So, I think I mentioned it in a previous post, but the OAND is the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors. This is not to be confused with CONO (College of Naturopaths of Ontario), who are the licensing board for NDs in Ontario. The OAND is the advocate for Naturopathic Doctors in Ontario, helping to advance legislation, provide continuing education opportunities, and lots of other activities. They have an annual convention each year which is a big opportunity to get a lot of great continuing education, and of course meet up with old friends - I'm still at school so this isn't as big, though I did get to see some friends who had graduated, and also Leslie from Signature Supplements, a really fantastic supplement company that does custom compounding for NDs (I worked for her in first year, but I'm a little too involved in academics and other stuff at school now to do that).
Anyway, this year I volunteered at the convention instead of working for a company, so I volunteered all day Saturday, and then got to go as an attendee for free on Sunday (the convention is Friday-Sunday). On my volunteer day I still got to see some talks and walk the tradeshow floor, so overall it was a great time. I saw a bunch of interesting talks, my favourite of which was about Fear and Anxiety in Cancer Patients, this was given by Dr. Jen Green who is actually a FABNO ND from Detroit - FABNO is a Fellow of the American Board of Naturopathic Oncologists; there are only about 100 total right now, and these are really well educated doctors. I really enjoyed learning about some new research in the use of mindfulness to treat anxiety and depression in cancer patients, and also seeing the applicability across other disciplines. The tradeshow was also fun, getting a bunch of free stuff, and also learning about some new products and things that are in the works. Overall it was a pretty cool weekend, and though it would be nice to sit around and relax after a hard week, I think this was a great choice - I'd recommend going for any student, but especially in 3rd and 4th year when you know a lot more and can see yourself using the things you learn much sooner.
On another note, I wanted to mention that I've taken up running, at least a little bit. I've never done that much of this in the past, most of my cardio being HIIT type stuff...or non-existent (I weight train too much!). There's tons of benefits to cardiovascular training and it's an important part of a complete workout program, so I'm pushing myself to really get involved. I did my first 10k on Friday, and today, after the convention, on about 4 hours of sleep by the way (I went out with some friends last night and got home pretty late..), I went out and did a short 5k night run. Not a long one, but decently tough for a beginner runner, plus I'm exhausted from the weekend. It's a nice little break from the world though, and I really love my music so it's a great chance to zone out and enjoy that - though don't zone out too much and get hit by a car!
Alright so that's all for my first Sunday post of the year, I've got a long week ahead of me with a bunch of assignments due, and my gynecology station 1 practical on Friday, and my first physical medicine practical on Friday too. I'll see you next Sunday for an update on the week, if you want to know about anything particular make a comment and I'll see to that. Have a good week!
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| I swear I don't do all this! Okay.....maybe just a couple apps |
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