Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
YHM 086 - Inside the Journey: Navigating Naturopathic Medical School with Oliva Ferguson
121 Plays1 year ago
Join us as we dive into the journey of becoming a Naturopathic Doctor with special guest, Oliva Ferguson, a passionate naturopathic medical student. In this episode, we'll explore what it's really like to navigate naturopathic medical school—from the rigorous academic curriculum to balancing clinical training with self-care. Whether you're considering a career in holistic health or just curious about the life of an ND student, this conversation is packed with insights and inspiration!
Follow Olivia:
@liv.ingwelll
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to 'Your Health Minute'
00:00:10
Max
Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Your Health Minute, brought to you by Aqua Omega. I am your host, Max Marion. With me, as always, is my co-host, Calva Moro. Hello. We also have our moderator, Alana Locke, in the house. Hello.
Olivia Ferguson's Background
00:00:23
Max
Today, we are going to be and exploring the journey to becoming a naturopathic doctor. And with us today to do that is Olivia Ferguson. Olivia, welcome to the show.
00:00:35
Olivia Ferguson
Thanks guys, thanks for having me.
00:00:36
Max
Yes, it's great. It's gonna be really interesting. We love naturopathic medicine. It's gonna be think it's been really interesting for our listeners to understand the path to becoming a naturopathic doctor. um But before we do that, why don't you tell us a little more about yourself? And what got you interested in getting into naturopathic medicine?
00:00:54
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah, for sure. So as mentioned, my name is Olivia Ferguson. I actually just finished up my second year at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine at the Toronto campus.
Path to Naturopathic Medicine
00:01:05
Olivia Ferguson
um So I'll give you a little bit of context about kind of how I got into naturopathic medicine and my interests. So I actually grew up as a competitive dancer. So from a really young age, I interacted with a lot of different healthcare practitioners. So like chiropractors, my family, MD,
00:01:20
Olivia Ferguson
podiatrist as I got older and a homeopath and a clinical psychologist so those experiences like since I was about like 10 years old really ex exposed me to a bunch of different approaches to health care and wellness and I always kind of knew I wanted to go into medicine or do something in patient care or in the healthcare field. So fast forward a few years. And when I was about 16 or 17, I started working as a medical administrative assistant at a methadone clinic. So yeah, through that experience, I was able to see like firsthand all of the different complexities of patient care, but also like the urgent need for more of like an integrated approach to healthcare. um And I was really fortunate through that experience that the MDs that I was working with really emphasize the importance of mental health,
00:02:04
Olivia Ferguson
Lifestyle medicine and exercise is like a preventative form of medicine um and so yeah through this kind of like holistic perspective of my work experience combined with my experiences as a patient and as an athlete it really guided me toward naturopathic medicine and I was fortunate too that I kind of grew up in a household and in a space where naturopathic medicine was very welcomed and I had a little bit of knowledge about it going into my undergrad and pursuing my education. So all of my experiences kind of led me to apply to CCNM in my fourth year of undergrad and luckily I was accepted and now I'm ah halfway
Fitness and Addiction Recovery
00:02:37
Olivia Ferguson
through the program.
00:02:38
Max
let yeah that's good that is very that's wonderful good I mean, I think people underestimate how intense dance is on your body. and much about oligos that's kind of where my moment and then ah And then I was thinking about, you know, the addiction and dealing with like methadone clinics and like the importance of physical activity.
00:02:46
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah.
00:02:57
Max
Cause you get, you know, a lot of times addicts, they tend to need to substitute that addiction for kind of something else and physical activity.
00:03:02
Olivia Ferguson
Mm hmm.
00:03:03
Max
You know, I have some friends that overcame alcoholism and stuff like that. and they they became fitness fanatics you know like one of my friends lost like 120 pounds was crazy like you know just giving up alcohol and getting and then that was his new addiction was fitness you know it is crazy how that happens people hit rock bottom and just like what do i do and it's like just go to the gym bro like but you just need a new addiction you need something ah you know idle hands right like if you're sitting kind of idle or and not busy and i mean and then for, in his case, I know it, you know, he was on antidepressants and sleep medication and all that kind of stuff.
00:03:35
Max
And when he substituted, you know, the good for the bad type of habits,
Principles of Naturopathic Medicine
00:03:39
Max
all of that went away. Yeah, it's crazy. And then your life, you know, I mean, drastically improved. Yeah, for sure.
00:03:44
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah.
