A Successful Day

I still haven't gotten around to writing about how clinic is in general, and I swear that it's on a list somewhere. I do want to share that information, because I think it's nice to have that available as a current or even prospective ND student.

Today however, I wanted to share some information about a good day in clinic.

This past couple weeks have been a little crazy and stressful. We're 6 months into clinic, and I'm not exactly where I'd like to be with respect to my skills. Sure, I've progressed and know A LOT more than I did 6 months ago. I'm getting better at connecting with patients, providing treatment and exams. But there is a lot more that I'd like to be doing better at, and there's also a bunch of assignments and things to work on right now, so it feels like my time is really limited. I've also noticed that often when people say "Hey Noah, how's it going?" I don't respond too well, usually saying "not well." Things have been getting me down and stressed, and that's not the type of person I usually am.

Anyway, within all the stress, I had a great experience with a patient today that really brought me up and improved my mood and motivation. So a patient of mine came in for a follow-up. They weren't feeling all that well and had considered cancelling, but decided that it was a good idea to come in. Already a good sign, knowing that I am able to provide a space and care that people feel comfortable coming to. The nice thing though, was learning that treatment we had initiated last visit had provided a positive shift for them, and this was based on my own research and clinical judgment. The visit continued and we had a good plan moving forward, and I'm excited to continue helping this person improve.

Sure, this does happen a fair bit in clinic, but it's always a nice reminder when this happens, that I've got the tools and skills to help people improve.

So amidst the chaos of everything else that happens in life, I enjoy taking a chance to step back and just notice what I have done, and what I can do. After all, it's why I got into this in the first place!

Mexican Chocolate Protein Smoothie

Here with another fun recipe, because why not? This recipe was very important for me today because of how cold the weather is now -> I had snow on my car this morning and it's not even November yet!

So I love chocolate, because its sweet, rich, and pairs well with so many flavours. Plus it gives you a nice little energy boost, and cocoa powder is a great source of magnesium, which is great for helping relax stiff and tense muscles. I have a chocolate protein smoothie most days, serving up loads of protein and healthy fats.

The issue with smoothies this time of year is that from a Chinese Medicine perspective, they are very cool in nature. As the weather cools down, it's important to have more warm and cooked foods in order to support your digestion and energy. Mexican Chocolate to the rescue!

There are multiple variations on Mexican Chocolate, but the key is using warm spices like cinnamon, allspice and hot peppers. So without further ado, here is my take on a Mexican Chocolate Protein Smoothie.

Ingredients

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup milk or unsweetened non-dairy milk of your choice (almond milk is my go to)
• 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder (I prefer whey, but plant based works as well)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch of hot chili pepper
• 3-5 ice cubes

Recipe

1. Drop the ingredients into your blender in the order listed and blend until smooth.
2. Pour the smoothie into a glass, sprinkle with some extra cinnamon and chili pepper, stir and enjoy!

Note: You can substitute chocolate protein powder for vanilla if you add 2tbsp of cocoa powder. You can also use an unflavoured protein powder with the cocoa powder, then add 1-2tbsp of maple syrup to taste. 

The chili pepper gives a wonderful kick that really gets you going in the morning. Delicious!

Best Hummus Recipe

Best Hummus Recipe

I love this recipe because its super easy to whip together, it’s very affordable, and it gives you a huge amount of hummus; I usually find that this recipe can last me a week of snacks, though that changes when the family starts enjoying it!

Here’s my basic recipe, there’s also a ton of room for enhancements, I’ll provide my favourite suggestions. The basic recipe includes Za’atar, a classic Middle Eastern spice mixture, and let me tell you, when I first started using this stuff, it really upped my hummus game. Just know that when the hummus sits for a bit, it has this interesting greenish colour that almost looks like mold, but worry not, it’s safe…and delicious!  

Materials Needed

• Good blender with a tamper (I use a Vitamix and find it works really well)
• OR a food processor (I’ve used these before and it works, but I find the blender produces a nicer consistency) --> if you use a food processor, ensure to periodically use the spatula to scrape down the sides and get everything blended together
• Flexible spatula
• Citrus press/juicer

Ingredients

• 1 small can of low-sodium chickpeas (drained) and 1 small can of low-sodium with liquid
• Juice of 1 large lemon
• ½ cup well-stirred tahini
• ¼ cup minced garlic (you can use fresh garlic, but I find the extra liquid from a jar of minced garlic tastes well and helps with texture)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for mixing and serving
• Sea salt to taste
• Ground paprika for serving
• Za’atar for serving

Recipe

1. Pour the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the blender. Start on low speed and ramp up to medium-high while pressing with the tamper. (If using a food processor, use the pulse function and watch the hummus in order to prevent over-processing)
2. Slowly pour extra olive oil as you blend until there is a nice smooth consistency.
3. Stop the blender and taste the hummus, then add sea salt and blend to taste (I usually require a few dashes).
4. Pour/scrape the hummus into a container, then use the spatula to spread the hummus in little circles, creating various ridges. Drizzle olive oil in a circle so that it spreads over the ridges, as opposed to pooling in the center. Sprinkle za’atar and paprika overtop, and enjoy!

      *My favourite thing to eat with this hummus is chopped celery, but it works well with carrots, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and probably lots of other vegetables. It’s also great on top of a pita or a sandwich, or even as a creamy salad dressing!

Variations – There are endless variations you can create using different spices, or substituting other types of beans for the chickpeas (black beans work great), so feel free to experiment. My favourite is to add a tablespoon of curry powder while blending which provides a bright yellow colour. For serving, create the same olive oil drizzle, but then sprinkle with chili pepper flakes for a spicy hummus. Delicious!  

Finished hummus along with some chopped veggies. Food prep for the week!

Finally Here! (sorry for the long hiatus, here's a bonus recipe!)

So I never had a chance to write on the blog and indicate that I'm finally in clinic! It's been a long road to get here, with 7 years of post-secondary education, including 3 years at CCNM, over 100 exams and so many papers and practicals. But the light at the end of the tunnel is here, and I'm finally doing what I've wanted to do for so long.

