Hi all! I hope everyone's enjoying the class. I'm reaching out because I would love to get any feedback people have to offer. I'm 27 and I've been thinking of going back to school for a medical certification for some time now but I've been really struggling with what to pursue. I did a liberal arts undergraduate degree with around a 3.4 GPA and have taken a few prerequisite courses over the last few years (Chem, Anatomy and psychology). Honestly, looking at the medical system, everything seems like such a flaming pile of garbage it seems so difficult to envision a path in that feels good. As a general idea of what I'm interested in, I think primary care would be awesome. I have some chronic illnesses I've struggled with and I think it would be amazing to be able to offer people integrative approaches that I know have helped for me. I also just like love herbal medicine (obviously lol) and I'm fascinated by the microbiome, mind/body medicine, psychiatry, autoimmune illnesses, ecology and like probably lots more. It would be really nice to have an ok work life balance and like healthy relationships and the ability to be outside. Ive thought about nurse practitioner- seems like you have decent scope of practice, you can usually bill insurance and be accessible for people, the debt isn't so scary and the prereq/ application process seems do-able. Working as a nurse sounds hard, especially these days and I feel like I might have an antagonistic relationship with doctors if I disagree with an approach. But overall it seems like a thing I could do to make a decent living and hopefully incorporate an herbal practice. Between MD and nurse practitioner, there's a part of me that just like, wants to know everything. I've wondered if it would bother me having a shorter education with NP which may not be as thorough as opposed to MD where at least nominally you learn a lot more. Also I usually love NPs and most folks I talk to share that experience. Also it seems like maybe NPs are able to spend more time with patients under insurance which I think would be cool. And then there's the MD/ DO route. I think apart from the trimmings of prestige and whatnot which feel somewhat appealing, I have a sense that I kind of want to drink out of the firehose. My understanding of medical education is that you just learn so much and you're able to see so much of medicine. The attractive part is being able to feel somewhat confident that I wouldn't be missing anything in practice. And also the agency, scope of practice, and ability to take insurance in some cases would be cool. I feel drawn to working with marginalized communities and offering integrative care where it might not otherwise be accessible. And then the downsides are like, it seems like so fucking hard. Everyone seems to like universally hate medical school. With chronic illness, college has been somewhat difficult and the prospect of being in the pressure cooker of medical school seems like it might take a lot out of me. And it also takes a long long time and the debt is scary, especially with the possibility that I may not be able to finish it. I have also thought about medical school in Cuba which is free but being that far away sounds hard and also it seems like it's hard to pass USMLE tests in the states and match with residency programs once you're back. The upsides of Cuba would be free tuition, learning in country with socialized medicine and being in a predominantly non-white and very international medical education program. I have also read some things that say Cuba offers substandard medical education but it's hard to know for sure. Also as a general note for MD, getting sued would suck. And then I've also thought about Naturopathic school. I've looked into Bastyr's Naturopath DP program and it honestly looks idyllic. I feel most aligned with that curriculum and I think it would be fun as hell to practice as a Naturopath. Again, the dept feels scary and the employment opportunities after graduation feel a little precarious, especially with the upwards of like 400,000 debt that some people take on. But like, ugh, living on Bastyr's campus and studying to be a Naturopath sounds amazing. I think I could get the grades and could probably make it into the program. But I also wonder about the ability to serve marginalized communities. Honestly most of the Naturopathic practices I've seen (mostly in Wisconsin where I live) seem catered to people with wealth who can afford bonkers out of pocket fees. I haven't thought extensively about Chiropractic school but it seems somewhat interesting. Or then there's being an herbalist! Which I could most likely do after this program. It seems harder to make a living as an herbalist and again, there's the insurance question. Herbalism is kind of where my heart is right now. I do wonder if and how it is possible to truly incorporate herbalism into a practice of NP or MD. Like, do you get in trouble with insurance or employers if you tell somebody to take a tincture blend? Are any herbalists out there making a living on a practice without family support or dual incomes? Whew, thank you for reading if you've got this far! Appreciate y'all and it's been an honor to be in class with you -B

Dear Brendan, Since no one has answered your question, I'll take a crack at it. My credentials: I am a veterinarian licensed in CT, NY, VA, SC, and Fl. My sister has a master's in nursing and runs the wound care clinic at a VA hospital, and one my nephews is in his last semester of a NP program. I would advise you to pick the state you want to live in, then look at the practice act (available online) for profession you are considering. For instance, one has to be a veterinarian to practice veterinary acupuncture in every state in the US except MD, where you can be a L.Ac. and work on animals. In regards to the debt load, research professions that will do debt forgiveness in exchange for practicing in an under served area. I am still paying student loans in year 31 of practice, so I understand your fears. I would get income based student loans if at all possible. I did not, and my loan payments were 75% of my take home pay until I was able to refinance. My nephew is paying for his education on the GI bill, and my sister did her BSN in the 70's and her MSN in the early 80's, so it was cheaper. In addition, make sure the school that you apply to regards you as independent from your parents. The veterinary school I attended took your parents income into consideration for student loan availability even if you were 50 yrs old. My parents income (they lived in a very expensive state with high real estate values) made me ineligible for the low interest loans, and I had to borrow my entire education at 9%. Hope this helps, Rosemary

Brendan- I have kids your age and so take some of this as mom advice. I'm learning herbalism as a 2nd/3rd career and understand the need to align with a "licensed" profession. For practical reasons- as earning money and perhaps some legitimacy to your credentials as David acknowledges- many still do not fully understand the role of an "herbalist". I would say to my children- envision what your ideal day would look like? Being an MD will take money, time and also years of practical work experience to launch yourself and include herbalism into your practice. As Wendy's discussed in her story- her partners looked upon her herbalism addition as a liability to their practice. Path of an ND would be make herbalism more approachable but the same for $ and time. Have you considered PA school? Less time and money? Nursing offers many levels for entry and being a nurse in a functional medicine or naturopathic office will offer you a more holistic experience and perhaps even allow you to include herbalism in your day. It's less time and money- but clearly the role is a supportive one in many ways. Lastly- Have you considered with a functional dietician? This is an expanding field. Insurance companies are now hiring nurses/or RD's for many similar jobs. In my own life- I've considered going to get an associates degree in nutrition just so I can check off that box to have that "legitimacy". Since I have a BS and MS- (in business)- the commitment isn't too absurd. In the end- envision what your ideal work day should look like. Best to you. Angela