00:03:45
Max
Working on a methadone clinic at 16. That's, that's crazy. That's intense.
00:03:48
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah.
00:03:48
Max
that's pretty bor yeah You don't hear that story very often.
00:03:50
Olivia Ferguson
No, no, it was a great experience. um And i I had the opportunity to work at like two different clinics as well. So you get to kind of see how different practitioners operate. And, you know, being in that environment, I was exposed to some tough stuff right at a young age, but I think it prepared me for kind of like the field that I'm going into now I'm working with patients of all different backgrounds, right.
00:04:10
Olivia Ferguson
So it was a great experience.
00:04:12
Max
Yeah. Nice. That is great. Maybe we can take a step back for our listeners who don't really know what naturopathic medicine is and maybe just give like a top funnel, you know, overview overview exactly of of what it is and some of the core principles.
00:04:25
Olivia Ferguson
For sure. So kind of overarching, if I could describe it like in a sentence or two, I would say naturopathic medicine is a very distinctive form of primary health care. So what I mean by primary health care is essential health care. So like when you go to a walk-in clinic or when you go see your family doctor, like very routine health care, um minor health concerns, check-ins, things like that.
00:04:48
Olivia Ferguson
um The difference between naturopathic medicine and conventional medicine I would say is that naturopathic medicine really emphasizes the use of natural and also holistic approaches to promote, not just kind of masking or healing your symptoms but to promote health and wellness.
00:05:04
Olivia Ferguson
so There are six core principles that naturopathic medicine is kind of rooted and grounded in so i'll go through those and if you guys just stop me at any time if you want me to like elaborate a little more on those or have any questions.
Naturopathic Medical School Experience
00:05:17
Olivia Ferguson
So the first principle that as and these we kind of abide by is by using the healing power of nature.
00:05:23
Olivia Ferguson
So naturopathic medicine kind of operates on the principle and recognizes that the body does have an innate ability to heal itself. So what we mean by that is that with the help of an ND and with our different modalities and therapies that we can use, the body does have the ability um to kind of heal from imbalance or different chronic states of illness. um And so as practitioners, we can support that and enhance that healing process through the use of our different therapies and individualized treatment plans. um We also see kind of like I explained to identify the root cause of illnesses as well. So instead of just masking your symptoms, NDs really try to identify the underlying causes of an illness. So we can do that by looking at doing a very thorough intake. um So
00:06:05
Olivia Ferguson
asking patients questions about their physical health, their mental health, and also their emotional health and all the different factors that contribute to those um elements of the their overall well-being. um And then kind of pulling that all together, we also really seek to do no harm. So again, what we kind of mean by that is that we try to choose treatments as NDs that minimize the risk of harmful side effects. So we want to use very minimally invasive therapies to try to facilitate that health and well-being.
00:06:36
Olivia Ferguson
um And then fourth, this one is actually my favourite, is doctor as a teacher. So as NDs, we luckily get to spend a lot of time with our patients. Sometimes an initial intake or an initial visit could be like two hours long because you're just collecting all this different information from the patient, getting to know them. um But what we'd like to do as NDs is educate our patients about their health and empower them to really take an active role kind of in their wellness and in their health journey.
00:07:03
Olivia Ferguson
which I just think is great. It gives the patient a ton of autonomy over their care and allows them to be a really integrative part of their treatment plan and their journey. And then, um as I mentioned, we like to treat the whole person. So again, taking that holistic approach, um considering environmental factors, social factors, physical factors, um all of which contribute to health. And then finally, we really focus on prevention. So placing that really strong emphasis on prevention and wellness. um Yeah, and just really,
00:07:36
Olivia Ferguson
trying to look both prospectively and retrospectively about our health so you know going backwards and fixing any imbalances or illness that might be there and then really promoting that wellness picture to prevent any illness or you you know recurrence of illness or flare-ups of whatever that patient might be presenting with in the future.
