Allison graduated magna cum laude from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in 1971. After practicing primary care/internal medicine in 1985, she returned to school to study cardiology, working in that field beginning in 1987. Later, she moved to Phoenix, Arizona, for a position with CIGNA and served as their chief of cardiology from 1998 to 2012, when she entered private practice. Phoenix Magazine named Allison one of the "Top Doctors" in Phoenix for 2006, 2007, and 2008.[3]
Activism
In 1998, Allison created drbecky.com, a resource site focusing on the medical, legal, and spiritual needs of transgender people. The website includes a compilation of statutes for amending sex on a birth certificate,[4] a brochure on facial feminization surgery by Douglas Ousterhout,[5] criticism of the controversial 2003 book The Man Who Would Be Queen by J. Michael Bailey,[6] and a section on spirituality. Allison's website is frequently cited in guidelines for LGBT health care.[7][8][9][10] In addition to the GLMA, she is Chair of the American Medical Association Advisory Committee on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues[11] and assisted in the passage of AMA Resolution 22, "Removing Financial Barriers to Care for Transgender Patients."[12] Allison is also active in Soulforce and organized the Phoenix Transgender Day of Remembrance annually with her partner Margaux Schaffer.
Death
On August 11 2024,it was announced [13] that Dr Allison passed away due to yet unknown causes.
Selected publications
Allison RA (2007). Transsexualism. In Fink G (ed.) Encyclopedia of Stress (2nd Edition). Elsevier, ISBN978-0-12-088503-9
Allison RA (2007). Transsexualism. In Pfaff D, Arnold A, Etgen A, Fahrbach S, Rubin R (eds.) Hormones, Brain, and Behavior (2nd Edition). Elsevier, ISBN978-0-12-532104-4
^Lev, Arlene Istar (2004). Transgender Emergence: Therapeutic Guidelines for Working with Gender-Variant People and Their Families. Haworth Press, ISBN978-0-7890-2117-5
^Makadon HJ, Mayer KH, Potter J, Goldhammer H (2007). The Fenway Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health.ISBN978-1-930513-95-2
^Hunter ND, Joslin CG, McGowan SM (2004). The Rights of Lesbians, Gay Men, Bisexuals, and Transgender People. Southern Illinois University Press, ISBN978-0-8093-2518-4
^Sember, Brette McWhorter (2006). Gay & Lesbian Rights: A Guide for GLBT Singles, Couples and Families. Sphinx Publishing, ISBN978-1-57248-550-1