Treatment Tuesday 2: Convocation 2013

I attended the class of 2013's convocation about a week ago. It was a lovely ceremony in which ~120 new naturopathic doctors graduated! One particularly exciting moment was when the 2000th CCNM graduate was announced. Wow, to think there are 2000 naturopathic doctors (from CCNM alone, there are six more naturopathic medical schools in North America) out there...

Another exciting moment: when the students all read the naturopathic oath together out loud! 

And yet another exiciting moment: realizing that in one year's time it will be my time to convocate!

Congratulations to the new NDs!

Examageddon

Eleven exams and a third year of naturopathic medical school are over!

Congrats, First and Second Years!

...to all the first and second year CCNM students who finished their exams today!

Enjoy your summer! 

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Please come and visit the class of 2014 in the clinic when you return to school in September. 

I promise we'll take good care of you!

My New Home

Formal lectures and classes are officially over! 

Instead of hanging out in the Lecture Theatre all day, this will be my new home come May: the clinic!

 Treatment room of the RSNC (my school's teaching clinic). Rooms feature chairs for chatting, a treatment table (for physical exams, manipulations, acupuncture, massages, and more), and a sink area where basic medical equipment is kept (gloves, swabs, tongue depressors, etc). 

In the conference rooms where we debrief after a shift, a copy of the Naturopathic Doctor's Oath (pictured on the right) hangs to inspire us and keep us on track. 

Bittersweet

I am about to begin the last.week.EVER.

That's right: this week is my last week of classes at CCNM! 

No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers' dirty looks... 

This post is titled Bittersweet for a reason, however.

While I am so, so excited to get out of the classroom and into the clinic, I'm a wee bit sad about ending almost two decades of classroom time. I like being a student, it's what I know! I love learning, I love taking notes, I love hearing from experts (my professors), I love seeing my classmates everyday, and I love routine. I know that the learning won't stop (my patients will become my new teachers!) and I'll still see my colleagues around the clinic, but it will be different. Good different, but still different. I'm sure the month of May will be pretty stressful as we all adjust to this new system of learning. But by Summer, I'm sure we'll have mastered the operations portion of our year four experience (charting, audits, case management files, the PAX booking software, taking out equipment, changing treatment rooms, monitoring modality numbers, ICD codes, and so much more). And once those headaches are out of the way, it'll be smooth sailing: we'll be back into a routine and our patients will dictate the course of last year of formal learning.

But in the meantime, I'm going to soak up this last week of being a student... a mere third-year... spending my days in the Lecture Theatre... comfortably seated, just one in the crowd... trying to take in as much good knowledge as I can...

...while waiting for the next bathroom break to chat and complain with my peers about the eleven exams that stand between us and clinic. Eek!

My Professors and Children's Health

Two of my professors have been in the news lately, talking about children's health. They're so cool.

First: Read about the Pediatrics Open House that took place at CCNM back in January (I participated in this event). I love the quote (found in this article) by my Pediatrics professor, Dr. Leslie Solomonian:

"We put way too much emphasis on heroic medicine and we neglect basic principles in health". 

Second: Read about my future clinic supervisor and Clinical Nutrition professor, Dr. Jonathon Prousky, talking about childhood mental illness and the Mindful project on Daytime Toronto.

Life Updates

- I have roughly one month left of classes until I enter clinic! It's going to be the last month I set foot in a classroom in my life... after twenty years of classes. Crazy.
- I start learning vitamin B12 injections tomorrow.
- I've made this pizza twice now. Awesome!
- I have my official clinic schedule for next year! I'm super happy with the shifts I have AND the supervisors who I'll be working under. I'll talk more about my shifts, satellites, and supervisors in a later post.
- I had my OSCE 3 on Friday. Here is how it runs: enter clinic room, greet patient, take their history (i.e. ask them a ton of questions about their health complaint), rule out emergent conditions and red flags, perform physical exams, diagnose the patient, recommend further testing/labs, and recommend a treatment for their condition ...all in 18 minutes ...all the while being marked/evaluated by a clinic supervisor who is sitting in the corner of the room ...then repeat this whole process two more times with two new patients. It was an adrenalin-packed hour that's for sure!
- I celebrated completed OSCE 3 by checking out this place with friends. Fun times.
- I think my OSCE 3 went very well. I was proud of performance(s). I have to pass OSCE 3 in order to enter clinic. Here's hoping the evaluators thought I was competent!