00:07:55
Max
That was a pretty good description. I mean, that was really, I don't know if you rehearsed that or not, but that's fantastic. Cause I, I'll tell you my thing, what I love so much about naturopathic medicine is the preventative side of it. It's not to say that it can't work with conventional treatment or medicine. And I like that about that too, where it's like someone can come to you and say, Hey, this is what's going on. And say, okay, we're not going to knock all out or discredit any of that stuff. It's not, it's, it's, you know, some people position naturopathic first and conventional as very like,
00:08:25
Max
contradictory or confrontational, you know, like it's one or the other, but they do very much work hand in hand. And I love the prevention approach of naturopathic medicine, because I think, you know, even when we look at like disease today. And when you look at the the root cause of it, which most of the time is inflammation, it's like you need to you need to it's not because you have inflammation today that you're
Aspirations for an Integrative Clinic
00:08:49
Max
sick tomorrow. It's something that builds up over 10, 20, sometimes 30 years before the disease kind of rears its head. But if you're not if you're not doing testing and you're not aware of the imbalances that are going on in your body, you're you're essentially a ticking time bomb. And so it becomes so important to be able to address those things ahead of time.
00:09:07
Max
um What was your path like you know to like from an educational perspective to to get into naturopathic medicine?
00:09:16
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah, so like I kind of mentioned, I always knew I wanted to go into some kind of medicine or down the path of healthcare care in some way. So um when I applied to my undergrad, I applied to a Bachelor of Science because I wanted to keep my options open. ah Depending on where you go to school, what kind of healthcare you go into, obviously your prerequisites will be a little bit different. um And again, I was fortunate enough that a lot of people, um even in my program now, I feel like learned about naturopathic medicine,
00:09:47
Olivia Ferguson
halfway or late into their academic career and it made it a little bit more difficult to apply because there are certain, I think, one of the other common misinterpretations or maybe just lack of knowledge about naturopathic medicine people because we focus on natural therapies, think that there's less evidence to it and that we don't have as strong of a background in sciences and clinical sciences, things like that.
00:10:11
Olivia Ferguson
um But fortunately, we we do. There are a bunch of prerequisites.
00:10:15
Max
the big business I think people think like, oh, you just went to school for a couple of years. Like, no, I went to school as long as a traditional doctor would go to school.
00:10:23
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah, exactly. So um I knocked off my prerequisites um during my time at Queen, so things like physiology, anatomy, microbiology, a full year of um chemistry,
00:10:39
Olivia Ferguson
um I'm trying to think of what else, but basically your basic sciences that then you review again once you get to um
Managing Stress and Student Well-being
00:10:45
Olivia Ferguson
medical school. So I did all of those and then um during my fourth year, the application process was very similar to, I would say, conventional medical school. It's a very long application. um You have to obtain different letters of recommendation from different health care practitioners, people you've worked with, professors.
00:11:04
Olivia Ferguson
um And then again, strong personal but our personal statements, um good transcript, and luckily I was able to put all those pieces together um and you know everything fell into place for me. But I would say that if anyone watching has kind of knowledge on how to apply to traditional medical school or what your idea would be of of applying to conventional medical school, the process is very, very similar.
00:11:26
Olivia Ferguson
um But naturopathic and mad like conventional medicine are both very inviting. um That's not to say like I chose to um pursue my Bachelor of Science.
00:11:31
Max
Well, it's good to know that they are welcoming. So even if it's not something you've been dedicating your life to since the beginning of high school, you can still get your foot in the door.
00:11:35
Olivia Ferguson
You could have a Master of Arts, you could go to school for Fine Arts, as long as you have those prerequisites and make sure you have those skills and take those courses that you need to apply to the school, um they are also welcoming of that.
00:11:48
Olivia Ferguson
So that's also something to kind of keep your mind open about.
00:11:52
Max
it's good to know that they are welcoming so even if it's not something you've been like dedicating your life to since you know the beginning of high school you can still get your foot in the door
00:12:00
Olivia Ferguson
Exactly.
00:12:00
Max
But if someone is in high school and they want to focus on um being an ND, so you're saying like, get some, start focusing on science and maybe try and get a job or some kind of internship. and Learn what the prerequisites are.
00:12:10
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah.
00:12:12
Max
Yeah. Right.
00:12:13
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah.
00:12:13
Max
Get some experience.
00:12:14
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah. And CCNM is very good at lining out.
00:12:15
Max
A lot of people get in on their first try or does it take multiple tries generally to get into, into the school?
00:12:21
Olivia Ferguson
Um, I mean, I can only talk on my own experience. Like, I was thankful enough that the first time I did apply, I got in. But that being said too, right, I had a lot of clinical experience, which I think definitely leveraged my application. So that's the other thing too, like you were mentioning, like if you're a high school student or someone in undergrad right now and you plan on going into healthcare,
00:12:41
Olivia Ferguson
I think one of the best things that you can do for yourself is try to get that clinical experience. Talk to an ND, shadow an ND. A lot of naturopathic doctors are very inviting of people being interested in the profession and you know want students to come in and learn about the profession and have that clinical experience.
