What a wonderful world

All things considered, you know, putting aside all things, NCNM has
treated me well. I mean, where else can you go where you are
outnumbered (as a man) five to one by the most spectacular and
brilliant women. Where else can you practice Tai Ji on the NCNM lawn
(the parking lot) with fellow China travellers, newbies, and old
timers alike. Where else can we drum in and then out again a new
lineage of healthcare practitioners. Yeah, I like this place. With all
it's quirks and eccentricities, with the lack of communication that
makes the paper chase more of a marathon, with the spirit of newness
and future that binds us. Yeah, it's a pretty good place. Oddly, the
Josiah Failing building has passed the test to become an extremely
comfy home despite the excessive temperature fluctuations and lack of
GREEN GRASS. And yeah, we all have our memories of the Lair Hill Park
on sunny days with no shirt (for the guy) and tank topped studying.
Sure it was soggy and our pants got muddy but that is expected in
early spring. I revel in the days off, I take them as often as
possible and they always refresh my love for this campus, even the
stinky bike room where I occasionally walk in on a commuter in transit
from spandex to clinic clothes.
I hula hooped with the best of them, healed and was healed by my
guinea pig seeking classmates, I laughed at the absurdity of
professors wasting my time with songs about mitochondrion and I
laughed at absurdly hard tests that forced me to up the studying ante.
I cried about lost classmates, I cried about absurdly hard tests that
forced me to up the studying ante, and I will cry when I have to leave
the hallowed halls of the National College of
Naturalopathicalisticallyfabulous medicine.
- Nic B

NCNM presents: The Sweetheart Ball

The annual sweetheart ball is here! Open to Students, Alumni, Faculty, and Staff of ALL PORTLAND MEDICAL COLLEGES!!!!

Get your dancing shoes on and get that heart pumping to some good ole' swing. Lub-dub-lub-dub.

Just in case your eyes cannot read the miniscule the flyer to the left:


When: Friday, February 15th 2008
Where: The Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St. Portland, OR
Time: Doors open 7:30 pm and band starts at 8:00 pm and end at midnight.
Music: The Pranksters

Tickets: visit https://ncnm.edu/bookstore/
or just come in to the bookstore at the Ross Island campus....and if you are reading this Friday afternoon at 6 pm....just show up. You just might be able to buy a ticket at the door.

Bring a guest....or not. Dress is "Semi-Formal".
There will be appetizers, desserts, and a cash bar (that means you buy your own beverages)

IMPORTANT NOTICE AFFECTING ALL NCNM STUDENTS!!

As you may know, Congress has targeted to eliminate the School As Lender program – the only needs-based scholarship program available to students in graduate programs. At NCNM 100% of students choose to participate in this program and NCNM has been able to generate over half a million dollars in need based student aid for students in 2006-2007 alone.

NOW is the time to contact the Members of Congress who will be working on this very important issue. At this point in the legislative process, we are most concerned with the two committees who have jurisdiction over legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act: 1. the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; 2. the House Committee on Education.

The Senate has already passed a provision that will eliminate the program and the House is schedule to being its work on companion legislation very soon. Our strategy:

1) make sure that the House Committee on Education does not include a provision to eliminate the program, 2) communicate with Members of the Senate Committee the direct value this program has for students so that 3) with the two Committees come to the table to conference on their respective bills the program stays alive.

To accomplish this we must have as many students and alumni who have benefited from this program write to these two committees and ask them to keep this program alive. Our tool for enabling you to effectively communicate in rapid speed is known as CapWiz. This tool is being loaned to us for this effort from the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and their sister organization, the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges. Your correspondence to your Members of Congress will be received as an individual constituent, not as any part of a group or association.