Caramel Apple Timbits

- I made these donuts yesterday (but since I didn't have a donut pan, I made "timbits" using a mini muffin tin).  They are pictured above.
- Anyone have nice Spring weather yet? While it's sunny out here, it is still cold.
- I walked into Bulk Barn this weekend: holy Easter candy overload! I forgot how sugar-laden this holiday is. However, seeing them all (an entire row of Eater candy only, by the way) brought make nostalgic memories. Malt chocolate eggs, foil wrapped chocolate eggs, jelly beans, gummy bunnies, mini eggs, caramel filled chocolate eggs... Om nom nom!
- I selected my clinic office for next year. I'm going to be sharing a room with two of my CCNM best buds. 

Women's Health Week: Concluding Thoughts

Women’s Health Week 2013 took place from March 11^th to 15^th at CCNM (my school). During that period, women’s health took the focus, through a variety of events. The loose theme this year was to address the more controversial aspects of women’s health, such as natural birth, body image, alternative menstruation management, abandoning fad-diets, and the glamourization of our health concerns.

On Monday, the Canadian documentary Pink Ribbons, Inc, was shown. This film critiqued pink ribbons movement, discussed pink washing, and featured women with breast cancer who don’t appreciate their disease being turned into something that is ‘pretty, pink, and perky’.

On Wednesday, at the Moms’ Panel, six CCNM students shared their birth experiences and gave advice to the future moms and health care practionners (who will be caring for new moms) in the audience. DivaCups were also handed out. Thank you to DivaCup for donating! 

Finally, on Thursday, Meghan Telpner, Nutritionista, gave us ten simple steps to share with patients to improve overall health. Immediately after her talk, members of the CCNM family shared their body monologues at the first ever BMcompanion event. It was full of both tear-jerking and laugh-out-loud moments. If you missed it, you can hear more body monologues at the downtown Toronto, April 11^th show. Learn more about this show here. 

A big shout-out to the volunteers that helped with WHW and to all who attended the events. Thanks!

This board featuring women's health research was displayed in the school lobby all week long. 

Twist and Shout! Formal 2013

CCNM's Annual Formal took place exactly one week ago (on March 9, 2013). Once again I was on the formal planning committee; this year I was in charge of the volunteers and communications. It was quite the event with ~500 people in attendance. The theme was the 50s & 60s, and there was a swing cover band; as a result, the dance floor was totally rockin'!  

Old School Candy Station

The Night's Signature Drink: Blue Moon

Centerpieces were Ice Cream Floats made with Carnation Flowers and Records

Swing Cover Band

Party Favors were Old Fashion Sodas, like Cream Soda and Root Beer

Women's Health Week 2013

It's here! 
CCNM's Women's Health Week, March 11-15, 2013

If you are a CCNMer or living in Toronto, please come out to our FREE events this week.
They're sure to be informative, fun, and inspiring! 

...and we're back!

...back to school, that is. 

After 2+ weeks of reading week and midterms, today was the first day back to school. It was busy being back to the grind, but I missed the hustle of bustle of daily school (however, some aspects were extremely stressful, so I hated those parts of today... more on that in another post). Also, now that it is March, things are busy again so I can't guarantee daily posts. I'll pop in as much as I can, but if I don't post, it's because life and school are really hectic!

___________________________________ 

Check out this awesome Canadian health news! I've talked about dandelion root in the past as a good liver detoxifier and replacement for coffee, but who knew that it fights cancer? I'm actually having a cup of dandelion tea right now as I type! Here's my favorite brand, but you can also buy this one, or this one. Or, as explained in the news article, you can make your own by grinding dandelion roots!

Image taken from the Traditional Medicinals website. 

Opportunities Abroad, Part 2

While studying naturopathic medicine at CCNM, you can learn beyond the classroom by taking a trip to... 

Nicaragua - volunteer in a community health clinic for ten days. Learn more about this clinic and NDI (Naturopathic Doctors International), the organization behind this trip, here. 

Guatemala - volunteer in a community health clinic for ten days. Learn more about this clinic and NMGH (Naturopathic Medicine for Global Health), the organization behind this trip, here. Fellow blogger T is on this trip right now! 

Haiti - volunteer in a community health clinic for ten days. Learn more about this clinic and NWB (Naturopaths Without Borders), the organization behind this trip, here.

India - travel to Mumbai where to study (during the day) homeopathic medicine under the supervision of famous homeopathic doctors. During the nights, you are free to explore and immerse yourself in Indian culture! NOTE: unlike the other trips, this is not a volunteer opportunity but a continuing education/course work-style trip. 

...with all these opportunities, it is evident that naturopathic students like to travel!