00:12:56
Olivia Ferguson
So it never hurts to just send some emails out um and try to get your foot in the door. That's I think one of the best things that you could do for yourself.
00:13:03
Max
Something that's pretty, something that's pretty obvious is naturopathic
Supportive Environment at CCNM
00:13:06
Max
doctors are very passionate about their craft. And they're building the whole, like I think it's building up. Yeah. Right. Especially with the shortage of like family doctors or practitioners in a traditional space. I think people are more and more receptive to considering naturopathic medicine, because a lot of times they can do a lot of the same testing or order the same type, like similar type testings, make, make referrals, um, test specialists and things like that, which is.
00:13:31
Max
which is fantastic. And even if you have, and even if you have a family doctor or or a GP, I think it's, it's great to kind of work hand in hand. And a lot of times you see them kind of working handin hand in hand with, with your, your GP or your family doctor.
00:13:44
Max
Yeah. I like that.
00:13:45
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah.
00:13:45
Max
Um, maybe, okay. So you've done your second year. Maybe we can talk a little bit about your first year. What was your experience like when you, you know, you first walked in, like how much work was it? What kind of clinical training did you have?
00:13:56
Max
Maybe you can kind of walk us through your first year experience.
00:13:58
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah, for sure. So I went in to natural Catholic medical school thinking like, I got this. I'm a very organized person. I feel like I have a strong background in sciences.
00:14:09
Olivia Ferguson
And I got there and I was like, oh, like, this is very different than what I was imagining. Like from day one, you get that clinical experience. So um at CCNM, we're fortunate enough um to have a clinic attached to the school.
00:14:23
Olivia Ferguson
So right from your first semester.
00:14:24
Max
A few, right? There's a few practicing clinics.
00:14:27
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah.
00:14:27
Max
There's a few practicing clinics. Yeah, we supply product to all all of those clinics for people to to be able to use Arco Omega in their and their practice.
00:14:30
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah.
00:14:34
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah.
00:14:35
Max
Yeah.
00:14:36
Olivia Ferguson
It's awesome. So it's like right from the second you walk in the door, it's like you're having those interactions with patients and, you know, getting to talk to supervisors and your superiors, you know what I mean?
00:14:47
Olivia Ferguson
It's very intimate um type of setting from day one, which I think is awesome in terms of the curriculum. um like any type of graduate program, especially, I would say, healthcare care programs, you got to learn a lot of stuff in a very short period of time. You might be thinking like, oh, four years, like, you know, they can spread it out. That's what I thought. But it's a lot of stuff you have to learn before you can, you know, start interacting with patients. And it's not a matter of any more to just reading things and memorizing them. It's like,
00:15:22
Olivia Ferguson
this information I'm using to help people and I need to understand it and be able to explain it to others. And so that was the other obstacle of first year is you really kind of have to retrain your brain like, oh, this is a completely different way of learning and I need to retain and understand a lot of very complex and very important information in a short amount of time. So it was very, very rewarding. Everyone was very, very welcoming, but it was definitely a learning curve. um We call it at CCM. There's a bunch of hoops that you have to jump through, but if you can jump through those hoops like The end goal, like the finish line is just you know more than anyone could ask for after going through the program.
00:15:57
Max
Worth it.
00:16:00
Olivia Ferguson
So um it was a lot. And it was a lot of learning, a lot of learning curves. um But I made it.
00:16:06
Max
It's a pretty cool way to learn.
00:16:06
Olivia Ferguson
And yeah.
00:16:07
Max
It's a pretty cool way to learn though. Cause learn and then practice, right? Like in the clinics, it's like, I'm going to learn the theory and then I'm going to practice yeah the theory. Real patients that you're at.
00:16:17
Max
Yeah. And a lot of times they're actually underprivileged patients that they're treating people that couldn't like afford a traditional tight set, which is, is really cool. And they have, they're really cool. Like in-kind programs where companies will donate products so they can actually offer the products to, to the patients that are coming in so they can, you know, help.
00:16:33
Max
put them through the the naturopathic therapies. It's really cool and it's cool.
00:16:38
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah.
00:16:39
Max
What does a day look like for you?