I'll have to update the blog in the future with a post on what being in clinic is like, but for now, I wanted to just let you guys know that I'm seeing patients and available for consultations. I'm very interested in helping people struggling with anxiety, depression, insomnia and stress. I also help with weight loss, pain and low energy, as well as women's health concerns including hormonal regulation problems. And of course I'm interested in helping with general family medicine and helping people optimize their health, whether they're unsure about what supplements to take, which diet is best for them, how to exercise safely, and any other general concerns.

Feel free to come in for a consult, or send me a message at nlitvak@ndnet.ccnm.edu if you have any more questions!

I'm available at the Robert Schad Naturopathic Clinic at CCNM

Monday and Wednesday from 2:45pm-7pm

Friday from 8:45am-12pm (this is a focus shift on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia)

I'm also available at the Brampton Naturopathic Teaching Clinic at the Brampton Civic Hospital

Thursdays from 4:15pm-8:15pm --> this is a free clinic

Click the above links to book and just ask for Noah Litvak on whichever day you'd like. Hope to see you soon so I can help you have less pain, more energy and overall feel better!

And now, as an apology for my long hiatus, I've posted my favourite hummus recipe on my next blog post. I hope you enjoy!

Winter Unity Summit

 It's Sunday night with only 3 weeks of classes left, and then exams are coming! But let's forget about that for a minute and do another retrospective post, because that's always more fun!

So I've posted in the past about my own Unity Summit here, but this one was a little different for a few reasons. First, instead of being a new student, this time around I was a 3rd year student, and on the student's association helping to run the event. Being in charge is really cool, because you have responsibility for helping others have a good time, which is quite rewarding, as I described when talking about my blue mountain trip.

Second, the experience of unity summit is very different when you are a student leader, because you are coming in already having some friends, are more comfortable, and as a leader, it's your job to be really open and friendly with everyone. As a result, you end up pushing yourself to meet lots of people, and get to make lots of new friends. This a really awesome part of the experience. I would have to say that being a student leader over the past two years has been really fantastic for many reasons, but pushing myself to connect with more people is one of the big reasons.

Finally, one of the really cool things about this Unity Summit is that it was the Winter one, meaning it was a completely different setting. The Summit in the fall is always at the YMCA camp up north, and that is cool, but it's a little different for the winter. Instead we go to a smaller camp in Halton Hills (west), and there are way fewer people, as the January intake is usually about 1/3 the size of the September intake. The smaller group is a little bit more intimate, there is a lot more free time, plus, it's during the winter! This means snow, and ice, so activities like snowball fights, ice skating and hockey are all part of it. Plus I got to go horseback riding, which was pretty cool, even though it was just a slow tour, because I've never been riding before. And with the really relaxed environment, we came up with an awesome NSA skit that I will remember forever, a ton of fun to do, and ended it off with a really fun dance party. This is the 4th Unity Summit dance party I've been to now, but it was a really special one, because when Dr. Turk played Bohemian Rhapsody, literally everyone in the building started singing it together. Really cool experience.

I thought I was going to write about Medgames, but this post has become long, so I'll save it for another time. Hope you enjoyed your Easter long weekend! I can't remember the last time Easter was in March, so weird to me, but it was a pretty relaxing weekend. My nephews Erik (almost 3) and Andrew (almost 1) came over to stay all day Saturday and Sunday, and they are just adorable. Plus we finally had some fantastic weather, after the ice melted on Friday of course. I even got out for a couple long walk/jogs on Saturday and Sunday. Anyway, have a great week!

There's me with the horse I rode, Cujo. He got a little crazy partway through, started bucking a little bit and maybe almost killed me. But we're cool, he's a good guy...I mean horse.

      

Winter Blue Mountain Trip

So this is one of my retrospective posts, a little more on CCNM life.

Something that I wanted to do throughout my undergrad, but never got a chance to do, was plan a ski trip. The great thing about planning a trip is that: you get a discounted price for yourself for booking, you get a lot of responsibility, and thus satisfaction from helping everything come together, and of course, you get to set up a trip doing something you enjoy, with people that you like.

It was finally this year that I went ahead and did it, and I'm really happy that I did. The trip that I planned was really difficult to pull together. I first started looking for people interested in late October, and once I had a lot of people, I started looking for a place to book the trip. Suddenly, people started dropping like flies, and then there were issues with dates because of other events, a lot of different factors made it really difficult. However, a lot of hard work and persistence allowed things to finally come together, and for my post-midterm Blue Mountain trip, I had just over 20 people signed up with money paid to come.

We had a fantastic time on our trip, leaving for Collingwood just after we finished our exams Friday morning, and staying until Sunday afternoon. We skied in beautiful weather on Friday afternoon/evening and Saturday. We had a wonderful time enjoying a big chalet, spending time together in the hot tub and sauna, playing games in the big great room, and talking late at night. We also went out to the Village Saturday night and created our own party at a small club, having a lot of fun there too. Sunday we went to the spa at the hotel at the Inn at Blue, and enjoyed going from hot tub to cold pool, to massage, and finally a really nice sauna. And a big part of the enjoyment was from spending time together and talking about lots of things, most of all not talking a lot about school. The 2 hour drive there and back was also a great time to talk and enjoy each others company.

Now I'll mention that this was not actually the only trip. Another friend of mine booked a trip to Blue for us to a similar type of chalet just at the end of Finals in December. Same thing, we drove to Blue right after finals were over, and went up to have a great time. The only difference, is that there was no snow in December! So we didn't ski at all, I didn't even bring my skis! That being said, we still had a wonderful time, getting away from the city and just hanging out with each other.

So I guess the reason that I wanted to write this blog post, aside from reminiscing about some great times with my friends, is to talk about the importance of getting out. Escape. This works for people in areas of life of course, but I think this is really important to CCNM students. Depending on how diligent you are or how important going to lectures is for you, CCNM students can spend well over 30-40 hours a week at the school, many more of course if you live in residence (I'm fortunate enough to have my home close enough to school, and a car, so I do get away). There are many wonderful people at CCNM that you get to become friends with and connect with, but when you're at school, we are in a little bit of a bubble. It's not the same as the outside world, and the things that you talk about are very different. Realizing this, it is vital to get out of the school and experience the world with these wonderful people. I have found that the connections you create become much stronger, and the experiences you get to have are amazing. Whether it is going out to a bar on a Friday night, taking in a museum, going to a Harry Potter Trivia night (yes I did that in February, it was really fun!), or going on a ski trip, it's just awesome to connect with your friends in a different setting.

