Why my posts aren't so medical anymore

[liveonearth]

I've started creating a naturopathic "black book" in which I'm compiling diagnostic and treatment information for the conditions which come up in the course of my clinical education. This project eats all of my free time. Medicine is, for me at least, an infinite subject. I'm near the end of this education. I feel the need to make some decisions about how I will practice. What will MY protocols be? What will my treatment hierarchy be? When and to whom will I refer? I'm also considering how I will practice when in a state where I can legally practice medicine and prescribe pharmaceutical medications, as versus when I am in an "unlicensed state" and must not diagnose or prescribe. I'm sorting among the opinions of a great many doctors, doing the research to decide what I will do, and keeping those notes off this record. It just wouldn't be right to give away naturopathic trade secrets online. Though the astute reader can deduce a great deal about the field from the four years of assorted notes I have posted here.

Comments

[newedition.livejournal.com]

I'm so excited for you to be able to begin your practice!
The unlicensed states is such a frustrating issue. I was seeing an ND here in Michigan, and she's very knowledgeable, but she isn't legally able to prescribe anything. Many chronic problems can be treated nutritionally and with supplementation, but some patients truly are sick and would be helped with short-term medication.
I fear this has implications for referrals-- in an unlicensed state the ND may "know" that a pharmaceutical treatment may be the best option, but has to have the integrity to risk "losing" a patient by providing that referral.

[liveonearth.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I like to think that if I refer well, and the patient gets better, they will remember me as the person that got them started in the right direction. When I used to be in sales I would get return customers by telling people not to buy things. They appreciated that I valued their time and money, and wanted to help them find the best thing for their particular situation. ...I trust that this kind of integrity will eventually help me to be successful.