00:16:41
Olivia Ferguson
um Well, every day is a little bit of structure, but it's also very dynamic. theoretically, I can walk you through like a typical day. So I would say Monday to Friday, we have some kind of lecture every day, whether that's in person, or it's virtual, we're doing some kind of learning every day. um So typically, my mornings will start off with either going in person for lecture or doing my lecture online. And then typically every day as well, we have labs. So I guess I can touch on a little bit as well, um the different modalities that naturopathic doctors use, I feel like we haven't really talked about that yet.
00:17:15
Olivia Ferguson
um So as NDs, we are trained in clinical medicine. So doing things like physical exams, diagnostics, all those types of things. But we are also trained in clinical nutrition, acupuncture, physical medicine. So those are things like spinal manipulation. So kind of similar to when you go to a chiropractor, those types of um manipulations. So a soft tissue technique. So those are things like massage, um botanical medicine we're trained in, homeopathy. So it's a lot of different tools that we have in our toolkit um and so you could sit there all day and learn everything about it but until you you practice it right like you can't go i can learn all the acupuncture points but until i practice them on someone right i'm not gonna be able to do it so
00:17:58
Max
Yeah, for right, learning the theory versus driving a needle into somebody.
00:18:01
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah, exactly. So um yeah, so I would say basically most of our days are kind of laid out. So you're learning that foundation, learning that theory, and then you have the opportunity to go to a lab and work with your colleagues, go to clinic, work with patients and really like implement those skills. So that's kind of like the majority of I call it like my nine to five. And then I have my five to nine where I'm studying doing study groups, whether that be on zoom, I stay at campus and do those types of things.
00:18:31
Olivia Ferguson
um And just like really reinforcing that learning because again, like practice makes perfect and yeah,
00:18:36
Max
And that's just a good community. it I just got to put that out there. CC and other students, like when we go there often and there's a vibe, there's like an energy there where it's like, you know, even though you're working your tail off, it's like, there's a really good energy.
00:18:49
Max
You're all like motivating each other to keep going. Yeah. It's like really, kind of you know, I'm sure it's competitive to a certain, certain degree. Um, but it's like, it's very camaraderie. Yeah.
00:19:00
Max
Really good camaraderie. I say practice.
00:19:01
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah, yeah, I'd have to agree. It's like that was one of the best things about, you know, getting there and you realize like, oh, we're all in this together and we're all pushing each other to the same end goal and everyone wants to see one another succeed, which is really, really nice, especially when the program is so difficult and, you know, um, yeah, it's nice to have that environment and have that support.
00:19:19
Max
It's very supportive. it is like yeah
00:19:22
Olivia Ferguson
You can't do it by yourself.
00:19:23
Max
yeah There's a lot of other opportunities too, right? Because we've done some studies with CCNM and a lot of times the studies involve students, you know, whether it's like, you know, interacting with the study subjects or organizing the study itself.
00:19:28
Olivia Ferguson
Mm-hmm.
00:19:35
Max
I mean, it seems like there's quite a few opportunities to get and involved with, you know, some great things and and maybe even some great companies.
00:19:41
Olivia Ferguson
Yep. Mm-hmm.
00:19:43
Max
Yeah, we' we've worked with several students who've like kind of been our student reps. Yeah, and ambassadors. Yeah, which is great. So they'll do, you know, the trade shows, they'll do the the student fairs, they'll, you know, what omega three is.
00:19:53
Olivia Ferguson
Yep.
00:19:56
Max
Yeah, it's really awesome working with a lot of educated students who, you know, i be passionate, passionate, pat passionate students.
00:19:57
Olivia Ferguson
It's awesome.
00:20:03
Max
Yeah, for sure. I was gonna ask, do you guys like practice the acupuncture on one another to like your, your classmates?
00:20:09
Olivia Ferguson
We do during like supervised lab time because like we're not licensed. Um, we'll just like point locator, use stickers on one another, like in our free time, but we do needle on one another during our tutorials in our labs.
00:20:22
Olivia Ferguson
So that's always a way to get, we always joke. It's like, you're going to get close with one another cause you're doing physical exams on one another or you're doing needling on one another or massaging. So you get close quite quickly.
00:20:34
Max
Yeah, I would imagine so.
00:20:35
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah.
00:20:36
Max
Great, you know, that's that's part of the fun of like going to like a great college or great school is just, you know, getting to know your classmates and building those relationships that oftentimes Last forever. Yeah. they They are lifelong, especially if you guys like potentially open up a clinic together.
