With the trimester flying by, the ZRT naturopathic medical
students' collegiate bowl at the annual naturopathic convention is
fast approaching! We have booked our flights to Portland and made
our hotel reservations, so there is no turning back! The group of
four of us who are going to participate are meeting weekly to
practice for the competition. Although I am very excited to compete
for NUHS, the next few weeks are going to be crazy with taking
final examinations early, as we will be missing the last two weeks
of school. A few crazy weeks of examinations will be well worth it
once we are in Portland!
While we are out on the West Coast, we plan to shadow at as many
naturopathic clinics as we can. Being so close to graduation,
making connections with practicing NDs is becoming more important.
We already have one shadowing opportunity set in stone in southern
California. I can't wait to report back on how it goes!
Classroom
In Botanicals recently, we discussed the topic of treating
cancer in a naturopathic clinical setting. This topic is
particularly interesting to me as I plan to pursue further
education in naturopathic oncology. The field of oncology is vast,
therefore most naturopathic treatments are guided toward integrated
care and supporting the body's ability to tolerate debilitating
chemotherapy, radiology and surgical treatments. There are many
botanical formulas that can be given to help patients gain their
energy and strength back after oncology treatments and to help with
the brain fog patients experience post-chemotherapy referred to as
"chemo brain." The lecture on botanical uses in cancer is just the
tip of the iceberg when it comes to naturopathic therapies that can
be utilized as adjunctive treatment in the field of oncology.
We're also discussing oncology in depth in both Internal
Medicine and Functional Medicine. I am a total cancer junkie… so I
will be sure to relay any interesting information!
With about 10 papers and 3 presentations looming over my head I
had better get to typing! Have a great week!
Garden
This week's photos show how our naturopathic garden is
progressing.
