Dr. Serle's Story

I grew up in the great state of New Jersey from humble beginnings. My family ignited my pursuit of helping people and practicing medicine as a calling. To me, my grandparents, my parents, and their friends served as real-world examples of people dedicating their life to service. As a child, I could see that in their pursuits of ministry, nursing, fitness, drug counseling, and naturopathy, they had prioritized the well-being of others as their means to provide for their own family. This, unknowingly at the time, became the foundation for my journey.

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My journey towards practicing medicine did not take a traditional path. When I left home for college, I began to experience severe cystic acne during my first year. The acne was so inflamed that it was difficult to sleep at night due to the pain from lying on my pillow. After several months of different topical skin treatments and multiple rounds of antibiotics, I developed a resistance to those medications, resulting in a double infection in the sebaceous glands of my face.

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I was then prescribed a combination of medications that made some improvements to the acne, but it did not completely cure it. The pressures of a young adult dealing with academic performance, athletic performance, and social networking anxieties due to my chronic acne became overwhelming. My frustration with traditional medicine being unable to find a permanent solution motivated me to explore the underlying causes of my condition on my own. One of my favorite quotes from the poet Maya Angelou is: "If you don't like something, change it; if you cannot change it, change your attitude." With that quote, I changed my major from Accounting to Biology. Then, I decided to continue my education elsewhere, focusing on alternative medicine, which I learned through inspiring lectures and some personal self-study.

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I enrolled at Life Chiropractic University in Georgia and eventually earned my doctorate in chiropractic care. In addition to that, I completed the master's program in Sports Chiropractic and Exercise Physiology. While at Life, I trained with two different sports chiropractors who worked for NBA teams (Hawks, 76ers). They inspired my interest in sports chiropractic, and with that inspiration, I began my chiropractic practice and ran it successfully for 13 years. Having performed over 8,000 chiropractic adjustments and mastered nearly every technique, I decided to move beyond treating the symptoms and start healing the source of pain.

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I have always believed that physicians should prioritize brain health because it serves as the master control system of the body. This was the catalyst for pursuing a postgraduate education to become a chiropractic neurologist. This specialization, which diagnoses and treats brain and spinal disorders, is similar to traditional neurologists, except for prescribing medicine. My studies included postgraduate courses at some of the nation's most prestigious medical schools, including Harvard Medical School, focusing on pharmacology, cardiovascular health, neurology, and rheumatology.

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While studying, I came across an opportunity in my home state of New Jersey. I accepted a position at East Orange General Hospital (EOGH). I made history by becoming one of the first chiropractors in the U.S. to be granted full privileges at a major hospital. Now branded as CareWell Health Medical Center, it is still Essex County's only independent, acute care community hospital servicing a combined population of almost 100,000 people.

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While there, I worked in their triage unit alongside physicians and nurses, learning from patients coming in with severe injuries. Some of the patients required short-term treatment for neurological issues. I was fortunate to have several emergency room doctors mentor me and help me refine my diagnostic skills in areas such as MRI, X-rays, physical exams, bloodwork, and NCV/EMG tests. Ironically, one of these doctors suggested that I consider becoming a functional medicine physician, predicting that it would be the future of healthcare and help overwhelmed hospitals manage fewer patients. From that moment, I began this current journey into functional medicine.

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I moved back south to Florida in 2011 and became the first functional medicine physician to serve the St. Augustine–Jacksonville region. I have practiced functional medicine and lived in St. Augustine for 14 years. This has brought me great joy to share a lifetime of experience with a community that traditional medicine entities have underserved. I have grown a family here with my wonderful wife, who also serves the community as a social worker in Jacksonville. We have two beautiful children: my son plays baseball in high school, and my daughter studies nursing.

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The picture on the left is of my mother, and the photo on the right is of my sister with our children. My mother taught me many valuable lessons, but one of the most important lessons was that "Good health starts with what you eat."

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By anchoring that principle to my practice, I have created a tailored approach for patients seeking elite, comprehensive, and personalized healthcare solutions that can also provide deeper insights into their well-being. My extensive knowledge from both traditional and alternative sectors differentiates me from other alternative and functional medicine practitioners. They do not possess the ability to handle the complexities of combining alternative and functional medicine solutions without ignoring traditional medicine rules.

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The combination of 14 years of experience as a functional medicine physician, 13 years of experience running a chiropractic practice, real-world traditional medicine exposure and mentorship, and years of medical education with respective degrees gives me an aggregate of over 30 years of experience. This makes me uniquely qualified to navigate the future course of functional medicine because I know what does not work and what gives patients the best results.

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I am grateful, and I thank God, to have been taught by some of the best medical and alternative doctors throughout the years, and I look forward to new opportunities in speaking, working, and healing with you.

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To Better Health,
Dr. Anthony Serle

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