Source

Opportunities Abroad

Who wouldn't want to escape the winterness and go do some medial volunteering abroad! Lots of CCNMers are escaping Toronto's winter by attending a medical brigade abroad.

If you are interested in naturopathic medicine and love to travel, there are many opportunities to travel and use your naturopathic medical skills.  There are several organizations with which you can travel as a student offering naturopathic medical services including NDI (naturopathic doctors international), NWB (naturopathic doctors without borders), etc. There are trips to India, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Guatamala.

                                                                                            More information on these trips my next post!

Chocolate Love

All of my friends gave me chocolate yesterday. They know me well!

Mmm, chocolate coma!

On VDay I gave out homemade peanut butter cups wrapped in foil just like real chocolate.

Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups 

HOMEMADE PB CUPS... Reese's has got nothing on these yummy cups.

 200 grams of chocolate (equivalent to two bars)

0.5 cup of plain peanut butter (natural)

0.25 cup of honey

Melt chocolate on minimum heat. Take a mini muffin tin or a regular sized tin with a bit of oil to keep it well greased. Spoon melted chocolate into the bottom of chocolate (a little more than a teaspoon). Then place the muffin tin in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up. After 5 minutes, take a heaping teaspoon of the honey PB and roll it into a ball, then flatten it it into a disc. Place the disc ontop of the chocolate base in the muffin tin. Make sure that the disc is not as wide as the entire tin's width (you want room to get chocolate on the sides of the PB disc). Then pour chocolate on top of the disc, making sure that chocolate gets all around the disc and covers the top entirely. Continue until all the cups are filled with discs and covered with chocolate. Garnish with a peanut and place in the freezer to firm up for another 5 minutes.  To remove the cups, use a spoon to "plop" the discs out. They will seem stuck but they will pop out easily due to greasing them in advance. Makes 12 mini PB cups or 6 large ones.

Share with those you love! <3

Substitutions: use maple syrup instead of honey and almond butter instead of PB.

Hello Big Year!

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a restful winter break. I know that I sure did. It was the perfect combination of relaxation and fun-times that I felt fully recharged and ready to tackle what is shaping up to be the most challenging semester of my academic career ...not to mention, the LAST (classroom) semester of my life! That's right, come May 2013, I am entering Clinic full-time. No more classes, no more books, no more teachers' dirty looks!

Despite me feeling energized and excited to get through this semester, I still find myself scrambling at the end of the day, wondering how my precious daytime hours have vanished. The point is: I'm busy, now more than ever; the busiest I've been since I started my adventure at CCNM. For this reason, I left you hanging, after a whole week into the new year, without any update from me. So sad. I meant to write this little blurb each day since starting back at CCNM (I resumed my classes a week ago today), but somehow, each day, time has managed to scurry-on by...

Anyway, what I am trying to say, is that 1) I haven't forgot about you and blogging; in fact, I miss writing daily, but 2) my blogging schedule is going to be a bit more sporadic this semester. I can't commit to daily blogging like I have done over the last 2.5 years of school. I just have too much on my plate right now. But I will be popping in from time-to-time sharing my med school adventures (for instance, we learned how to draw blood today!), some recipes (made a wicked Mung Bean Stew tonight, plus I got a new camera, so my food pictures will be better than ever), and of course health tips (got sleep woes? I've got (several) remedies for that!)

Thanks for hanging with me during this turbulent semester!

Third Time's a Charm?

I'm currently completing my third-year midterms.  Wait, didn't this semester just start?  How are we at the midterm mark already?!  Oh wait, I know why: assignments. We've all been so busy completing assignments that this semester is flying by (thank you weekly Post Encounter Probes (PEPs), Homeopathy case reports, Men's & Women's Health research paper, Radiology presentation, Health Psychology portfolio, etc).

So here we are, in midterm week, year three.  You'd think that they'd be easy by now (third time's a charm, right?), but nope, they are still tricky and require lots of studying.  Oh well, I really can't complain because there is only one more to go, this week, and then only one more midterm exam period to complete ever (February, 2013)!

Midterms, Year 3, Snapshot 1: On Monday, after our brutal Botanical Medicine exam, our student government treated students to gluten-free, dairy-free, oatmeal cookies for a nice moral boost. Super yum!

Midterms, Year 3, Snapshot 2: Physical Medicine studying last night, complete with chamomile tea! I learned a bunch of exercise-like to test to determine if the patient has nerve impingement or injury, ligament and tendon tears, facet joint pathologies, or nerve tumors (neuromas), to name a few.  I learned a lot studying this material; it was actually---dare I say it---really fun to study Phys Med!

