Miravone's Blog

Since starting the week with the gloom of losing Dr. Frank Strehl, the campus has been trying to get back to "normal." After attending his visitation on Friday and meeting his amazing family, who were being so positive and strong, Ryan and I left feeling even more inspired by the legacy that Dr. Strehl left. After signing the guestbook, we were shocked to see how many people flowed through the funeral home just to pay their respects. We ask that you all continue to pray for his family as his wife is actually going through chemo for cancer at this time as well. 

NDs and Minor Surgery

So, did you know that naturopathic doctors in some states could perform minor surgery in some states? Sometimes that really surprises people because they think we ONLY do non-invasive procedures. When you are a student here, you will go through the different steps that an ND can take, which starts with the LEAST invasive (re-establishing the determinants of health) to the MOST invasive (high force interventions). Naturopathic doctors also have prescriptive rights in certain states as well!

Billy is showing me how to get started on an interrupted suture on a fake arm in Minor Surgery class.

While practicing sutures in class, I started to feel that euphoria that is portrayed on "Grey's Anatomy" when they do surgeries!

Scope of Practice

Then I started wondering if California (the state I want to licensure in) allows minor surgery. So I looked up the scope of practice in California and found out that it does not allow any minor surgery procedures, BUT did list what is encompassed in minor surgery, which is the following:

• Local anesthetics
• Repair superficial lacerations
• Drain and pack abscesses in dermis and subcutaneous tissue
• Drain bursas
• Remove superficial lesions, moles, lipomas, warts, nevi, ganglions, fibromas, cysts, foreign bodies, excision, and biopsy
• External hemorrhoids
• Stitch surgical and non-surgical wounds, debride wounds
• Trigger point injections
• All types of injection therapy
• Dermatological peels, facial fillers
• Electrocauterization, cryosurgery
• Escharotic therapy
• Punch biopsies
• Scar therapy
• Removal of impacted cerumen
• Wound & decubitis ulcer care

Whew! That's a lot! So, if you've always wanted to do invasive therapies to get that euphoric feeling, we still can as an ND! We don't RELY on it to be the end all/be all, but we are taught very well on HOW and WHEN to use invasive procedures whether it's prescribing an antibiotic to referring a patient out to a neurosurgeon! That's the beauty of our medicine...there are so many options!

Performing my first suture! How fun!

Well, have a happy and safe Halloween! (Don't eat too much candy!!)

This week has been a huge blessing--lots of good and even some bad, but over all, a blessed week! Starting off the week with Valentine's Day probably had a lot to do with it. My husband and I went to a very nice and quiet dinner at a place called Redstone in Oakbrook Terrace. Their food is exceptional and we don't go too often, but the splurge was worth it! My husband is an amazing man and his love and support as I venture through my SECOND doctorate is absolutely essential! I can't emphasize enough how important it is to have support outside of the school to get you THROUGH school.

So you want to know the exciting news right? Well, in the tenth trimester of my DC program, I started to work on a case study abstract, which discusses a unique case that I encountered that was treated successfully. After discussing the case with Dr. Solecki (and getting permission from the patient), we submitted it to the American Board of Chiropractic Sports Physicians to see if it would be accepted for their annual Sports Symposium. After a couple reviews and editing, I was informed that it was accepted for poster presentation! Hard work does pay off!

Now, I am currently working on expanding the case study abstract into a format that is suitable for the medical journal, Journal of Chiropractic Medicine (JCM). It is a lot more work than the abstract, and has included (so far) over 30 references including textbooks and fellow research articles/case studies. Working on that plus studying for midterms and writing papers for class has been very difficult, but I am crossing my fingers that this will also get accepted for publication. So wish me luck! This will make my mission complete! (hence the title of the blog!)

On a less AMAZING note, over the weekend, I experienced a horrible neck strain. I am actually writing this with (still) a sore and terrible pain that does not allow me to turn my head to the left. It was a pain that I have never experienced before! I received treatments (chiropractic) over the weekend and followed up with hot packs and anti-inflammatory supplements, and I feel exceptionally better than the first day that it happened. I am telling you this not to make you feel bad for me, but to attest to the fact that I could not get through this weekend without our "medicine."

Advanced Clinical Theory

In Advanced Clinical Theory class, we've been working on numerous cases and not only do we discuss all the possible "pathology" occurring, but we also are encouraged to recognize the "blissors." "Blissors" is a term that we've learned from Dr. Lou to describe the things that make someone happy and content beyond all the "pathology" surrounding him/her. This has inspired me to examine my blissors and I will be including them at the end of each blog not only to be a small reminder to myself but to all of you! Have a great week everyone!

Blissor #1: Other than my husband, this little man is my favorite. He is a miniature reminder of how good life is!

Now I can see why 13 is a "taboo" number. Week 13 was tough! Out of all the "tough" I've been through (and you, my readers, know I've been through tough), man this one is up there! There are various reasons… some I could have prevented… and some I could not.

First - classes.

My patience was tested right away. I love my naturopathic classes because I always see it as a "break" from all my chiropractic classes, but this week was a big test. It was painful for me to sit still in class while attempting to focus - I had a huge "to-do" list running through my head! My brain was going non-stop because I knew it was crunch time! Then as my professors started discussing finals, it hit me… I have finals DURING graduation week! Whew! I had to work it out with my professors so that I could take all my finals the Monday of graduation week since each day (Tuesday-Wednesday) before graduation are packed with graduation events/prep.