00:20:49
Max
we've We've seen that a lot too, where it's like, you know, we look back at old videos from CC and M and it's just like, Oh, they like are in a clinic now working together. It's like, that that's so encouraging. It's great to see that progress past the, past the school.
00:20:58
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah.
00:21:02
Max
So what's, what's the plan after naturopathic school for you?
00:21:06
Olivia Ferguson
Um, well, I guess kind of going back to, um, my undergrad. So as I mentioned, I have a bachelor in science, but I also completed a certificate in business because again, naturopathic medicine is very entrepreneurial profession. Um, and I really wanted to kind of obtain those skills early on about learning how to manage money and what types of things you need to do to run a clinic and things like that, um which we do touch on um at CCNM as well. But um you know prior to entering the program, that's not something that I knew. So I wanted to kind of get my foot in the door there. So I would say my end goal is definitely to eventually one day um run my own clinic. I think it would be awesome to have some kind of integrative clinic where you're having nurse practitioners, you have an MD there, you have an acupuncturist, like all these different healthcare providers that can work together that would be like,
00:21:55
Olivia Ferguson
my dream um in a perfect world but I do have um some business knowledge and some business background as well um and working with you know companies such as yourself and promoting different nutraceuticals is definitely also something that I'm really interested in and very passionate about um and so after graduation I think it's really important that people in our profession who have that knowledge about how your products work and how we in practice use those products
Regulatory Challenges for Naturopathic Doctors
00:22:21
Olivia Ferguson
it's really important that people like naturopathic doctors um
00:22:26
Olivia Ferguson
try to break into that profession as well and use our knowledge for good, right? Because anyone on the internet can say, oh, this does this, right?
00:22:33
Max
You have to be careful a little bit too, right? Cause you have your regulatory body that that that restricts you from from promoting or essentially you have to remain brand agnostic.
00:22:37
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah.
00:22:45
Max
You can make recommendations, but not directly specifically to a brand.
00:22:48
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah, it's very, yeah, our regulations.
00:22:51
Max
if you're Unless you're employed by the brand or you're consulting for the company or something like that.
00:22:55
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah. Yeah. I know too, it's even like, yeah.
00:22:56
Max
just workarounds but yeah it's it's It comes up a lot.
00:23:00
Olivia Ferguson
When you're interning, you can't be like a student representative or anything like that. Cause it's like a conflict of interest.
00:23:04
Max
Yeah, exactly.
00:23:05
Olivia Ferguson
So lots of different rules that you gotta be cautious of.
00:23:11
Max
I'm wondering, maybe can you share with us some of your like, you know, maybe your best day or your highest high and one of the lowest days that you've had just to get and kind of give people an idea of the full spectrum of what they can expect in at least the first two years of going to school.
00:23:24
Olivia Ferguson
um I guess there's a few different ways to kind of answer that question because I could talk on, you know, my experiences in clinic because you do have those really, really good days and those great days with patients. And then you have days that are not so great, um whether that be the way the patient interaction went or just the patient case.
00:23:41
Olivia Ferguson
um or maybe you're having a bad day. um I would say my most rewarding experiences have been within the clinic. um Just you know watching patients grow. Unfortunately, only being in second year, we don't get to see the same patients all the time. um But being able to talk to the interns about the cases and um going through charts and everything and seeing how those patients have progressed and them coming in with such a positive attitude and having such a good relationship with their supervisors and with the interns um is something very, very rewarding at least to observe. It makes me super excited to be able to be in that position in just a few short years, which is really exciting.
Maintaining Balance and Avoiding Burnout
00:24:19
Olivia Ferguson
I would say my lowest days
00:24:20
Olivia Ferguson
um Definitely just, you know, being mindful. I was not so great in first year about taking breaks and taking time for myself. And I think people in this program tend to be very hard on themselves and very type A-S.
00:24:33
Max
You see a lot of burnout there must be a burnout sure
00:24:35
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah. And so, you know, it's like you get hard on yourself, you get tired. And I think um when you don't take that time for yourself and to fill up your own cup, it can, you know, get tiring and when you're already burnt out.
00:24:49
Olivia Ferguson
um Yeah, you tend to be a little bit harder on yourself. So um I would say those, if you can kind of go in with the mindset that you need to take breaks, because being in the, like I can say it because I was the person who was like, oh, I don't have time to take breaks.
00:25:05
Olivia Ferguson
I can't. Looking back, you do have time and it's really important that you do because otherwise you're going to have more of those low days than high days, which is something you want to avoid, right?
