Friday Oct 06, 2023

The Evidence for Change: Why Integrative Medicine Needs Critical Thinkers

Searching for a balance between excellent patient care and practitioner well-being? In this episode of The Catalyst, Dr. Lara Salyer sits down with Dr. Jordan Robertson, a naturopathic doctor who is revolutionizing patient care and practitioner support in the field of integrative medicine. Together, they discuss Dr. Robertson's extensive work with Clarity Health, impacting over 20,000 patients, and her initiative, the Confident Clinician—a resource aimed at supporting naturopathic doctors globally.

Dr. Robertson sheds light on key insights, identifying three common challenges that often obstruct functional medicine practices, such as the tendency to focus too narrowly on tailored care or not leveraging essential support staff effectively. On the other side of the coin, she highlights three foundational elements for a successful integrative clinic: establishing a well-defined patient care process, maintaining expertise while actively collaborating, and valuing the power of a supportive community.

This episode provides insights and strategies that can enhance any practice, benefiting both patients and practitioners.

Quotes:

• "Hiring out to support your weaknesses so you can continue to focus on strengthening your strengths is an incredibly important step that I think takes that mindset for clinicians." (13:05 | Jordan Robertson)

• "I'm a big fan of collaborative care with conventional medicine. There are thousands and thousands of things that I wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole clinically. And I've drawn that line in the sand so hard. But my patients still respect everything I do have to offer. And I think when we have that level of confidence to say, “Yeah, you need an antibiotic’. Or, “Yeah, that's not in my scope of practice. I need you to be referred to so-and-so.” But that actually builds your practice. It doesn't decay it." (20:18 | Jordan Robertson)

• "I think leadership in our profession actually looks like community. It actually looks like circles of clinicians who are willing to be vulnerable, to talk about what they're doing, to share with each other, and to pull each other up." (25:22 | Jordan Robertson)

• "When I start thinking about critical thinking and critical appraisal I go right back to that education model where we need to value the clinicians that are coming out and recognize that they are the best we've got. Even if it's day one of their graduation and it's really our responsibility as people in the profession to help get them there and help support them. So when we start to challenge that, it really challenges the things that we think we know. And it really starts to value changing our mind." (30:31 | Dr. Jordan Robertson)

Links

Connect with Dr. Jordan Robertson ND:

Website: www.confidentclinicianclub.com

Instagram: @drjordannd

Connect with Lara:

Website: https://drlarasalyer.com

The Catalyst Way: https://drlarasalyer.com/catalyst

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