I hope that you, blog reader, take my message to heart, and ensure that you take opportunities to connect with people outside of your bubble. If it is CCNM, push yourself and your friends to participate in activities outside of the school. If you have friends that you work with, offer to do things outside of there. The connections that you strengthen, and the experiences you will have are worth the effort.

Fun picture from the first Blue Mountain trip. Since there was no skiing to do, we wandered and enjoyed the village together, and ended up taking a picture with Santa Clause. It was a really happy and fun day!

Back From Another Hiatus and 3rd Year Winter Courses

So unfortunately I fell off the wagon with blogging again after Finals in the Fall semester. I can't promise that my consistency will be back, but I'm going to try to be a little more consistent again, at least until the end of the semester. And while I'm doing that, I'll try to give a bit of a recap of all the stuff that has happened this semester.

At the moment I'm busy working away at some assignments, but I did finally get something done that I've been meaning to do for weeks. I created a Facebook Page for myself as an intern at the RSNC. Oh by the way, I'm an intern at the RSNC now, that's something new for Winter! I'll write more about that in a future post, but here is a link to my facebook page, which I'm hoping to keep a little more regular than this blog with posts, at least once a week.

Now I've got to get back to my assignments, but I'll give you a quick overview of the courses that we have in 3rd year Winter.

Integrative Therapeutics 2 - This is the same idea as IT 1 from the Fall, just teaching based on the cases we do in Primary Care here, a little bit of OSCE prep, and thankfully, no big annoying paper to write!

Primary Care - As a full year course, this is the same as in the Fall, except that we switch timeslots (in the Fall I had Mondays from 2-420, so now I have 430-650), and we get a new group. In addition, there is an OSCE examination, which I had just last week, I'll write about that in a future post though.

In Office Procedures - This class has a little bit of didactic lectures, but is mostly a practical class where we learn phlebotomy, injection therapies, sample collection (urine, saliva and skin), ear lavage, and nebulized glutathione and magnesium, as well as some basic theory about intravenous therapy (this is a full continuing education course with extra certification required, but we do learn some basics).

Maternal and Newborn Care - Dr. KBT (Kimberly Blyden-Taylor) teaches this course, a great overview of care for mothers and newborns, all the way from preconception through breastfeeding.

Asian Medicine - As a continuation from the Fall, we learn more about TCM formulas, TCM theory on Western conditions and run through lots of practice cases. We also have a big research paper similar to IT in the Fall, except this one was done as a group of 4, so it wasn't nearly as time consuming.

Asian Medicine Practical - A continuation from the Fall, we do 2 partner cases where we take a case from a classmate, come up with a treatment plan for them, and then initiate that treatment plan over 2 visits. We also have several group practicals to further practice our skills in tongue and pulse diagnosis.

Manipulation - In 2nd year Winter we learned all about motion palpation and assessment of the body from head to toe, here we get to learn how to actually perform chiropractic manipulations/adjustments to fix joints that are out of alignment. Keep in mind that "out of alignment" doesn't literally mean the bone is in the wrong place, it means that joints are not moving as well as they should due to spasms and tight muscles, so we help them move with specific adjustments. And the cracking sound that you hear during an adjustment? That is not the bone cracking! It's just gas escaping from the joint as you move it.

Emergency Medicine - This course is a lot of review of Standard First Aid, something that I have a lot of experience with as a former lifeguard and camp counsellor. This is important though because only CPR level C with HCP is required to be a student at CCNM, Standard First Aid is not. So students need to get some training in emergency management. In addition, we learn about the emergency drugs that NDs are allowed to administer such as epinephrine, and we also learn about the use of oxygen. There is some full class lectures and a group assignment, but this course is mostly small group practicals.

Pediatrics - This course is focused around care for children from 0-18, looking at growth from all aspects of health including physical, mental and emotional, as well as the social connections with family and the environment. We have didactic lectures for the first half, and then after midterm (which is multiple choice), all the classes are case based where we work in groups on specific conditions in different age groups. The final is going to be open book (including computers), so I'm a little worried, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. This course also includes a "lab" component - in early January we had the Pediatric Open House at CCNM where parents brought in their children to be assessed by 3rd year students in groups of 2. We then had to also observe a pediatric appointment either at the RSNC or through some sort of preceptorship. Then we needed to write a reflection paper based on these 2 observation experiences.

Homeopathy - A continuation of last semester with focus on acute remedy prescriptions, as well as practical sessions where we work on case taking. In addition, we've continued following our live case that we saw our instructor do last semester.

Botanical Medicine - Again a continuation of last semester, just going through more body systems and also working on 2 more group cases.

Clinic - Finally, what should be the most interesting course of the semester, clinic! In this course we have 1 clinic shift on a Tuesday-Friday night (2-8pm) or a Saturday morning. I personally got a Wednesday 2-8pm shift with Dr. Ragbir, who was actually my TA in first year health psychology if you remember from this post. On the shift we get a mentor 4th year student, and follow them as a secondary intern for the semester. This means that we see all their patients with them and are slowly incorporated into the visits, helping with physical exams and intake, as well as some treatment. We can't do adjustments or injections, but we can do acupuncture if the supervisor is there. In addition, we work with our interns on charting and treatment plans as well as patient research. Unfortunately my shift and my intern specifically hasn't been that busy, but I have still definitely learned a lot from this experience so far, including from shadowing Dr. Ragbir and seeing a bunch of different patients on the shift.

Alright so that's it for today, I'm going to get back to my assignments for now, but I'll try to be back for another post soon to review some of the events that have happened this semester so far.

I know I've been gone a while, but hey, this owl is pretty cute right?
And I'm a night owl, so maybe that's me?

Almost Free!

