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| Change is Good... Coconut Oil is Almost Even Better!: A Few Things a New Nurse Practitioner has Picked Up On the Job |
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by Dani Williamson CNM, NP - October 26, 2010
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Wow, since I last blogged in March I have recovered physically (never will emotionally) from my 21 days in Haiti, packed up yet again (4 times in 5 months is too much), moved back to my awesome tiny home in Nashville, started my new job at the most amazing office (Cool Springs Family Medicine), and moved my first born back into the nest with us again!! Not to mention the many other happenings in our otherwise gypsy life! As I sit here during the most amazingly beautiful day I believe this year, I started reflecting on the enormous responsibility of my new life as a nurse practitioner.
My new job and one that incredibly enough I found on Craigslist of all places is ideal for me. I have landed a sweet deal in the most balanced mixture of traditional and integrative medicine of any place I have ever known! Cool Springs Family Medicine is a family medicine practice that Dr. Dan Kalb owns and runs as a wellness center. Daily I go to him and voice how stupid I feel when these patients arrive and want to treat some illness with herbs, supplements or one of many natural remedies that have been used for centuries! I am learning daily that our bodies are chronically depleted of the vital nutrients and vitamins we need to live the life that God created us to live!!
Following is a fraction of what I have learned in the 3 short months of practicing a balance of traditional/integrative medicine:
1. Garlic oil, oil of oregano and colloidal silver is an amazing cure for an otherwise not severe ear infection!! Who knew? Not me and apparently not my high priced school that educated me for 3 years!
2. Candida is the root of all evil in our gut! Get rid of the candida, get rid of the symptoms!!
3. 99.9% if not 100% of our diseases (illnesses) we have stem from the gut....leaky gut is fixable and the difference I have seen in patients lives with a GOOD Pro-biotic (at least 20 billion flora) and digestive enzymes is mind blowing!
4. Food sensitivity testing is a sure fire way to get people to realize that what they are eating is sure enough causing their symptoms of bloating, headaches, eczema, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, heartburn and the list goes on and on and on!!
5. Adrenal Fatigue is a term that even though never once mentioned in NP school (and apparently MD school as well), is a very real thing and most likely the cause of many peoples thyroid problems....fix the adrenal glands (the glands that make cortisol) and the symptoms of hypothyroidism lessen if not resolve completely.
6. It takes longer than 20 minutes to start to find the "root" of the symptoms, just treating the symptoms has never and will never "cure" the problem! Most issues dont'need a pill to fix, they need a LIFESTYLE CHANGE and determination from the patient (and practitioner) to regain their health and vitality!!
7. One can instantly be humbled (and the reality of our job realized in an instant) when a brand new patient I referred to ENT, because "something just didn't look right" for a swollen left tonsil x one month: and the ENT calls and faxes the report over after having just removed an "invasive squamous cell carcinoma" of the tonsil! A 6 cm cancer!! The need to find an oncologist was not on my list of differentials nor the patient's when they came to see me for answers! I didn't know what was wrong, I simply thank God knew that I didn't need to be messing around with antibiotics (or alternative treatments) for months at a time....God covered me! I am still rattled over this case daily!!
8. Coconut oil is good for just about any skin rash....as an anti-fungal it helps with candida as well!
9. Vitamin D deficiency is a chronic problem.....
10. Dr. Ward was right when he would tell me "you can't afford NOT to, Dani" when I would complain in years past that I "can't afford to take .....supplements, vitamins".....oh the beauty of hindsight!!
11. Lymes Disease is real and a booger to diagnose and treat!!
12. Hormones, hormones, hormones are constantly changing and constantly needing to be tweaked!! But Bio-Identical Hormones are the cure for most women and men!
13. When the doctors in the ER fired me on the spot and told me I was taking too long to learn the ER.....that was in reality a blessing God handed me!! Who knew at the time? Not me that's for sure! But I sure do now, and thank God everyday for getting me out of that ER when he did and into a place that is 100x harder to learn, but actually making a difference in people lives everyday!!
