It's like a breath of fresh air (literally) when we pull up to
my in-laws house and take a deep breath. The cool fresh air just
radiates to the rest of my body and instantly makes me feel at
peace. Finally, I get a break from school, studying, writing
papers, and just a daily routine.
Every time we visit my in-laws, we know we are in store for a
stress free, low key, and relaxing weekend. They are so "go with
the flow" type of people that if we wanted to sleep in until noon
and just stay home all day, they would be more than happy with
that!
My in-laws live on about 17 acres of land that is conjoined with
other land owned by their "neighbors." They have a golf cart that
they use to explore the forest and small roads, so it's always so
much fun to be "one" with nature again. We definitely took
advantage of being surrounded by nature and took walks and golf
cart rides. Our puppy Oliver joined us on the trip and he was such
an amazing puppy!
Oliver loved every minute of it and became best friends with
Evan's (Ryan's brother) husky, Jax. It was definitely a sight to
see because they were the most unlikely duo and were inseparable
the entire weekend.
We went to see "Alice in Wonderland," which was an awesome
movie, and went to eat Dim Sum (Chinese traditional version of
"Spanish Tapas"). It was everyone's first time (except Ryan and I),
and we found an Asian Supermarket in the process that made me so
giddy! Ever since we started planning on moving up to Grand Rapids
after we are ready to open up a practice, I was nervous that I
would be losing the luxuries of having small Asian stores or
culture around me. After we found a small Asian community, I feel
more comfortable about leaving my comfort zone one day.
Another thing I learned this weekend is the truth about
naturopathic doctors across the nation. In classes, we've always
been "warned" about the "NDs" that receive their degrees from
Clayton and Triton colleges. They are NOT comparable to accredited
naturopathic doctors from National or Bastyr. It definitely can get
tricky though.
My mother-in-law gave me this newsletter magazine she came
across about the Natural Medicine in western Michigan. I found a
lot of the articles and information very useful and interesting
because they also included practitioners in the area that do all
forms of natural medicine including Reiki, craniosacral technique,
etc. However, I came across a couple practitioners that stated they
"practiced naturopathic medicine" but did not have the credentials.
I also came across an ad for a "naturopathic school" in western
Michigan called "NITE." It states that it is accredited by the
"American Naturopathic Medical Accreditation Board" and when I
looked up that board, the list of schools included Clayton and
Triton, which are NOT REAL ND schools.
After speaking with a naturopathic professor from National, she
informed me that those "non-accreditable and non-licensable
schools" have created their own accreditation board that is
separate from the Association of
Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges so that they can
look legitimate. Those naturopathic physicians are NOT able to
obtain a license in a licensed state and usually are in the states
that are unlicensed!
This is crazy to me and very offensive! All the work we do here
is taken in the hands of people that think they know what they're
talking about! So make sure to not only leave with an education but
also leave with a goal to educate the public, your future patients,
and medical doctors that you meet. Be aware also that if you are a
chiropractor interested in referring or working with a naturopathic
doctor, you make sure you know their credentials, what school they
attended, and where and if they hold a license! It's so
important!!
I hope that small bit of a glimpse into what NDs face out in the
real world has really encouraged you to be grateful for your
education here at National as well as encourage you to be a strong
example later on in your profession!!
Have a great week!