Here we are Sunday night at 12:50, and I'm writing my review of the weeks exams. Overall it was a pretty tough week, it was definitely a challenge to get through everything. Really just emotionally it can be tough, after going through so many exam periods in my life, and so many at CCNM specifically. This is the second last major exam period though, with midterms and finals next semester, and then I'll be in clinic! It's almost surreal how fast this experience is going by, and also how much I've learned and how much I've changed as a person.

So anyway, the exams this week were definitely tough, but manageable. With only Primary Care and Health Psych tomorrow and Tuesday respectively, I was able to actually have a great weekend. The exams aren't worth too much and I'm not too worried about the difficulty, so I was able to do a lot of fun things. Friday night, was the night that I, and many people have been waiting for for a very long time. Star Wars Episode VII! It was fun first of all just to go see a movie, because I don't get a chance to go see movies very often anymore. And as a huge Star Wars fan, I was really happy with the results. Was it the best movie ever? No. But did it reach everything that it should be? Absolutely!
Saturday night I went out with some friends, we had a nostalgic night watching Superbad and just laughing like crazy, and then went out to a nearby club. And then today (Sunday), after studying for Primary Care all day with friends, except really slowly and mostly just joking around, I went to a really awesome concert at the Danforth Music Hall. One of my all time favourite bands Silverstein came back. I've probably seen them over 10 times, but it is always a great time to see them. They also brought with them Cancer Bats, a band I used to really enjoy and haven't seen in a long time, and Beartooth, a band I really like and have never seen before. It was a really fun concert, and a great way to end off a super fun weekend.

So tomorrow its Primary Care exam and then Health Psych on Tuesday, and then I'm off to Blue Mountain with a bunch of friends for a couple days. Unfortunately there's no snow there...but we have a lot of fun people and I'm sure we'll have a good time. I'm just excited to get out of school mode for a little while and just relax and have fun. So I'm not sure if I'll post anything during the break, so Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all of my readers, I wish you all the best time and hope you enjoy yourselves with family and friends. And I'll throw out a PSA that the singer of Silverstein said tonight - "Put your phones away, just like, turn them off. Spend time with your friends and family and actually be there, those opportunities are the best."

Holiday Play and Exam Time

I'm sorry I missed my most recent post, it's been a busy weekend, and exams are coming!
Friday I went to a really awesome concert, one of my old favourites Protest The Hero did a reunion show and played their entire album Kezia from 10 years ago (one of their best songs if you're interested). They haven't actually broken up, but two members left the band, so it was nice for them to come back and play this old stuff. It was also fun because I went to the show with a friend from school, and I've never gone to a concert with anyone other than my older friends and my brother.

Saturday night was the holiday play which was a lot of fun. Every December the 4th years put on a holiday play - no actual holiday theme here - and use it as a fundraiser for Grad. This year the theme was Inside Out at CCNM, and it was absolutely hilarious. Instead of emotions, each character was a part of a human, like MSK, GI, Brain, etc. They had really funny characters with a lot of silly jokes - I could especially understand most of them being in 3rd year now! - and even a couple great songs. I don't know what capacity it will be in, but I'll definitely be involved in the school play next year for my 4th year, it's not something I could miss out on!

So anyway exams are coming up, it's going to be busy, but not horrible I think. Definitely manageable, a lot due to the fact that in 3rd year, we have lots of assignments and practicals during the year, so our exams are worth a little bit less. I think I'll be able to manage. Next week I've got Integrated Therapeutics, Botanical Medicine, Radiology, Mens and Womens Health, Clinical Nutrition, Asian Medicine and Physical Medicine exams. The following week I have Primary Care and Health Psychology. So that's 9 exams in 9 days. Seems like a lot, but I'm used to it by now. Also Physical Medicine is a short practical, Nutrition is open book, and Psychology is not worth too much, not to mention I have pretty much perfect from the practicals and assignments. So I've got a fair bit of work ahead of me for some of the others, with IT, Bot and Asian Med consisting of a lot of information, but it will be manageable.

I kind of doubt I'll have a post on Sunday because I'll be really busy studying for exams, but look for a post the following week - I'll still have two more to write, but I think I'll be in a much better state and be able to make a post, not to mention being really excited about being almost done my 2nd last semester as a full time student! (we have one class a semester in 4th year, I don't really consider clerkship being a student, not the same at least).

For those reading who currently have exams or exams coming up, as they say....

Primary Care - Doctor Week!

As usual, it's late on Sunday night and I really should go to bed, but I said I'd do these posts, so here I am. I was actually going to write this earlier, but I decided after 3 years, I'd finally give Game of Thrones another try. I tried watching it years ago and just couldn't get into it, but everyone is always talking about how good it is, plus it's almost December, so you know, "winter is coming." I know I technically saw it in the past, but watching the first episode just now, it was actually really good. I'm excited.

So anyway, a couple cool things this week. First off, I was finally the doctor in Primary Care. I think I explained in the past, but in Primary Care the class is set up as a practical with groups of 8. Every week someone acts as the doctor, we have a standardized patient come in, and for 45 minutes the doctor does an initial intake with questions and physical exams. The kicker is that as we are still learning, your group is available to help guide your thinking if you get lost, or are making a mistake on a physical exam, or miss an important question. This week was case 7, so we've been doing this for a while, but I was only just the doctor this week. It was a very humbling experience. When you're watching the case and doing research in your notes and online, you're disconnected enough that you can really think about stuff. As the doctor, I felt so connected and in the zone with the patient, I almost lost focus sometimes, and of course missed a couple really important questions. Thanks to my group though, I got on track, and I think I did well enough, getting a good amount of information to work with. It was definitely a cool experience, and I'm excited to do it again next semester, of course also doing more of this stuff with real people in my clinic shift. Also side note, I'm also going to be the doctor in Health Psych this week, so that should be interesting too. It's still a 45 minute visit, but a bit of a different focus. I'll talk about that next week.

So another cool thing this week was that it was Men's Health Week. We started off the week on Monday with Suit and Sunglasses day. It was a lot of fun, I usually come to school in joggers or sweatpants, so it felt pretty cool to come all dressed up. At common time we ran a Men's Auction, and raised a lot of money for our charity. I auctioned off some personal training services, so I was glad to be involved. Our charity by the way is Eva's Initiatives for Homeless Youth, a great cause for homeless youth in Toronto that really need help. You can check them out at here.

