Menu
Story
My integrative or non conventional medicine story really started to take shape in college.
The week before I was to start medical school, my buddy took me to an herbalist. This would ultimately change the path of my life.This gentle, soft spoken man lived out in the woods, and every one spoke of him by his first name, Jake. He spoke with me for a long time, and had my head spinning with nutritional information. That night I knew that I wanted to learn and share information about nutrition, herbs, and vitamins with my future patients. I struggled greatly at times as I did not get this information in medical school. Just the opposite I was told several times to stop worrying about natural treatments. At one point, I had to meet with the dean of the school to be allowed to take an alternative medicine elective. This was in the late 1990s and nontraditional treatments very still very much taboo to many doctors. One doctor even put on my evaluation “ thinks to much about alternative medicine.” I took it as one of my stronger compliments in medical school.
My residency training after medical school was based on where I could get the most exposure to nontraditional therapies. I talked with many programs, one of whom told me directly that I could not explore natural therapies at their site. I chose the Ball Family Practice program as they were very open for me to learn additional therapies as long as I kept up with my regular work. They even had a grant for additional alternative medicine training. Not to mention, the program directors and the people of this program were top notch and still mentors and great friends today. Doing my 300 hours of acupuncture training during my second year of training while we were expecting our first child was truly a busy time.
The next question was “what will me real job be after residency?” It is great to discuss and learn about nutritional and natural healing, but it is much harder to make an income from it. I spoke with several hospitals, again hearing what I had heard in residency – No- other doctors were not ready for this. I was actually led back to my hometown of Seymour, IN, where the administration surprised me with a “yes, we would like to pursue this.” We started the Integrative Medicine clinic in 2004, and through the support of the hospital, we have grown an integrative medicine practice in a state where most other hospitals who have tried this have failed. We see patients from all over the region and across the country. Most experts would not suggest starting an insurance based, integrative medicine program in a community of about 20,000. But we have been able to thrive. I am grateful to my wife and family, my staff, the patients, and the hospital administration for supporting my mission.
