Meet the New Naturopathic Interns

Come on down to the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (click for directions) on Monday June 14th at noon to meet the new interns. After 4 years of university and 3 years of naturopathic medical education, we are now entering our 12 month internship and are accepting patients. CCNM has one of the largest naturopathic teaching clinics in North America which has over 26, 000 patients visits per year.

During the event there will be an opportunity for everyone to learn more about naturopathic medicine through several short presentations including:

1) Brief intro to naturopathic medicine
2) Overview of services offered at RSNC
3) Pediatrics overview
4) Sports medicine overview
5) Adjunctive Cancer Care

Also, there are information tables and interns will be available to answer your questions.

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The first clinical impression

Keeping in mind that my first impressions of clinic are highly influenced by the kinds of health care issues the patients I have seen thus far have presented with, my first thoughts traveling home after my clinic shifts were much more melancholy than I was expecting. Some people are really in need of a significant amount of help. Another realization I have been continually reminded of is the critical state of our current health care system and the luxury naturopathic doctors have to spend sufficient time with their patients. We have the time to ask the detailed questions and actually listen to the answer (I truly believe that most family doctors do not prefer to spend so little time with their patients but are forced to do so in order to survive under the provincial health care billing system).

So far, my aspirations of the valiant hero who swoops in with the naturopathic coup de grace and instantly changes the person's health future have been shifted, I believe positively, to recognize that pacing myself will be critical. This is a learning process - it is called a "practice" for a reason! Even if I do have all the answers in a particular case, delivering those answers in a way in which patients will comply is an art in of itself. There are so many new realities now in clinic and it is a very steep learning curve. As such, the first couple of weeks have been somewhat overwhelming.

However, we do have a great amount of support at the teaching clinic. Each intern has at least 4 different supervisors, and is therefore exposed to 4 different styles of practice and patient case management. Additionally, we have a variety of health professionals available for consultation on site at the clinic including Laboratory Technicians, ND's, Chiropractors and a Psychologist. So, there is help when we need it.

This was just a first impression and is subject to change!

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Quote of the Month

“If you are traveling down a path without obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere."

~Unknown Author

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NPLEX Nastalgia

As Dr. Anderson's Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examinations (NPLEX) prep course wrapped up here at CCNM for the 2nd year students, I clearly remembered last summer and a small part of me wished I could do it all again. Even though some of the same material was tested in my undergraduate, after 2 months of extensively studying the basic medical sciences, last summer was the 1st time I really felt like I knew what I was taking about!

In fact, last summer's studying was the highlight of my naturopathic journey until I entered clinic this May. I was my own boss, I could build up my weaker areas and dig deep into the areas that interested me the most.

Some words for the wise. If you are writing NPLEX 1 this summer (I write NPLEX 2 after graduation in August 2011), remember that no matter which one of the accredited schools you are in, the curriculum only sets a foundation to learn from. The exams are much, much more detailed and require extensive self study. The areas of anatomy, microbiology, immunology, food metabolism and pathophysiology are foundational to naturopathic primary care doctors and are one of the things that separate the accredited schools from the unaccredited schools.

Since the NPLEX format changed in August of 2009, there has been a heavy weighting on pathophysiology. Therefore a good pathophys textbook is a necessity. As a visual learner, another one of my favorite books is, "Metabolism at a Glance" by J.G. Salway (third ed). I also took Dr. Anderson's (systems based and focused more on Nutritional Biochemistry) & Dr. Grossman's (focused more on Anatomy & Microbiology) courses and enjoyed both. However, they are intended to remind you of the breadth of information required to know and indicate areas where you need extra studying. Furthermore, keep in mind that these review courses can not teach at the depth of knowledge required to pass NPLEX 1.

Just 3 study tips:

1. If possible with your school's schedule, take at least 2 weeks off after your final exams before starting to study for NPLEX 1.
2. Slowly build up to 8 hours of studying per day and take Sundays off to rest your brain (try for a minimum of 6 weeks of studying).
3. Take the day before the exam off completely. The NPLEX is a mental marathon, and like any athlete who has peaked for a performance, you need to rest the day before.

All the best!

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A New Leaf

Today we completed the first of two days of clinic orientation. While biking to school this morning, the routine was so familiar, and our final exam marathon still so fresh in my mind, that I did not feel ready to be back at school. However, after the morning introductions, I realized that although the setting was the same, everything was different now. We are not only students, we are now health care providers. In fact, we were informed that 44% of the patients that visit the clinic here at CCNM reported that their ND intern was their primary health care provider. What a phenomenal responsibility!

We are turing over a brand new leaf in our journey. I understand that we are forever students and our next step is a 12 month long internship with 1035 clinical hours, case management documents, competency checks, more assignments, and still a few required classes. Even so, our focus has now shifted from excelling in class and passing exams to getting people to feel better. And, they do! We were shown some encouraging data that CCNM is accumulating, which reinforces what we all have known to be true: naturopathic medicine helps many people.

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Quote of the Month

“We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are."

Adelle Davis

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One Last Push!

Six final exams down and 5 to go! The full-time 4-year naturopathic program at CCNM is not for the faint of heart and may not be advisable for anybody intending to keep one foot in the 'real world' and the other in naturopathic school (note: more part-time options are becoming available).

Focused curiosity is everything! Nearly every day I made a short list of things that were 'interesting' to me and I researched them. Also, I found that I had no choice but to live, breath, eat, talk, sleep, and dream naturopathic medicine for the last 3 years in order to keep the vast breadth of knowledge I learned applicable and current in my memory. This meant that my wife (and family and friends when I saw them) have had to put up with about three-quarters of the conversations ending up being something about medicine.

As a male, I will never be able to fully appreciate the experience of having a baby. Although, I have been at my wife's side twice (most recently two weeks ago) so I do have a better idea than some. As such, I am going to make a small leap here and say that I feel that there is just one last push remaining in this school year, with all the effort, the pain and eventually joy that accompanies the experience. Thank God for the joy!

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