Maximizing Outcomes Through Collaboration and Practitioner Resilience

“Seriously? This is all we have to offer?” Tracy Harrison, principal instructor and founding CEO of the School of Applied Functional Medicine, found herself asking this question when her husband suddenly suffered a series of debilitating seizures and was a cocktail of drugs and very little information. This eye-opening incident spotlighted the current state of medicine which offers good disease care, but a major lack of actual health care, which Tracy says should address functional imbalances before such a major loss of vitality as to prompt a diagnosis and treatment. Patient and professional should engage in an ongoing, communicative relationship to maintain the patient's health long term. Not only does this allow a patient ownership and authority over their own health, but allows the practitioners to be actualized. 

 

Incentive is key. People don’t want to feel bound to a third party and a set of rules. Science shows there is no one path to health, and Tracy discusses the need to veer away from perfectionist mindset. At the School of Applied Functional Medicine, students’ diverse backgrounds allow each to contribute their own unique genius to the curriculum. 

 

The approaches discussed here present a significant potential unburdening of disease care. Moreover, reactions from patients remind Tracy and Lara why they are so dedicated to the good medicine movement.

Quotes

• “We need a whole separate initiative and system that promotes…functional balance that naturally repels disease.” (5:05-5:23 | Tracy) 

• “The car parked at the top of the hill…If you let it pick up some speed going downhill, it's going to land in the ditch. It's going to go in the lake.” (7:07-7:25 | Tracy)

• “You don't evaluate the function of a car outside of the state of the road, the climate, the environment…we can't separate the functional balance or lack thereof of a human system from diet, stress, sleep, relationships, personal fulfillment or belief systems.” (24:12-24:45 | Tracy)

• “We're trying to tell people what the right answer is rather than partner with them to discover the right answer for themselves…no one will ever be sustainably healthy under that set of rules.” (27:09-27:33 | Tracy)

• “The day you get that email that says, ‘Oh my gosh, I'm pregnant and I've been trying for years… for the first time ever, I have hope.’ There's no greater feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction.” (51:46-52:16 | Tracy)

 

Links

Connect with Tracy Harrison:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/schoolappliedfunctionalmed/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AppliedFunctionalMedicine

 

Connect with Lara: 

Website: https://drlarasalyer.com

Instagram: @drlarasalyer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer

Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer

TikTok: @Creativity.Doctor

 

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm