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5 Things I Love About My Patients

by Dr. Pamela Frank, BSc(Hons), ND

Having practiced naturopathic medicine for 18+ years, I’ve noticed a certain common ground among the people who seek my care.  Here they are:

Intelligence

intelligent people
They’re intelligent people.  I can condense 18 years of knowledge into 45 minutes and they’ll grasp and embrace the concepts, often complicated ones, that I’m trying to explain.

Open-minded and Inquisitive

Inquisitive
They’re open-minded and inquisitive.  Inquiring minds want to know how their body works, why certain issues have become a problem, and how to address the root of the problem to fix it on a more permanent basis.

Researchers

Research
They do their research.  Most of my patients have already done some online research before coming to see me and will again after they’ve been to see me. They’re educated and informed and want to know more about how best to help themselves.

Take Responsibility

responsibility for health
They are willing to take responsibility for their own health.  They’re not expecting me to produce magic.  They’re ok with getting their hands dirty to change some things, take a couple of supplements, address their lifestyle and be proactive about being healthy.

Appreciative

thankful appreciative boy
Appreciative. After being bounced around the medical system, they’re appreciative of the time, kindness, caring and respect that they receive.

Other characteristics of Naturopathic Doctor patients:

  1. They have been through the conventional medicine system and haven’t had satisfactory treatment.  They have usually already been to medical doctors, specialists, or fertility clinics and are still suffering.  They often feel let down by the conventional system.  Their symptoms have been passed off as “just stress”, “normal” or “unexplained”.
  2. They don’t want to take drugs to mask their concerns.
  3. They prefer a more natural approach through diet, exercise, vitamins, minerals, herbs, acupuncture, massage therapy or chiropractic treatment.
  4. They may be looking for more thorough testing than has been done already.

What is it like to be a Naturopathic Doctor patient?

It’s not at all unlike going to see your family doctor.  You’ll be welcomed when you arrive in our waiting area.  If there are forms to complete, you can fill them in online prior to your visit or in person when you arrive.  For your initial visit, we’ll spend 90 minutes discussing your health history in detail, your current concerns, we’ll do a screening physical exam (nothing internal or invasive), and we’ll discuss in detail what the plan should be and how to implement it.  Naturopathic treatment would include diet & lifestyle recommendations, vitamins, minerals, herbs and/or acupuncture.  After the initial visit, follow ups can be scheduled anywhere from 1-12 weeks apart depending on your concerns and your treatment.

If you share these traits and you’re looking for solutions to your health issues, I would love to work with you too.

In health,

Pamela

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