Ashley's Blog

The Hawkeye state is up again for a re-vote on whether or not to license naturopathic doctors as primary care physicians. Over a year ago Iowa NDs tried for licensure but were unable to pass the bill. As far as I have read and heard, licensure bill SF293 has already passed the Senate subcommittee and Senate committee. The next step is Senate floor. The president of the Iowa Association of Naturopathic Physicians e-mailed me stating that currently we have majority in Senate but the bill still needs much support to get passed! 

Over half of Iowa legislators have been directly informed of the need for naturopathic medicine in Iowa and you bet I have been recruiting friends and family back home to e-mail and call! I had not at all been thinking about moving back to Iowa to practice but this really throws my plans for a loop! If Iowa becomes the first Midwest state to become licensed with a full scope of practice…Iowa just may be my place!! 

If you know anyone in Iowa or would like to be part of the licensing efforts please send a quick e-mail stating the many wonderful benefits of naturopathic medicine! We need all the help we can get to get this bill through. The vote will take place around April 29th, so we only have a short couple months to raise awareness! 

The following link will take you the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) where you can send an e-mail directly to support Iowa licensing efforts! 

http://www.capwiz.com/naturopathic/issues/alert/?alertid=25402521&type=ST

Fonda of my Honda 

My gracious parents allowed me to borrow their Honda Civic for the time being since my old Subaru finally quit on me. I am so close to being done with school and this couldn't have happened at a worse time! Thankfully, I have a vehicle to get around and I can stop waking my boyfriend up early in the morning for rides! I really am so blessed… my family and friends always have my back!  

I hope that everyone has a chance to vote for Iowa licensure!! Hopefully Illinois will be next!

Hello from Danville! I am writing to you from Danville, IL, where my fellow intern Sarah and I just arrived at our hotel to prepare for our shadowing opportunity tomorrow. We are meeting with Dr. Peters who is a chiropractic and naturopathic physician who practices as a primary care doctor here in Danville. He has a variety of conditions he treats but specializes in homeopathy. I am excited to report how tomorrow goes! 

Salvation Army

For the entire 10th Trimester, I am spending Friday clinic shifts at the Salvation Army in downtown Chicago. It has been nice to be able to track patients from week-to-week and monitor their progress. The past few weeks we have had several successful treatments with homeopathy, which I love to see!

One patient was treated with the remedy Calc Carb for a chief complaint of fear of change, as he was placed on a new job assignment and had a lot of anxiety revolving around his first day at the new job. The following week the patient reported feeling completely calm after being given the homeopathic remedy and had much less anxiety when he started his new job earlier in the week. I love hearing success stories like this, especially when these patients are so thankful for any help that we can provide.

Niece Update

My little niece is now 5 months old!! I recently found out she will be attending my graduation in April to watch
her Auntie A become a doctor. I am very excited about graduation of course, but most of all I am excited for my family to visit and spend time together. We have a trip planned for the Shedd Aquarium and Lincoln Park Zoo just to name a few! I can't wait to show off little Gracey!

Have a great week!!

I know this is absolutely ridiculous, but I have to admit I have never taken the Chicago Metra train in my whole 5 years of living here! I was actually forced to take the Metra from Downers Grove to my Salvation Army rotation in downtown Chicago this past Friday as my car quit on me early last week. Aside from my broken down car being a headache, the train was so easy and the best part was I didn't have to sit in traffic on the way back home! I am totally going to take the train much more often!  

Valentine's Day Fondue! 

Since Valentine's Day fell on a Monday, my boyfriend and I decided to make dinner and have a quiet night at home. When I got home from my clinic shift late in the evening, I was surprised with a bubbling pot of cheese fondue and heart shaped rice crispy treats! Yum! On top of my dinner surprise I also received some paraben and phthalate free bath products! I finally have my friends and family trained to look for products that are free of harsh preservatives that are known to create long term health affects.

Phthalates are used in plastics to give them their flexibility and durability. The use of phthalates is being phased out, as there are emerging health concerns over their safety. Parabens are used to increase the shelf life of cosmetics and are found in an array of products from shampoo to toothpaste. Parabens can also be added to food to prevent spoilage. Products without parabens and phthalates are becoming more available especially in many infant bath products. It's something to keep in mind the next time you go to the store for toiletries! 

The final move!

This weekend wrapped up my month of moving… FINALLY! My boyfriend and I rented a 16-foot truck with a car carriage attached to the back to haul the rest of my apartment and car back home. I know it had to be unnerving to drive that big truck with an additional car in tow, but my boyfriend would never admit it!  It was nice to spend some time with my family and get out of school mode for a few days. 

I am counting down the days to graduation… Only 2 more months now!! I am so ready to graduate… can't wait!!

Yes, I am still in the process of moving! Did I mention my family is the best?? My mom and brother came back to Chicago for Round 2 of moving. In between moving and packing we had time to go for a nice sushi dinner and have some good laughs! I have been so stressed out lately with keeping on track with graduation requirements and moving that it was nice to see my family! 

Scoping Out Shadowing Opportunities 

I've been searching high and low for a naturopath to shadow in the Midwest and finally came across Andrew Peters, DC, ND, in Danville, IL. He is more than happy to host a baby ND like myself and to teach me the ins and outs of practicing in Illinois. Although he practices in a rural community in southern Illinois, I am sure he has words of wisdom for setting up a practice and how to recruit patients. Dr. Peters said there should be many patient visits to sit in on and he also mentioned that his office is BYOS… Bring your own stethoscope! I am anxious to learn from a doc in the field!  

Valentine's Day

With Valentine's Day here, I had to keep up with tradition by buying Grissom, my boyfriend's cat, a Valentine's day outfit. He is a very docile cat and humors me when I want to dress him up. We had a good laugh torturing him!! 

I've heard the weather is going to warm up by the end of the week… I sure hope so! We need sunshine to melt all this leftover snow in Chicago! 

I hope everyone has a great week!

This week we had a huge blizzard blow through Chicago that brought almost 2 feet of snow! In some places it felt like much more due to the high winds causing the snow to drift. As we sat in clinic and watched the snowstorm roll in, we finally got word we were able to leave early to get home safe before it really got bad. Unfortunately for some, their normally 20-minute commutes were turned into a 2-hour plus ordeal! Luckily for me, I had gone grocery shopping the night before and could go straight home and prepare for my first snow day of 2011! 

Aside from catching up on television watching on my extra day off, my boyfriend and I painted our living room and began organizing my things into the apartment. It always sounds like a good idea to paint until you realize how much prep work there is! Filling nail holes, sanding bumps and priming… I will be glad once it is done! By the end of the month I will be completely moved out of my old apartment and finally know where all of my things are! 

Saturday Clinic Shifts

This past Saturday was our first Saturday naturopathic clinic shift. We were surprisingly busy with each intern on shift having a new patient. Being open on a weekend day will help patients who work during the weekdays to be able make an appointment. We have had many new patients since the beginning of the year, which goes to show that word about our clinic is being spread in the community. With our newest staff member, Julie Martin ND, coming from a strong oncology background, she has referred several recovering cancer patients to our clinic for adjunctive care. This is an awesome experience for the naturopathic interns as many of us have a specific interest in oncology. 

Job Hunting 

The search for a job continues! I have had some promising leads in the Chicagoland area but am still unsure where I want to set up shop permanently. I am looking forward to graduation, which will open up a lot more time for job searching. One step at a time! 

Have a great week and let's hope for no more snow!!