I am blessed beyond belief to find my niche in life! Not once, but twice in my life!! God is good, even when I haven't been that's for darn sure!
Onward~ Dani
Dani Williamson is just beginning a new career as a Certified Nurse Midwife/ Family Nurse Practitioner. She is a single mom of two teenagers, and she loves her first job in a practice that mixes traditional and integrative medicine. See this and other blogs by Dani at http://npdani.blogspot.com/.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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| Carol (Dallas) |
on 08 Apr 2011 at 10:55 pm |
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I am so very excited to have come across your blog!!! You have described my dream job!!! I, now, will continue to look because of your experience. God made a garden, not Merck!!
Thank you, an admirer |
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| Marsha, RN (CA) |
on 12 Nov 2010 at 10:31 am |
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| I'm inspired by your story in your blog. Kudos to you for your selfless, heroic work in Haiti. And, I am also interested in integrative complementary medicine. I am all for preventative measures against diseases and maintainence of our health with natural means. |
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| Neill Gage (Grand Rapids, Michigan) |
on 31 Oct 2010 at 7:54 pm |
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I was inspired by your blog and hope as a PA student that someday I can be part of a truly integrated practice like Cool Springs.
But due to the limits of my education I really don't know where to begin. I am encouraged by your example. |
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| Cathy (NC) |
on 29 Oct 2010 at 6:34 am |
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| I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog! It sounds like you have been spoiled rotten by God! Congratulations! |
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| Sigrid (Massachusetts) |
on 28 Oct 2010 at 11:13 am |
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| Thanks for the fascinating article. As a new NP, it is challenging to really know what kind of work environment will be right, which doctors will be on my wavelength. We didn't learn about intergrative medicine at my school. I heard about it first from a spine specialist - definitely want to learn more. I agree with you the lifestyle changes are what people need most. |
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| Kathleen (Grants Pass, OR) |
on 28 Oct 2010 at 9:28 am |
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| Awesome to see other NPs incorporating functional medicine. You have captured major health points in a nutshell! I love learning how to heal the person, not the symptoms. Thanks for the reminder about coconut oil! |
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| Dani Williamson (Nashville, TN) |
on 27 Oct 2010 at 9:18 pm |
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The website where I work is below:
Cool Springs Family Medicine
http://www.csfmed.net |
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| Dani Williamson (Nashville, TN) |
on 27 Oct 2010 at 9:15 pm |
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Wow! Thank you for the kind comments! I received a fabulous education at a good school, but I was trained traditionally and realize now what a huge piece of the puzzle was (and still is, although getting smaller daily) missing from my education!
Please check out our website if you are interested in learning more about the BALANCE that is necessary to really practice HEALTHCARE...not always SICKCARE! |
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| Chris, PA-C (WA) |
on 27 Oct 2010 at 7:22 pm |
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Dani I admire your looking at/using supplements. Always try to look for 3rd party research. Check out Eleviv.com. and Elevivblog.com re stress, cortisol, metabolic balance, etc. PhD formulated & researched. Please do contact me if you'd like more info./research.
Chris |
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| Angelpuff |
on 27 Oct 2010 at 1:02 pm |
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Dani,
I loved your article! Isn't it just amazing what we don't know!
Always something new to learn and figure out. I am going to
look up some of your wonderful discoveries! |
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| Melinda Ledbetter (Birmingham, Alabama) |
on 27 Oct 2010 at 12:24 am |
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Bravo for you Dani,
For years I have been a supporter of integrative medicine and successfully in some place and not so successfully in other places been able to incorporate it into traditional western medicine practices. It's so refreshing to see Family Practice clinics incorporate it into practice. I worked ER for years and would say to you "you are so right to feel it was a blessing to have been sent away from ER" because your gift as a healer is much more appreciated and well received in a more sane environment like Family Practice. Kudos to you for stepping out on that limb and exploring new territory and not letting traditional western medicine blur your approach to medicine. |
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