There was also a really great talk I went to on Wednesday, by Dr. Yashar Khosroshai, ND. He's one of the TAs for health psych at CCNM, and in addition to his practice, runs a company called MindShift Ninja. He has some pretty cool outlooks and perspectives to talk about. His talk this week was very intersting, called "Don't Be A Man, Be A Leader." I thought this was fantastic, because in our society today, there is too much focus on men being this stereotypical character, who is strong, closed off, and doesn't need anyone's help. I have lots of notes on this topic that I'm happy to share if you're interested. He also referred to a cool TED talk I finally watched today by Brene Brown on vulnerability, and how important it is to be vulnerable in order to succeed. To be a leader, to be connected to others, it all comes down to being self-aware, and being strong enough to be vulnerable, to be open and to be able to put your ego aside, asking for help when you need it.

I could talk about this stuff for hours, but I really should get going to bed, it's another long day tomorrow. Fun things for this week? Tomorrow we've got dance practice for Medgames, something I'm really excited about, and hopefully I'll have a video to link for you in January after it happens. I'm also going out to Costco to buy food for the MOSCE, an event I attended last year, but this year as one of the VP Academics for the NSA, I'm actually running! So that's on Tuesday, and I'm hoping it'll be a great event to help support the second years and prepare them for their OSCEs. On Friday I'll be shadowing the Fibromyalgia/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis shift, which should be pretty interesting. Speaking of that, my application was accepted and I got an interview! My interview is next Friday (December 11), so I'm hoping that will go well - we're a few weeks off, but I think I'll know if I get on the shift around the end of December.

Alright, long enough post, and it's almost 1! I'll leave you with a picture of my Mo progress for Movember. I don't do the 'stache only thing because it looks pretty bad on me, but it's been a fun month anyway.

I think I took the original picture really late on November 1st, that's probably why I look so out of it.
Or maybe I planned on making the Mo picture look a lot happier, strategy!

Focus Shifts

Another pretty relaxed week this week, though focus shift applications were due on Friday, so that was a bit of a stress. The Robert Shad Naturopathic Clinic (the school clinic at CCNM) has several different focus shifts that students can apply to. The purpose is to have a focus on a specific patient population during their shifts, and also to learn from supervisors with extra training in that area. The following shifts are available at the RSNC:

Pediatrics
Sports Medicine
Adjunctive Cancer Care
Fertility/Reproductive Health
Fibromyalgia/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

I decided to apply for the FM/ME shift, so I'll keep you posted on what happens with that. The applications included a CV (I haven't made one of these in forever!), and an essay. The essay was really tough because I haven't really done a lot of personal essays. Give me a research review or a scientific paper to write, sure thing. But writing about myself, and why I want to do something and would be good at it? That is a little more difficult. So it was a bit of a struggle, but with some help from my dad (who is a pretty great writer), I was able to put something together that was pretty good, and hope it'll get me the interview. There's an interview process in December I think, or possibly early January, and we'll see what happens.

Anyway, real quick about FM/ME so you know what it is. Basically they are two very complex conditions that do not have the best diagnosis and treatment right now. Both of these conditions can be very debilitating, and pull people away from work and the things they want to do in life. Naturopathic Medicine has a huge potential to help these people to improve their quality of life, and I'm very excited about the opportunity to help these people. In addition, I want to be the best doctor that I can in the future, and I believe that the challenge of working with complex cases would be a valuable experience. Here is a quick summary of FM and ME if you'd like to read more into them.

That's all for now, and oh ya this week is actually Men's Health Week! A very important time, remembering the importance of Men's Health. By the way, it is Movember, and I did shave clean at the beginning of the month, and I'll have a picture for the blog next week to show how far I've come. Hopefully I've helped raise some awareness and money for good causes as well.

Music, Energy, Passion

This was a pretty quiet week compared to last, with very few assignments or practicals going on. A rare and nice break to relax a little bit, kind of. I did some preceptoring on Wednesday with Dr. Jonathan Beatty, it was a pretty cool experience, though very tiring (had to be up at 6 to get there for 7:45, and I was there until 5:30). He's got a serious Naturopathic practice with a big focus on the nutrition and lifestyle aspect. His wife is actually a holistic nutritionist, and together they work patients through serious dietary protocols, and see amazing results with them. I'll be preceptoring with him several more times and am hoping to learn a lot from him.

Other than that, nothing too exciting this week, though I went to a really awesome concert on Thursday night with some friends, Parkway Drive. They're a really cool metal band from Australia, I've seen them a few times in Toronto, and they recently came out with a great new album and are touring North America in support of it. It's not the style of music for everyone, but it really highlights my love of music. There is something about live music that you just can't get anywhere else. The connection you feel with all the people around you, everyone knowing the words to the song, singing and screaming along, dancing together, and enjoying that same vibrational experience. The artist up on stage, passionately sharing the music they've created, and observing people having a great time because of what they made. The energy you feel is unreal, and it creates a perfect space for mindfulness. When you are at a good concert, there is nothing to worry about, no messages or emails to check, no facebook, there is only the music, the crowd, the band, and you.

I hope that everyone can have similar experiences like I've been so fortunate to experience with music. I think since I was 16, I may have been to over 50 concerts, and even as I get older, I'll continue to go and dance like a crazy person, because it is such an amazing space, there is so much positive energy, and I can't imagine what life would be like without. That being said, it doesn't necessarily have to be a live concert for you. It could be sitting in your room with headphones on, sitting in the car listening to the radio, singing in the shower, whatever you like best. Find your space where you can escape the world, and experience the energy of good music. There really is nothing like it.

It must be so cool to be in a band like this, providing so many people with so much joy.

Student Leadership

Quick post today because it's late and I've gotta get to bed. Today we had one of our roundtable meetings for the NSA executive. The meeting obviously has some tedious points, but it also reminded me why being part of student leadership is so great. I really enjoy getting to spend time with lots of like-minded students who want to be involved, and work together to improve the student experience for all our colleagues and classmates. It's also great to hear about all sorts of different activities and initiatives you may not have heard of and learn how to get more involved. And of course, after the meeting, we had an awesome potluck dinner where we got to just hang out and rap about anything.

