the witchdoctor

So here's my long awaited (well maybe not awaited at all) evalutation of my OMM rotation.

I have actually learned a lot of things...not necessarily about medicine, but about life, myself and other people. For the first two weeks we all basically just did what we were told, not really taking anything seriously. We all just wanted to help our patients. On the third week, the witchdoctor did a treatment on each of us....and we were converted. He does good work. We don't know how he does it, but he has skills.

The next day, his wife who is a nutritionist demonstrated muscle testing on us. Muscle testing also known as applied kinesiology is basically using your muscle strength as a tool to assess your body's nutritional status depending on the point on your body that corresponds to various things. Yeah it sounds crazy and people don't think it works. Basically you hold your arm out in front of you while she pushes down on it you resist her force. Then she continues to do that testing various points. For example, an inch above your belly button and an inch lateral bilaterally is your adrenal point. If your strength resisting her goes down, then there's something out of wack with your adrenals. It's really hard to explain so ask me to explain it to you if you ever see me in person. It all seems like a lot of BS, but that crap works too!!

Yes, yes I'm sounding crazy. I also find myself quoting stupid witchdoctor. However, on the last week, it was just too much to take and we all reverted to hating him, his politics, his preaching and all his little catch phrases:

"Breathe in ease and breath out DIS-ease"
"Mind is healer mind is slayer"

I can't think of anymore, but those are the two I despise the most. The man may be able to do great work, but that doesn't mean I have to like him/agree with him. So, moving on to what I have learned.

1. Touch is very therapeutic. I think this is the number one reason his patients continue to see him. As little as we are doing to really help them in their chronic pain in the literal sense, we have helped them a lot emotionally and psychologically. And this is extremely important because most of the time there is no cure for their chronic illnesses.

2. I don't like working with old people.

3. I like having continuity of care and knowing who my patients are.

4. I like working with healthy people--maybe i'm in the wrong profession?? What I mean is that I want to prevent disease rather than fighting it.

5. Don't be so closeminded. There are ALOT of people like the witchdoctor. They have these beliefs for various reasons...maybe medicine has failed them..whatever reasons. You just have to be open to it, just let it go and find a way to work with it.

All in all, I think the rotation wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Everything the witchdoctor was saying wasn't as crazy as I thought it was. And I'm more spiritual than I think I am.