Second - clinic.

As you may know already, I have completed that big 250 chiropractic manipulative techniques (CMTs) which many are still struggling to finish. But after I celebrated for like a minute, it hit me… whoa! I have tons of other numbers to finish! I have to finish my blood draws, 20 narratives, and my case study that I am trying to get published!

Oh, no! My goal was to get all of that done this week! A bit ambitious? Eh… yeah. I finished my most of my blood draws, ALL my narratives (woo woo), and have YET to start on case study. Plus through all that madness, I still saw a couple of patients throughout the week!

My tip: Work on a narrative a week!! That way, you would be able to enjoy the last couple of weeks before graduation!

Third - family.

So through the craziness of classes AND clinic, it hit me again… the world does not stop! I really LOVE my family - unconditionally - but with love comes heartache too. I have definitely experienced tough decisions this week… juggling my life in school plus making everyone else happy. It is a hard task to follow my already tough week… but that's life right? I know that on the 16th… my family will definitely see all my hard work follow through as I walk across the stage and shake Dr. Winterstein's hands as his colleague.

One more week of shear madness as we all race to the finish line… this is definitely a holiday to remember. Wish me luck… take care! And drive safe in the flurries and slick ice!

Clinic is packed right now! Student Clinic has started and we have 38 interns in the afternoon main clinic! We are running around helping Student Clinic plus treating patients. It's a great learning experience and the front desk is definitely busy.

This week of clinic has been great in respect to my numbers. It was very hard to put myself out there, email tons of people to come get treated, and wait for responses. As long as I continue with this pace for the rest of the trimester, I will be guaranteed to graduate! EEEK! My colleagues and I are all a bit nervous about our numbers, but I am trying to stay positive because I know so many people before me have finished.

My ND classes are keeping me busy among all the clinical things that pack my DC schedule. Here is my schedule:

Monday:
Advanced Endocrinology & Lab Diagnosis 10a-12p
Clinic 1-7p

Tuesday:
Homeopathy IV 10a-12p
Clinic 1-7p
Acupuncture 5-10p

Wednesday:
Clinic 1-7p

Thursday:
Homeopathy IV 8a-10a
Clinic 1-7p

Friday:
Clinic 1-7p

Within that schedule, I have about 10 days scattered across the trimester that I will be treating college athletes at DePaul, Benedictine and Northwestern universities with Dr. Solecki in the mornings - AND I am studying for Part IV boards that I have November 12th-13th! My adrenal glands are definitely pumping out that cortisol! Whew! Wish me luck!

This weekend, we went to Ryan's friend's wedding in Utica, Michigan. It was a nice reunion for him to see all his best friends again. Overall we had so much fun!! We had a long drive home, but it was worth it. Next weekend, we are going to take my nephew with my family to the apple orchard!

So…did you know that the school will give you an opportunity to take out additional funds for a new computer? (Apple or Dell.) As a student here, you will find quickly that a computer is definitely necessary to have to make presentations, write papers and do research. You will be taking out additional funds for it, but if you do not have a computer, it is worth it! I just learned about this opportunity so I thought I should share it with you!

Well, enjoy the weather, put those cute boots on with a cute sweater, and have some apple cider! That's what I'm going to do!

Well, it seems surreal but 9th trimester is coming to a close. I can't believe it has already been four months and that it will only be FOUR more months until I can add "Dr." to my name!

The last four months have definitely been a time of learning for me. I have learned that I still NEED to focus on my classes more now than when I had 30 credits! I still have some finals to finish up and this "senioritis" has really gotten to me. I have learned that my weakness is the rehab aspect of treating a patient but after being on Dr. Solecki's shift, I truly feel I can visualize that aspect for a patient more so than before.

I have learned how to interact with my colleagues in a more supportive way, and have definitely gotten that same support back. Coming into the program from undergraduate, I feel that it's in our nature to be competitive. However, this program is not about survival of the fittest (Well, it shouldn't be!). There is always something you can learn from someone else. We are missing a couple interns, but in the picture, you can see both 9th & 10th tri Solecki interns!

I have learned that I love and definitely will use homeopathy in my practice. It is such an amazing medicine that although not well understood, works! Evidence based medicine is very important and research is imperative in practice, however there are certain therapies that are not heavily supported by research but still shows great effectiveness. Always keep the patient in mind, and the more you individualize care, the more results you will see. Not all therapies work for EVERY patient. That is something else I also took from 9th Tri.

A highlight from being on Dr. Solecki's shift is our mandatory abstract that we have to write. An abstract is very similar to a case study of a patient that you've been working with. It has to be under 500 words and cover the history from the beginning all the way to the conclusion of the treatment. A select few of us including myself wrote abstracts that Dr. Solecki picked to possibly get published in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine! How exciting! After finals, I will start working on the article so that I can start the process of getting it published if accepted by the JCM! Plus we might get the opportunity to be a part of the annual Sports Medicine Symposium!

Overall, 9th Tri has been a huge learning experience and I am looking forward to what my LAST chiropractic trimester has to offer! I will be taking acupuncture and adding about three ND classes. I also have Part IV boards in November and I will be racing to finish my numbers! I am so excited. The best is yet to come!

Have a great week and good luck for those starting the program in September!! See ya then!