There's a lot of different aspects to being a student leader, and I'm happy to talk about any of them if someone wants to comment with a question. In general though, I think that being a student leader is an amazing thing that you can do at school. We only have limited time here, and I think that you get what you put into your experience. As a student leader, you have a lot of opportunity to make a difference, both for other students and for yourself. And it's important to note that being a student leader is not restricted to being elected on student government, or as a class representative. There are always opportunities available for those who are interested, all you have to do is ask.

On a quick school note, crazy assignment time has finally quieted down a little bit. After finishing my RCIA last week, having my live patient DRE and GYNE exams, my Health Psych Case Formulation, Homeopathy Case Analysis, Primary Care PEP (busy week because as Scribe I was in charge of ensuring everyone got their work done and doing final edits) and Phys Med Practical Case, it was nice to have a little bit of a break this weekend; some time to chill out and not worry about much. We did start our partner cases in Asian Med this week, so I took the case of a classmate, and I need to workup the case, come up with a differential diagnosis list, and a treatment plan for my classmate this week. I'll present that to my TA on Thursday, and if its approved, then I'll start treating my classmate in a couple weeks. They're also going to do the same for me, which is pretty cool, hopefully we can see some good results with each other.

Alright off to bed, have a good week everyone!

Midterm Review, Assignments, and Halloween

I'm really sorry, I know I was going to make Sundays regular, and then I went ahead and missed one! I know I said that midterms were not as big this year, but the 7+ assignments and practicals going on right after midterms, well those are. So all that was kind of on my mind post-midterms, and I unfortunately missed the post. Anyway, here's a quick midterm summary:

Nutrition - this was my first open book exam ever, and it was weird. I'm usually a really fast exam taker, but I was here writing up until the last minute. It was an interesting exam, asking you to think really critically about several different conditions, and use your textbook and notes to come up with effective treatment plans, diagnostics, and other stuff. It wasn't super hard, but it also wasn't an easy exam. You definitely need to know your stuff generally, and be prepared.

Men's and Women's Health - Pretty straightforward multiple choice exam. We went through a lot of conditions in detail, and it can get a little tough because there's a lot of similarities, especially with treatments. I think it went pretty well though, my biggest recommendation here is to know your basics. If you don't understand endocrinology and physiology, it's hard to differentiate your conditions. Also, having a nice group study session before the exam in the NSA lounge, and writing out our keynote symptoms for each condition on the blackboard, that works really well!

Physical Medicine - This was a weird exam of course, because it's more of a practical based topic, but we had a 100 question multiple choice exam. Weird right? Anyway, I had heard that a lot of people failed last year, so I was a little worried. Turns out the exam was a breeze! Now maybe it's because we were all pretty worried, and had an awesome group study session the night before, and got to know our stuff really well, or maybe...na that's probably it. There's a lot of information to know, but if you simplify and break it all down, it's not too bad. And also, as a practical based topic, I find it's really helpful to study using your hands a lot - go through the motions of each test and exam as you study them, talk about and really see why they do what they do.

So the big assignment that was on my mind this past week was our RCIA (Relevant Clinical Inquiry Assignment). This is basically a massive paper where you have to do a review on a clinically relevant topic to Naturopathic Medicine. It involves lots of research, tedious summary work, and some cool critical thinking about current treatment standards, and where your research fits in. It was a lot of work, and my paper ended up at about 19 pages (!!!), but it was a good experience. The really cool thing is that the professors are planning to compile all our reports and give it back to us as a resource, so we'll have some awesome summaries of hundreds of research papers on clinically relevant topics. Pretty cool right? I did mine on Mindfulness Based Therapies for improving sleep disturbance and insomnia. Long story short? It works pretty well, and that doesn't even take into account that it has some great results for anxiety, depression, stress, and lots of other conditions. Definitely something I want to incorporate into my practice in the future.

Anyway I'm off for the week, not like I have that much to do - oh just a health psych case formulation, practical male and female genitourinary exams, a homeopathy full case assignment, a marketing assignment, and a physical medicine practical. Should be an easy week right?

Oh ya and it was Halloween yesterday, my house is generally known on my street as one of the best - my brother sets up an awesome display with scary figures in the window, dark lights, spiders, zombies, the whole thing. And then my dad has a terrifying Frankenstein laugh, it's really funny how many kids get scared to knock on the door. Don't worry though, we always have good candy! And Halloween is supposed to be scary right?

As always, here's a funny relevant picture for the week. See you next week!

Shortest Midterm Week Ever?

It's Monday, sorry I missed my usual Sunday post, but I'm here right away! It's a bit of a busy time right now with CCNM midterms. Again, I'm in third year, so this is going to be my fifth midterm period at CCNM! Time sure flies. This is a really odd one though, because for the first time, midterms are not the week of Thanksgiving (I may have mentioned that in my last post, if so, sorry, I forgot). So we have midterms over five days instead of four. However, third year is a little different than first and second; we have a lot more assignments, so we have less midterms. So right now, I've only got three midterms - I know, my undergrad self would be crying if I had three midterms in a week, but at CCNM, when you're used to five to six exams in four days, three exams in five days is really not so bad! Anyway I've got Nutrition on Tuesday, Men's and Women's Health on Thursday, and Physical Medicine on Friday. I'll try to debrief these exams a bit on my next Sunday post.

Nutrition is going to be a little strange, because it's actually an open book exam; to my knowledge, my first open book exam ever in seven years of post-secondary. We can bring in whatever we want, and for me that means the course textbook, the Gaby "Bible of Nutrition" (honestly this book is over 1300 pages, it has so much information!), and course notes. The exam is all short answer instead of multiple choice, so it'll be a little different, but I think it will be okay. Critically think instead of memorize. What a concept!

Men's and Women's Health is regular multiple choice, there's a fair amount of material, but I don't think it will be too bad. Lots of overlap with other courses, and stuff we have done in the past. There is a lot of therapeutics to know though...oh third year.