00:25:15
Olivia Ferguson
So looking back, if I could change it, I would, but yeah, just that burnout sometimes is,
00:25:18
Max
really I don't think it's a bad, I don't think it's a bad thing.
00:25:21
Olivia Ferguson
Not fun.
00:25:23
Max
not through that either No, because you learned about yourself, right?
00:25:25
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah,
00:25:25
Max
you like And you prepare yourself for like the real world. Cause when you, if you do get into practice and you do open up that practice, you're going to understand that it's like, yeah, you gotta go hard, but you gotta, you gotta still be mindful of like where you're at and how you're feeling and your energy.
00:25:35
Olivia Ferguson
exactly.
00:25:40
Max
And again, to, to refill your, your cup or you'll burn out and you'll be no good for nobody.
00:25:45
Olivia Ferguson
yeah exactly
00:25:46
Max
I feel like a lot of the patients that you're going to end up seeing are probably in very similar situations too. People are like that just in general, right? Like, yeah say's like man, gotta go harder. Are you not doing it?
00:25:58
Max
Yeah.
00:25:59
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah.
00:25:59
Max
So it's good. You know, it's, it's good that you went through it. So that way, you know, speak from experience. Exactly.
00:26:04
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah, exactly.
00:26:05
Max
It's important to like, you know, eat healthy and take time for yourself and you know, slow down. Don't neglect sleep. Yeah.
00:26:11
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah, that's a big one.
00:26:13
Max
Yeah, I'm sure when you're cramming for exams and stuff like that, right? It's like, you don't, you don't prioritize cramming, but there's like some studies around that maybe like, e but it's like, like, if you study so much that you neglect sleep, your performance is not as good as if you study less and you sleep more.
00:26:34
Max
Yeah, Yeah, you can push yourself to burnout, right? So maybe you can
00:26:37
Olivia Ferguson
It's always funny because it's the things we preach and then it's like, as students, it tend those principles tend to be the first thing that go out the door, but it's like anyone right now.
00:26:44
Max
as i Do as I say, not as I do. So what are some good techniques to to help fill your cup, you know, to make sure that you are getting enough sleep? Do do you have any tips or advice there?
00:26:59
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah, so um as a student, if there's any CC&M students or prospective naturopathic medical students listening to this out there, I would say the best thing you can do for yourself is to like use a support system and to like leverage the resources that you have.
00:27:13
Olivia Ferguson
um CC&M has great resources. If you ever need mental health support, you just feel like you need to talk to someone, you need academic support, and all it takes is like a simple Teams message or an email. um So I would say, I think people for just forget um that those resources are there and until like use your friends, your peers, you're all going through the same thing, right? So definitely If you feel like you need support, definitely seek it. I would say that's my number one piece of advice. um In terms of exercise, kind of like we were talking about, I feel like people typically have the mentality. It's like all or nothing. And I used to be like that too. I'm like, if I'm not going for a 10 kilometer run or I'm not doing like this huge lift, like what's the point in even working out today? um But if you can kind of step out from that mindset and even just do things like we like to call them exercise snacks.
Healthy Eating Habits and Meal Prepping
00:28:00
Olivia Ferguson
So if you've been sitting there like studying or working all day,
00:28:03
Olivia Ferguson
Even if you just get up for 10 minutes, step away from your desk, stretch, do like a 10 minute yoga video or some mindfulness, go for a walk.
00:28:09
Max
Don't fall off.
00:28:12
Olivia Ferguson
um Those things add up. If you're doing that every few hours, like there's your hour of exercise for the day.
00:28:16
Max
suppose like that yeah I I was so like that for a long time. And it was like, I mean, I go, if I go, and if I'm working out it, like we used to train like a lot of like functional fitness or CrossFit and like these little punk kids would come up and try to like, you know, out lift me or out do me or something like that. They're just doing their own work. No, they're not they're trying to be they trying to beat me.
00:28:38
Max
And I'd be like, no. And I would go so hard to the point that I would be sore for like two days after. And it's like, I don't even want to work out after I go that hard anymore. So I've learned to kind of balance that out and go at my own pace instead of going super hard.
00:28:52
Max
But when I do that, I'm much more consistent exercising.
00:28:53
Olivia Ferguson
Mhm.
00:28:56
Max
And I think that's important to be able to do that. Yeah, it's better for the long run. Yeah.
00:29:01
Olivia Ferguson
So I would say yeah, definitely if you can like get into that mindset that it doesn't have to be all or nothing like any movement is good movement, right?
