I recently started my third year (out of four) in medical school at NCNM. Third year is where the transition from student to doctor officially begins, with the start of the internship. It’s finally my opportunity to interact with real patients and start applying all of the knowledge that’s been smashed into my head over … More It’s official: I’m a terrible doctor.
My time living in Portland, OR has felt like a single blink of my eyes. I moved here in late August of 2013 and since then, I have constantly been studying for an exam or training for a martial arts competition. It’s been relentless and exhausting. That is, until a few weeks ago. I took … More A few words on my goals and accomplishments.
I knew I was pushing myself to my limit, but I thought I could handle it. My plan was to take my first set of board exams to become a licensed naturopathic doctor on a Tuesday and fight at a Muay Thai event on the following Saturday. From the moment my school term ended until … More It’s not about being unbreakable.
As a medical student, I am on a constant and desperate search for ways to fund my absurdly expensive education. I started applying for every single scholarship that I am potentially eligible for. One scholarship opportunity, offered by Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods, involved making a 3-minute video of a speech on a grain or … More Find The Sunflower Seed
I spent years working towards getting into NCNM’s naturopathic medicine program. When I got here, I convinced myself that I was prepared in every way. I’d done all of my pre-reqs. I was motivated. I was confident. I knew that I’d have to put in an absurd amount of hours studying. I was ready to … More The time I forgot why it mattered.
I hate making friends. Having friends is one of the biggest perks of being a human, but making them is the worst. A real friend knows you. All the good things and all the bad things. Obviously. And that’s fine. Great, even. I wish everyone knew me, knew everything. But that would mean I have … More How I learned to turn insecurity into courage. (It’s super easy)
I dropped out of my master’s degree program at NCNM after my first year. I’m still in pursuit of my doctorate in naturopathic medicine, but frankly, I’ve been seriously considering dropping out of that program as well. There would be many legitimate reasons for quitting: It’s too difficult, I can’t keep my grades up, I’m … More I’ve reached my academic limit, and it has nothing to do with my brain.
This is part of my ongoing summer project: Stumbling Through First Year I assumed that each little piece of information I picked up during my medical education at NCNM would be another little tool in my tool belt. Every time I learned something, I would be able to apply it to a medical context. Slowly, … More The time I thought it was tuberculosis.
Being accepted into the ND program at NCNM was an exciting time for me. I received a lot of personalized attention from the staff at NCNM. They called sporadically to give me information and make sure I didn’t have any questions before moving to Portland. I had going-away parties in my honor. I went to … More The time I realized that I’m not special.
I slammed the front door as I left. The lock on my door is kind of broken, so every time I leave I have to slam it or it won’t close all the way. Then someone would most likely break-in and be disappointed when they found no trace of anything of value, besides my Mom’s … More I saw a girl fall. (a fictional short story)
James is Trying 