Finally Physical Medicine, it's going to be a little weird as a multiple choice exam. This is the type of course that you really see as more of a practical based thing, and the final will be just that. But for the midterm, we've got about 400+ pages worth of material, all sorts of physical exams and conditions and dermatomes and trigger points. So much information! But at least it's at the end of the week, so there's lots of time to prepare for it.

Anyway, on to something that is not just school. I've recently been doing lots of self-development, with books and podcasts being a big part of that. There's so many interesting and useful little tips you can learn, and I thought it would be nice to share some of those through my blogging. So for this week, I wanted to share a pretty cool one I learned today, called "block breathing." This is something I had learned in the past, but modified. Basically, you breathe in for 3-4s, hold your breath for 3-4s, breathe out for 3-4s, and hold again for 3-4s. While you do this, you can imagine drawing a square with your finger, or even actually draw one. Each side of the square is a portion of that breathing. This is a great exercise for helping draw you back to your breath, become more mindful, get into a parasympathetic state, and just relax. The simple things are always the best aren't they? The cool twist I learned today though, was to do block breathing while walking. Walking can be especially stressful if you are in a rush or in a big crowd of people. It's also something you have to do all the time, so why not use it as an opportunity to be more mindful and relaxed? So in this scenario, instead of using 3-4s for each side of the square, you can breathe in, hold and breathe out based on the number of steps you take. 4 steps is a pretty standard number, but depending how fast you walk, you can switch between 4-8 steps and have a pretty good rhythm.

So give that exercise a try next time you're out walking, and let me know how you feel. I'm off to study again, see you Sunday!

Remember to breathe properly! Breathe with your diaphragm and not your chest to get the best airflow, and better relaxation. This is as easy as putting you hand on your stomach while breathing - ensure it pushes out while breathing in, and comes in when you breathe out. Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving - Family is Great!

Going to be a short Sunday post today. It's Thanksgiving weekend, and I would like to take this time to mention the value of family and togetherness. This is a bit of a throwback to last week's post about community, but it's a little more focused because it's about family.

I come from a pretty big family (I've got 4 brothers and a sister, and between my two oldest brothers I currently have 3 nehpews!). It's really great having a big family, because they are people that you can count on. People who you have a long history with, between growing up, fighting your parents, fighting each other, going on fun vacations, endless dinners and trips to different places. It's really important to have people that you can connect with, and family is one of those groups that have such a huge advantage. That being said, it's also important to remember that your friends can be a part of your family too. I have a few good friends that I've known and been friends with for almost 20 years, and it's something that I'm very thankful for. There are some people who unfortunately don't have the best relationship with their families, and I guess I hope that they can learn about the importance of family, and eventually make up with them. The hope is that your family can be with you through the good and bad of life, and will always be there when you need them. That's how I feel with my family, and I hope they feel the same about me!

Since it's Thanksgiving, I want to say what I'm thankful for this year.
1. I'm thankful and ecstatic about the fact that I passed NPLEX 1! It was a bit of a rough summer with long days of studying, and it just felt endless studying for so many days in a row. I've never studied that many days in a row before, so I'm so thanksful that I passed and don't have to do it again! (until NPLEX 2 of course!)
2. I'm very thankful that I found this amazing profession of Naturopathic Medicine. After two years of being in school and learning A LOT, I am sure that this is where I'm supposed to be. It's a struggle sometimes, as all things are, but I'm very happy and know that this is right.

What are you thankful for this year?

The Importance of Community

Back again for my second "regular" Sunday post. I'm kind of procrastinating doing some work tonight, it's been a long day, but I'm going to do my post as promised.

This has been an interesting week as always, with our first ADNSA meeting, practicing CBT on standardized patients in Health Psych, trying out moxabustion and cupping in Asian Med, the Jays clinching the playoffs (woo! I'm such a bandwagon fan but boy is it a fun energy to be part of! Plus my grandfather loves the Jays and it's really nice to share something with him), and a really big one, the Proclamation Celebration on Thursday. That's right, the Naturopathy Act of 2007 has finally been proclaimed in Ontario - Okay, well it was actually proclaimed in July, but we're finally celebrating it. As with anything politically related, this is just one step on a long road, and you can't appease everyone as many people are a little upset about certain things, but overall, this is really great news for NDs in Ontario and across Canada and the US really. Improved regulation and legal rights leads to better patient care and protection, and better outcomes for doctors in the end. It was great to celebrate this occasion with fellow students and doctors, and to look back on how far we've come as a profession.

Anyway, onto the topic of my post for today. Community. An awesome TV show (well at least season 1-3); but also, an important word. A quick google definition of the word shows the following: "a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals." Coming from a large family, I think I've always taken for granted the importance of community, but it was really while reflecting on my last week, and doing some digging into some old psych notes that I got a greater understanding. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is an interesting concept based upon what it takes to find your purpose in life: self-actualization. I think this is something that everyone should and eventually will want to achieve, to answer the big question, "why am I here?" Maslow posits however, that in order to reach this point, you first need to attend to your most basic needs. This starts with physiologic needs like food, water and air, and then moves on to safety. How can you worry about your purpose if you can't eat, breathe, or drink, or if you don't feel safe from harm? But the next part of the pyramid is actually a feeling of love and belonging. We as humans have always survived and flourished because we build communities; we work together to help each other succeed; together. 

Of course being aware of this concept has led me to reflect on my recent past, going through this difficult program of Naturopathic Medicine. Could I have done this all by myself? Without a strong community? I really don't know. I do believe that we are all amazing beings with tons of potential for success, but I also think that we can all be better with the help of each other. In my first two years of CCNM, I was provided with endless resources from older students to help me succeed in my classes. I was given motivational speeches, invaluable tips, and people to talk to when I've felt overwhelmed. The help this community provides extends beyond just the older students though; my friends and classmates, future colleagues, are always there for each other. We all know that we have what it takes to succeed, but sometimes we need help to get through certain aspects. Individually, we are strong, but as a community, we are unstoppable. It is because of this that I am so glad to be a part of the NSA executive - my goal is to always help foster this sense of community among the students in years below me, and also students in my year and the one above me. 