00:29:06
Max
Yeah.
00:29:07
Olivia Ferguson
And you got to do what feels good for your body. So that would be my advice on um exercise. And then in terms of nutrition, which is obviously another really key piece into our well being and are functioning as students and as professionals.
00:29:20
Olivia Ferguson
right um One thing that I started doing for myself this year is meal prepping. You don't have to meal prep every meal. I feel like people also get into that mentality. It's like, oh, I have to meal prep all my dinners for the week or all my lunches for the week.
00:29:31
Olivia Ferguson
And I don't know if that's for me. Even if it's just one meal, you do yogurt bowls for the week so that you can grab it on the go on your commute to school or
00:29:34
Max
Thank you.
00:29:39
Olivia Ferguson
on your commute to work. Same thing with lunch, like make a protein packed lunch, you know, you're getting all your macros in for the week and you have something nutritious to sustain you throughout the day or You could love cooking, but sometimes after a long day, you don't want to come home and spend an hour making dinner and cleaning
Follow Olivia's Journey on Instagram
00:29:54
Olivia Ferguson
up, right?
00:29:54
Olivia Ferguson
So if you can take one day, like at the beginning of the week to do that for yourself, um it kind of saves you a lot of time and also makes sure that you're you know fueling yourself properly and getting that nutrients that you need to ah sustain yourself throughout the week.
00:30:08
Olivia Ferguson
So that's something I started of doing for myself.
00:30:10
Max
It can be therapeutic too, right? Like kind of cooking when you're in a good mood and and i't planning your meals and stuff like that.
00:30:13
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah.
00:30:15
Max
It's a really good way.
00:30:16
Olivia Ferguson
It's fun.
00:30:17
Max
Yeah. And it keeps you off the Uber Eats.
00:30:22
Max
It definitely does if you get home and it's like, it's, you get some good meals that are prepped up, something you're going to enjoy. I mean, that's, that's good.
00:30:28
Olivia Ferguson
no Yeah.
00:30:30
Max
Yeah, absolutely. I like that. And you're fueling your body properly as well, right? When you're doing that versus kind of like some empty calories or carbs or refined sugars, you know, that you'll find them in a lot of those processed foods.
00:30:36
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah.
00:30:43
Max
It's like, yeah, a lot of those small steps. when you and When you eat good, like when you, when you eat well, you have more energy and you're more apt to like exercise and then if,
00:30:52
Olivia Ferguson
Yeah.
00:30:54
Max
move your body, be functional. and You know that. Yeah. Everything else kind of falls into place. I can tell when Calvin binged on some food the night before, you know, it it comes in all puffy, but all puffy face. And I'm like, Oh, you're 59. Yeah. He rolls in at eight 59. Hasn't done his hair. He's like, just looking like crap. You ate a box of beats of all this last night, didn't you? like No, yes. That's good. That's funny.
00:31:22
Max
Hey, Olivia, I want to thank you so much for being on the show and for all our listeners who, you know, are inspired by your story and maybe want to reach out or follow it along with your story.
00:31:25
Olivia Ferguson
yeah
00:31:32
Max
What is the the best way for them to get ahold of you?
00:31:34
Olivia Ferguson
Yes, you could definitely follow my Instagram. It's a little pun on words, um living well. So L-I-V dot I-N-G W-E um L-L-L triple L.
00:31:46
Olivia Ferguson
um And yeah, keep your eyes posted. I will be a primary intern this time next year. So if you listen to this and you'd like to maybe visit me as a patient one day, keep your eyes peeled.
00:31:53
Max
Amazing.
00:31:58
Olivia Ferguson
You'll be able to find me on the CC&M website as an intern in about a year from now. So yeah.
00:32:03
Max
Well, that's really exciting. We'll be sure to have the handle in the description. So if you didn't write it down as you sang it, you can just click, go ahead and click the link in the description.
00:32:08
Olivia Ferguson
awesome
00:32:12
Olivia Ferguson
Awesome.
00:32:13
Max
um And if you made it this far and you liked the podcast, be sure to actually like the podcast, share it with, you know, your friends and family or anyone who you feel like maybe would like to pursue a career as an MD.
00:32:23
Max
We're just curious about it. Yeah, we're just curious about it. That's it. Yeah, absolutely. Thanks again, Olivia. It was so awesome.
00:32:29
Olivia Ferguson
Thank you guys.