Exciting Things at CCNM.

Image source here.

Exciting things are happening at CCNM these days!  Here's a quick summary of some of the latest CCNM news:

- CCNM is going to open the first teaching clinic in a hospital in North America! The clinic will open in Winter of 2013 and will feature general naturopathic medicine shifts. That means I might be able to intern there during my fourth year of studies!

- In addition to the Sports Medicine, Cancer, and Pediatrics specialty shifts offered in the school's teaching clinic, two new shifts have been added: a fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue shift and LGBT/immigrant community-focused shift.

- Concerns with the preceptorship program (I've complained about this program before on the blog) are finally being addressed. In the word's of CCNM's dean "Students feel that a large number of NDs either rejected or ignored their request to precept with them" Yep, this has happened to me many times. As a result, the school is reducing the number of hours required (we did need 100 hours, which is simply too much).

- CCNM surveyed students who wrote NPLEX on August 7, 2012. The survey results found (according to the school's dean): "...that while certain areas of the NPLEX exams had improved, the exams were still testing minutia, that NPLEX I was not considered a fair assessment of biomedical knowledge and, most importantly, that there was a disconnect between what was being taught at CCNM and what was being tested". Agreed (I complained about these things already on the blog)!  Thankfully, NABNE---NPLEX's governing body---is looking into CCNM's concerns. Let's hope that the exam will be better for the second-year students who will have to write it this upcoming Summer.

B2S BBQ.

 

CCNM Back 2 School Barbeque 2012! 

A week ago, the student organization at CCNM hosted a barbeque to welcome the students back. There was a lovely plate of kale salad, mixed green salad, condiments galore, gluten-free hamburger buns, local and free range beef burgers* or chicken breasts, local veggie burgers, iced green tea with mint leaves, and watermelon. 'Twas a feast. 

Blog news: unfortunately my blog posting this year is going to be a bit short. I have a ton of fun information to share with you all, but I short on time.  You'll likely see short posts like this, and then on weekends get something really juicy*, dripping* with science, medicine, and facts!  Reeeaaaaaalllllyyyy wish I could write beefier* posts for you each and everyday---and I will really try to---but third year has been super busy thus far.

*What's with the meat analogies/talk today? Lol.

Goal Writing.

Hope you enjoyed my Summer Scenes, it was my way of concluding my Summer posting and allowed me to officially say goodbye to my school-less days. Now, let's resume the health and medically-related posting. 

It's been a week of school. It's been a week of adjusting.  It's been a week of routine. It's been tough!

Sigh... anybody else already missing the days of Summer? 

(Also, not only have I been adjusting to spending all of my time at school, but I've been adjusting to the new found Fall weather.  Brr! It's quite chilly out there. I guess it is time to put away the flip-flops and bring out the scarfs). 

One way of re-adjusting the schedule change is to set goals.  I am a big fan (and so is my new Health Psychology professor) of writing out goals. By writing them down, you are more likely to adhere to them.  It is as if when they are written down, you suddenly become accountable and responsible for completing them.  

We learned in Health Psychology last week that properly written goals should be specific, measurable, manageable, and positively-stated. The goals shouldn't be vague (specific), you should able to measure whether the goal is completed or being worked on (measurable), the goals should be realistic and do-able (manageable), and they should be stated in a positive manner (I want to do... rather than don't do...).

Life After NPLEX.

Sooooo my NPLEX exam was a week ago.  Now, what does a post-NPLEX-er do with all the free-time on her hands?

- Read. Sometimes literature, sometimes junk, sometimes educational. It's all about balance.
- Clean. I felt like it was Spring again, because I got my clean-on!  Summer cleaning is the new Spring cleaning.
- Organize school notes. My bookshelf and office area was in serious need of some TLC. Now all my NPLEX materials are stored away and my second-year notes have a home now too.
- Experiment with supplements a la Dr. Phil.  More on that in a future post...
- Enjoy more of the great outdoors. This past week I found myself at the beach!
- Complain about the NPLEX exam with classmates. This has been done about a million times since last Tuesday. 
- Hang out with said classmates.  Once we're done complaining, we tend to have a lot of fun ;)
- Stuff myself with amazing goodies.  Toronto is so lucky to have Bunner's Bake Shop.
- Work diligently on my cookbook (it WILL be published this Summer!).
- Preceptor with naturopathic doctors and dream about the future!

Phew, 'tis been a busy week.  Got to make the most of August before the craziness of year three begins!

Wishing you all productive yet fulfilling days this August! ...and thanks for making me a part of your day :)