This week I really appreciated the opportunity to give talks for the 1st and 2nd years on how to approach midterms, as it can be a little daunting. Having been in their position before, I know that it's tough, but I also know that they have what it takes. And more importantly, I know that they have what it takes to help each other get through. I have been pleased to see lots of sharing of resources and responsibilities among these students, sharing notes, creating study groups. This is the benefit of having a strong community, and I hope to continue to help build it stronger and stronger.

That's all for now, I've got work to do and my ability to write well is kind of flopping, but I'll leave you with this quote from Helen Keller: "Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much."

- and okay fine I'll put a funny cartoon this week!

But I swear I'm going to do my work today!
.... But maybe a quick break since I just wrote this blog post...

OAND Convention, First "Regular" Post, and Running

Here I am, as promised, for my first regular Sunday post. I already summed up last week so there's no need to talk about that, but instead I'll talk about my great weekend at the OAND Convention.

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!

I swear I don't do all this!
Okay.....maybe just a couple apps

TGIF!

It's Friday, and that means it's the last day of my "what you take in Fall third year" series.
So here's the classes for today:

Physical Medicine - This is just another physical medicine class, but a few times during the semester we'll have practicals on Fridays to actually work on the skills we're learning. Our first session is next week, so I'm pretty excited for that (sitting in a lecture hall gets boring after 6 years!).

Homeopathy 3 - This is taught by Dr. Bakir who taught is first year. I'll give her this, she's incredibly passionate about homeopathy. You can really see it when she teaches and when you ask her questions in person. She's also very friendly and easy going. Homeopathy doesn't resonate with me as much as others, but she's really great if it does for you. This year it's a full year course, and there is going to be a lot of focus on acute remedies - I think this is great, because I think Naturopathic Doctors can have a very difficult time integrating classical homeopathy. There's so many other modalities that you have an styles of interviewing that are kind of at odds with homeopathy, and make it difficult, but I think the acute stuff can work well. Anyway we also are working on a live case which is pretty cool, that started today. We had a very experienced homeopath come in and do a full case intake on a live patient for us, and we charted as if we were doing the intake. Our assignment is to work up the case, and I think this is pretty good experience - better than just learning tons of remedies! We also are going to keep going over another case that Dr. Bakir did with someone and recorded, and because that one is recorded, she goes through it with us very slowly to point out important things.

Men's and Women's Health - In this course, we focus on none other than men's and women's health! Here we look at the same things we looked at in clinical medicine last year, but in more depth, and also integrating treatment modalities. In addition, there is a practical component that involves gynecological examinations and male genitourinary/digital rectal examinations. For the female exam, there are three stations throughout the year. The first is just a recap of PCD last year, practicing on models. Mine is next Friday. The next two will be on standardized patients. I'm a little nervous for those, but I think it'll be okay; everyone else made it through right? The male ones just have two stations, both of which will be on a standardized patient. Also nervous, but I think it'll be okay. These are of course important because NDs are trained as primary care providers, and we need to be able to assess these important areas if required by our patients.

So that's all for now, I'll make sure to do a full week in the winter so you can learn about what courses we're in then.

Anyway, This weekend is the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctor's Annual Convention and Tradeshow. There's lots of interesting talks, and a full tradeshow with all the supplement companies. In first year I worked for a company called Signature Supplements, so I spent the whole time at the booth. This year I will be volunteering on Saturday, so on Sunday I get to go for free. I'm excited to see some cool talks and get a bunch of free supplements, and hopefully network a little bit. My regular posting schedule starts this Sunday, so I'll give you a bit of a recap then. For now it's back to work, so I'll leave you with another funny cartoon (by the way, I won't always do the cartoon thing, if there's something else relevant I may do a different picture, but it's been fun for this week so why not?)

Thursday, and the most posts in a row ever!

It's Thursday, which means only one thing....tomorrow is Friday! Let's just say it's been a long week, the first full week of the year - well technically last week was, but I was still kind of recovering from unity summit and dragon boating (things I'll hopefully touch on in future posts), so it didn't really count haha. Anyway here are the courses for today

Nutrition 3 - As this is a big class, we've got it twice a week, so just the same stuff, though Dr. Prousky tends to get us working on a case together in little groups for part of class on Thursdays.

Asian Medicine Theory 3 - Taught by Dr. Kassam again, here we're learning the more advanced treatment and theory stuff that we'll later on apply in our practical. For fall, the theory and practical class are side by side, and you have the choice of doing them in either order; but no problem, the stuff we do in practical is based on last weeks lecture, so if you have practical first, you aren't in trouble. Having lecture first is beneficial because we start class at 1, meaning we have a break from 11-1; but having practical first is beneficial becauase you end class at 4 instead of 430.

Asian Medicine Practical - Here we get to actually practice all the stuff in theory class. So far we've just been working on acupuncture, doing some advanced techniques, and then advanced points. Today we did the more advanced points that we didn't do in first and second year, the most infamous of course being Stomach 1, 2 and Urinary Bladder 1. These points are infamous due to the fact that they are right around the eye. It was actually completely fine though, you feel these points less than you feel points in your arm. Once you get over the initial fear, and realize the safety and your control, they are no problem. In the future we're also going to do fun stuff like moxabustion and cupping, and we're also going to start doing cases with each other. These will be great because we'll be able to take everything we've learned and and practice developing appropriate treatment protocols. I'm excited!

After class today, I had my regular clinic appointment at the RSNC. I think I've mentioned it in a previous post, but self care is extremely important, especially in this intense program. The RSNC provides extremely affordable naturopathic care for students (free if you're on the student health plan), and it's a great opportunity to learn about what you will be doing soon from people who were in you shoes just 1-3 years ago. It's also nice to act as a patient so to provide more practice for the interns, and of course it can benefit you immensely, helping work on all sorts of issues. I personally have been doing lots of MSK related stuff in my own visits, but some mental/emotional stuff comes up too, and it's always great to have someone non-judgemental to talk with about anything.

Ok it's 11:15 and I'm going to bed a little bit early today! Here's my funny cartoon for the day, see you tomorrow.