got a cheatsheet.
I’d love to talk to you. Click “Schedule Now” and try to grab the soonest spot you can find.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who the heck is Dr. Z and why is she the one teaching?
Well, it all started when I was 8 years old and my sister was born… I jest, but that’s not too far off. I’ve been an over-responsible big sister and teaching my entire life in multiple careers. You can get to know a bit about me in the pages of this website, the testimonials from practitioners & patients, the silly stories at the bottom of each page or by taking a free live Zoom class with me.
A few quick “sort-of-braggy” facts – I led the team that outsold Disney in their own park (it had never been done before!), I have a genius IQ and a history of a TBI (fun combination), I created the world’s first visual personality profiling system (which has since been copied many times!) that was published by McGraw-Hill, NY, I’m a 5th-generation female entrepreneur, I’ve won awards (lots, in many areas), I’ve been on the news (2x), I owned 8 houses by the time I was 31 years old, I’ve created multiple businesses that were all profitable and debt-free from year one, I designed a functional medicine lab analysis software program, I created nomenclature for a complex metabolic condition, I’ve published peer-reviewed literature, my spatial reasoning score was 100%.
A few quick “sort-of-braggy” facts – I led the team that outsold Disney in their own park (it had never been done before!), I have a genius IQ and a history of a TBI (fun combination), I created the world’s first visual personality profiling system (which has since been copied many times!) that was published by McGraw-Hill, NY, I’m a 5th-generation female entrepreneur, I’ve won awards (lots, in many areas), I’ve been on the news (2x), I owned 8 houses by the time I was 31 years old, I’ve created multiple businesses that were all profitable and debt-free from year one, I designed a functional medicine lab analysis software program, I created nomenclature for a complex metabolic condition, I’ve published peer-reviewed literature, my spatial reasoning score was 100%.
Now, don’t get me wrong – I’ve got a long list of things I suck at or challenges I’ve faced along the way. A loooong list! And I cringe at throwing around facts about my “wins”, but I want you to know you are in good hands.
I love to teach. I want you to win. I’m compulsively honest and endlessly creative.
Oh, I also make boring stuff fun. So, that’s why I teach.
How long do I have access to The Academy course material?
For 2 years. 24 months. For one year and then another one. For 730 days.
We want you to be able to move through the content at your pace. You can do it quickly in a few months (or even a few weeks if this is all you are doing!) or you can take your time over the course of a year. We give that extra year so that you will be able to look back, reference the notes when you need them, grab a handout when the situation arises…
What’s the cost for the classes? Can I take just one? Do you have CME’s?
It varies. Yes. No.
All of this is explained on The Academy page and in the FAQ. Anytime you have a question and don’t see an answer, please email us at Team@TheDrZ.Com.
Why are you sometimes silly or (not) funny? Healthcare is serious business.
Yes, you are right – healthcare is serious business.
I’m really good at being serious, so focused and no-nonsense that I could “crack”. You know the type, they are a little intense and can tune out everything else as they laser focus on an issue.
You probably need to be a little hyper-focused (or obsessive) to become a master at any profession and it can be rewarding to rise to the top in your field.
But there’s more to life than excelling or winning or knowing or earning.
We have to have levity and love and lightheartedness – that’s the energy that can keep you grounded and bring fun to serious work.
We want that for our patients too, they need more laughter.
So while the jokes don’t always land, I strive to keep a balance between deadly serious and deadpan humor.
Don’t get me wrong though and feel free to ask anyone in the program – we cover the facts, the science, the financials, the legal, the conflict, the labs, the doubts and every other hard topic that you’ll face as a practitioner.
But you don’t get bonus points for not cracking a smile, so we grab the giggles where we can before sticking our heads back into the research article or the pricing grid or the HIPAA regulations or the EMR software…
Why should I take this course or be in The Mentorship?
Well, if you are a great person wanting to build/expand your Functional Medicine practice and looking for solid clinical technique with sound business practices and a wonderful, supportive group to share this wild journey of entrepreneurship with…then you belong here.
But, no mean girls allowed. So, if you want to tear down other people, love drama, create controversy or be in a perpetual state of negativity – then don’t join. This isn’t a reality TV show.
For those that want it, are coachable, open-hearted and determined to make this work – then we want YOU! Because there is nothing we love more than seeing our practitioners soar.
You aren’t a number to us or some faceless person pressing “buy”. We are invested in you and your success.
Through her mentorship program, functional medicine academy, webinars, and in-person seminars I feel SO much more confident in not only my abilities as a practitioner, but also in setting up my practice to be successful from the get go! I can’t recommend her enough!
Deep Thoughts
by Dr. Brandy Zachary, DC, IFMCP
No One Has a Forgettable Plane Crash
Frustrated with Conventional Medicine? Looking for something different?
If you are a practitioner tired of serving up pills but no solution or a patient struggling to get answers…you’ve come to the right place.
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