Next stop, medical school

Four years from now, you can call me Dr. Piche. Seriously.  

I was accepted into Bastyr University's naturopathic medicine doctoral program, which starts mid-September. As I've continued to adopt a more minimalist lifestyle and non-toxic approach to food, my view on wellness has profoundly changed to celebrate non-invasive, natural therapies over the mass drug prescriptions that dominate conventional medicine.

 I'm sailing new waters: dreamy beach-view of the St. Marc Channel in Montrouis, Haiti.

Bastyr quickly replaced University of Texas as my top choice medical school, especially after discovering their dual-track program in naturopathic medicine and midwifery. My dream is to open a women's wellness center and offer a home birth/ natural birth practice as well as mother-newborn care. 

Back two years ago when I decided to pursue my original goals for medical school and OB/GYN specialization, I took a medical anthropology class at LSU called Medicine Body Power. It has been one of the most valuable classes I have taken as an undergraduate, because before then I hadn't ever studied conventional medicine and seen it for what it truly was -- a cultural medicine that operates for profit (Western medicine/ biomedicine). 

We studied complementary and alternative medicine, Chinese/oriental medicine, homeopathy and naturopathy among a variety of other forms of cultural medicine, and the desirability of biomedicine diminished.

As a minimalist woman devoted to effective, affordable preventative therapies and lifestyle change through nutrient dense foods and exercise, I was jaded after two years of working in the emergency room and wanted out. I didn't want to pump my patients' bodies with drugs to suppress symptoms. I wanted to heal, to treat the root of the disease, and to treat the whole person. But the options in Louisiana to pursue a career in natural medicine are slim. Naturopathic doctors cannot even obtain licensure in Louisiana!

My medical anthropology class launched an investigation into America's shady birthing industry, and the documentary The Business of Being Born was a revelation -- I could still deliver babies and heal women as a midwife and naturopathic doctor, without the toxic drugs and invasive, often unnecessary surgeries. When I found Bastyr's medical program, everything fell wonderfully into place. 

Don't get me wrong-- I have an immense amount of respect for biomedical doctors. In fact, after Bastyr, I am planning to attend a fast-track general practitioner MD program so I can practice natural and holistic medicine in the south. I just believe in many cases, biomedical treatment emphasizes symptom suppression over disease treatment and ignores the implications of poor lifestyle habits, especially because food is medicine. 

Fast forward: In only a few months, I'll be packing my trunk with all my possessions and moving 2,500 miles to Washington state. It's not easy going against the norm. But I found something I'm passionate about, and I'm willing to move cross-country and go horrendously into debt to follow that passion.

Weighing a baby at the mobile malnutrition clinic. Montrouis, Haiti.

I'll be graduating this summer with my degrees in mass communication and anthropology, so finally completing my pre-med prerequisites, landing an interview, and receiving my acceptance letter came in a delightful, life-changing whirlwind. Working at the medical clinic in Montrouis, Haiti this past summer was an incredible experience, and I plan to return better equipped with a solid education in primary care and general medicine, as well as training in natural birthing and midwifery.

The direction of my blog is changing after many months of downsizing and preparing for Bastyr. I hope I can share my latest endeavors in minimalism, medical school, and frugal green living, especially as I take on the challenge of moving with only the things that fit in the trunk of my car.