There are many different potential sources of satisfaction that come from working in integrative health. The first that comes to most of our minds of course is the deep satisfaction that comes with solving a complex health riddle for someone and knowing that you have helped to change their health trajectory – sometimes for ever. That’s an extraordinary role we can play. I carry many of these patients’ stories with me, very close to my heart, they give me hope and encouragement and light in the dark.
I know this isn’t the only thing that triggers a sense of achievement though. Sometimes there is deep gratificaton in strange places.
Like when a patient comes to see you & you tell them they’re in the wrong place.
Recently a very dear colleague of mine relayed a clinic tale that she rates as a career highlight. Strange but true, it was a patient presentation which she opted not to treat, instead sending them out the door and direct to the doctor’s…’do not pass go do not collect $200′, were her exact words I believe 😉 Short version of this story – she had correctly diagnosed an acute appendicitis, confirmed by the doctor that afternoon and which required urgent surgery.
When I quizzed her about why this hit such a strong chord with her, she offered a couple of reflections. One – she resisted the reflex, the urge to give anything at all. Every practitioner knows that reflex, whether it comes from within or from without: overwhelming patient expectation – we all experence it daily. Lower GIT pain, we have so many things for that! Can’t you just give me something? But her clinical nouse was telling her something else more loudly.
Which brings me to her second insight – her naturopathy undergraduate wasn’t at degree level and one of the key omissions in the training was physical examination & clinical diagnosis – this has always been something that threatened her clinical confidence and in her mind, made her ‘less than’ other practitioners. She had spent much of her time since this original training trying to make amends, always finding opportunities to upskill in this area.
This was like the ultimate exam the real world had thrown at her and she had passed with flying colours 🙂
I have had many similar experiences and again one just recently. In my case it was spotting Borderline Personality Disorder in a patient who presented as simply ‘depressed’ – although this may not sound as impressive as recognising the appendix gone bad, it is just as critical because reality is that patient was in the wrong place. While I am capable of working on other aspects of their health and wellbeing, for the ‘depression’ they are experiencing, first and foremost they need assessment, a correct diagnosis and management via specialised practitioners. Treating them like a depressed patient will bring joy for no one. My mentors and my clinical experiences over the last 2 decades have taught me well and this generates a different and powerful sort of job satisfaction.
I think it is as powerful and reaffirming to know the breadth as it is the limits of our scope – it is part of the mastery of every health practitioner’s practice.
I’ve said it before and I will keep on saying it – the integrative medicine path is one of endless learning. So if you’ve stopped – start again 🙂
Always passionate about mental health & the role of the integrative health clinician in the management of this, Rachel has brought together a great education resource, Mental Health Assessment for the Integrative Practitioner, that consolidates a range of mental health screening tools (both mainstream and integrative) and teaches you how and when to use these with clients. In addition to this, she reviews other critical case taking skills for mental health patients – that helps to identify neurotransmitter phenotypes and biochemical imbalances. Also covered in the 2.5hr recording are the key pathology parameters & their interpretation in this context.