Episode 84: The Evidence for Change: Why Integrative Medicine Needs Critical Thinkers
Searching for a balance between excellent patient care and practitioner well-being? In this episode of The Catalyst, Dr. Lara Salyer sits down with Dr. Jordan Robertson, a naturopathic doctor who is revolutionizing patient care and practitioner support in the field of integrative medicine. Together, they discuss Dr. Robertson’s extensive work with Clarity Health, impacting over 20,000 patients, and her initiative, the Confident Clinician—a resource aimed at supporting naturopathic doctors globally.
Dr. Robertson sheds light on key insights, identifying three common challenges that often obstruct functional medicine practices, such as the tendency to focus too narrowly on tailored care or not leveraging essential support staff effectively. On the other side of the coin, she highlights three foundational elements for a successful integrative clinic: establishing a well-defined patient care process, maintaining expertise while actively collaborating, and valuing the power of a supportive community.
This episode provides insights and strategies that can enhance any practice, benefiting both patients and practitioners.
About Dr. Jordan Robertson, ND:
When you have a brain that’s wired for problem solving, it’s hard to sit still.
If you’ve never met Dr. Jordan Robertson, you’ve been missing out on an opportunity to have a friend, and ally and a mentor in your work life. Her list of accomplishments is really just a reflection of her relentless pursuit of better patient care, better practitioner support and more collaborative care in medicine in general.
She’s the founder of Clarity Health, a massive Naturopathic Clinic in Ontario that has served over 20,000 patients, a podcast host with ambitions of making accurate women’s health information accessible to all, the off-site ND for the Endometriosis Clinic at McMaster hospital and instructor for the undergraduate Health Sciences program and the founder of The Confident Clinician. The Confident Clinician is a practice resource and database for Naturopathic Doctors to help elevate their professional practice by offering clinical practice guidelines, patient resources and ongoing training for Naturopathic Doctors.
Jordan is changing the way Naturopathic Doctors practice and integrate in medicine, with the Confident Clinician currently supporting over 600 NDs in North America and worldwide. She could see all of the problems in her industry that were holding practitioners back and built the program to solve them.
In This Episode We're Talking About:
- How people should feel safe thinking about how they have learned about medicine in the past, and challenge that there’s a better way
- Why clinicians should recognize that “how” they deliver information is what makes them unique, not “what” they say
- Dr. Jordan’s relentless pursuit in offering a better way of practicing despite being told no so many times in her career
Quotes:
- “Hiring out to support your weaknesses so you can continue to focus on strengthening your strengths is an incredibly important step that I think takes that mindset for clinicians.” (13:05 | Jordan Robertson)
- “I’m a big fan of collaborative care with conventional medicine. There are thousands and thousands of things that I wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole clinically. And I’ve drawn that line in the sand so hard. But my patients still respect everything I do have to offer. And I think when we have that level of confidence to say, “Yeah, you need an antibiotic’. Or, “Yeah, that’s not in my scope of practice. I need you to be referred to so-and-so.” But that actually builds your practice. It doesn’t decay it.” (20:18 | Jordan Robertson)
- “I think leadership in our profession actually looks like community. It actually looks like circles of clinicians who are willing to be vulnerable, to talk about what they’re doing, to share with each other, and to pull each other up.” (25:22 | Jordan Robertson)
- “When I start thinking about critical thinking and critical appraisal I go right back to that education model where we need to value the clinicians that are coming out and recognize that they are the best we’ve got. Even if it’s day one of their graduation and it’s really our responsibility as people in the profession to help get them there and help support them. So when we start to challenge that, it really challenges the things that we think we know. And it really starts to value changing our mind.” (30:31 | Dr. Jordan Robertson)
Links for this Episode:
Connect with Dr. Jordan Robertson, ND:
Website: www.confidentclinicianclub.com
Instagram: @drjordannd
Connect with Dr. Lara Salyer:
Website: https://drlarasalyer.com
Catalyst Kit: https://rightbrainrescue.com/p/catalyst_kit
Instagram: @drlarasalyer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer
Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer
TikTok: @Creativity.Doctor
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About The Catalyst Host, Dr. Lara Salyer:
I worked as a family physician for 15 years until burnout changed the trajectory of my career. I realized I wanted to start a holistic functional medicine practice in my rural hometown and made it happen. In addition to practicing functional medicine, I now mentor practitioners who are looking to change their paths in healthcare by using what I refer to as the “Catalyst Roadmap”. I share each step of this framework with listeners so that they may apply it to their careers, relationships, personal goals, and projects.
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