LINK TO SAL ALERT:

http://capwiz.com/naturopathic/issues/alert/?alertid=10487771

FYI- Use your home address with full zip code, if this doesn't work you can use the NCNM address:

049 SW Porter Street, Portland , OR 97201-4848

If you have questions, comments or concerns please contact Susan Yirku, NCNM Director of External Affairs, syirku@ncnm. edu 503.552.2005 or Sarah Giardenelli, NCNM SALT Team Leader, s1giard@yahoo. com 503.381.2792.

Portland Triathlon

The first annual Portland Triathlon took place in September 2007. This was the first ever medical tent run solely by a Naturopathic medical team. Students volunteered their time to assist the naturopathic doctors in the medical tent. The tent provided acute care to race participants for minor injuries and exhaustion. In addition to the medical tent, students assisted in directing athletes along the course. Approximately 20-30 students helped with the event. There were even a couple student relay teams.

WINNERS!!!

2007 marks the second annual year that NCNM has won the Bike Commute Challenge (an event put on by the Bike Transportation Alliance in Portland, OR), for the category of 500+ "employees". Not only did we win, we biked city laps per capita over the other contestants.

Students, staff and faculty logged their daily bike mileage for one month. Here are some stats:
29.2% of the 500 employees/ students of NCNM participated
1380 bike commutes were made
14.5% is the percent days biked. This is the winning criteria based on number of bike commutes, number of employees and the presumed number of work days in September. The next closest runner up only had 6.0% days biked.

Most of the NCNM bikers were STUDENTS!!
30 is the larges number of bike trips by one person.
579 miles is the most biked miles by one person in the total month.

What a way to be healthy and be environmental!

New Beginnings

Beginning medical school at NCNM was a bit daunting for me. I came from a humanities undergrad major, had worked for several years as a marketing manager, and then took time off when I gave birth to my daughter. Taking my medical prerequisite classes had been a cinch – just one or two courses at a time fit in well with my stay-at-home mom routine.
My first quarter at NCNM was a whirlwind. We were preparing for mid-terms before it really hit me that I was enrolled in medical school. I was enrolled in 24 credits, vastly more than I had averaged as an undergrad. Constant memorization of science terminology had me studying every day, in all my spare time. My family? Didn’t see them much…
But, as the quarter wore on, I began to gel with the ND program and with my schedule. Anatomy lab was one of the highlights of my week. The first week of lab, I had dreaded having to be in the same room as a dead body, having to look at it and memorize anatomical structures. However, the experience was far more interesting than I had anticipated. Dr. Brons, our professor, had us observe a moment of silence for the people who had donated their bodies so that we could learn from them. “What an amazing gift these people have given us,” I thought. It became apparent to me that each body, in its infinite wisdom, had developed to suit that particular person’s physiology. Each person had different shaped and sized anatomical structures. Some had interesting pathologies that we noted as we observed. While always keeping in mind that gift that we were given, we learned, discussed, and returned again and again to learn more. I was actually sad when the three terms of anatomy lab were over!
As the year progressed, I became better at balancing my time between school and my family. I also made sure to take care of myself and practiced the naturopathic principles I was learning in my courses. Optimizing my diet, my health, and my energy gave me more time to pursue my studies and allowed me free time as well. That is a big thing I have noticed at NCNM – students who do not take care of themselves may do well academically in the short term, but those students tend to stumble as time goes on. Medical school is really like a marathon – you have to pace yourself and take care of yourself along the way.
I’m now in my third year of the ND program. It is really amazing how quickly the time passes. This year, I have learned to draw blood – something I dreaded and feared I would fail miserably. The first time was tough, mainly because I didn’t want to hurt my classmate (we practice on each other!). But, as I have practiced, I have come to feel that this skill is vital to my development of a successful naturopathic practice. When I have my own clinic, I want to be able to draw blood right there, so that I can get labs quickly and minimize inconvenience for my patient. I have begun to approach “stab lab,” as we call it, with an understanding that drawing blood is a skill I want to master before graduation. It is exciting to continue to practice and challenge myself. A big change from the dread I experienced during my first class!