I am decidedly an empiricist. No, this doesn’t mean that as a child I used to hover over ant hills with a magnifying glass, observing uncanny details about ant anatomy or looking at leaves under a microscope. Well, maybe like all children I did this, but that kind of thing doesn’t interest me anymore. Sadly…
Dear Dalton McGuinty, premier of Ontario
Can you spare me $50,000?
I swear to you that my reasons for asking for it are pure; I just want to heal people. You see, I am studying to be a naturopathic doctor. I want to cure disease and make the world a better place, but in order to do that, I’ll need some cash.
Sure, you guys, the Ontario Government, supply me with a loan of about $11,000 a year. That’s great, thanks for that. However, my tuition alone is more than $20,000 a year and, having to study in Toronto, I also need money for rent and living expenses. Sadly, with the condo market the way it is right now, opportunities for squatting in abandoned factories are slim. Rent prices are a serious matter these days and having to study for 8 years will put my graduating age at 28 (some of my colleagues will be even older) so I unfortunately can’t live with my parents forever. They’ve been paying taxes for a long time and they want to retire in peace one day too.
I would hit the streets banging pots and pans in protest, like my colleagues in Quebec, however with times the way they are right now I barely have enough for a pot to pee in, let alone bang on. My time is precious as well – I commute 3 hours a day (due to the living-with-parents thing) and study for about 8. When I come home I have to eat, work on assignments, walk the dog, do some exercise and eventually sleep. I need to take care of my body a little; I am going to be a naturopath, after all.
I can work in the summer but unfortunately 4 months of work won’t pay the tuition for 4 years of school. I can’t work during the school year for the reasons outlined above and, oh yeah, during the summer I have board exams to study for and preceptor hours to accumulate so my time is precious during those months too. I wish things were like they were back in the ’80’s when a summer of work could easily make enough money for tuition for the following year but, as Bob Dylan says, “The times they are a-changin'”.
Perhaps we could put some of our tax dollars to work. I hear we spend a lot on our military. Could we maybe spare some funds there? I know it may sound crazy at first, but other countries (Costa Rica, Switzerland) have managed to do it. I may not have much training in the realm of politics besides a first year political philosophy course I took as an elective in university, but I’m sure that would help balance the federal budget. I know you’re the premier of Ontario and defense is not really a provincial expense, but maybe you could forward this on to PM Stevie H. for me. I’m positive that Canadians would feel better knowing that the money is going towards supporting our economy and training healthcare practitioners. After all, isn’t heart disease a much greater threat to the lives of Canadians than the possibility of terrorist attacks? What’s more, I always thought that the ritual of spending billions of dollars to murder foreigners would be something we’d have long let go of by now. One would hope that that kind of irrational nationalist BS would have ended back in the early 1940’s. Sigh, I guess we were wrong and it looks like Flower Power still has a ways to go. Maybe one day.
If you don’t like that option, I’m sure there are others. Marketing for the LCBO to get people to drink more alcohol is surely a fluff expense. Last time I checked people didn’t need to be told to drink (in fact we have organizations that help them not do that, but we can discuss that another time) and since when does a monopoly need to advertise anyways?
Ok. Well, I hear that Cuban medical students can sign a contract agreeing to work in rural areas and in doing so receive free medical education. Cuba is a poor country, and a socialist one at that. If they can afford to pay for medical education (not only for their citizens but for the citizens of other developing countries as well) then surely Canada, one of the world’s richest countries, can too. I know that I’ve heard criticism likening this system to a kind of “modern day slavery” – having students sign away a few years of their lives in order to study. However, I also know that “slavery” can be a loose term and, to be fair, I think that the definition of “modern day slavery” should be expanded to include the shackles of student debt. You see, I would rather spend my life providing much-needed medicine to a rural community than forced to pay back my debt by providing acupuncture for facial rejuvenation to the rich. I entered this field to heal people from disease and, according to my textbooks, wrinkles aren’t really a disease, no matter how unsightly we tell ourselves they are.
So, in short, Mr. McGuinty, can you spare me the $50,000? I’ll pay you back one day provided I open a successful practice (I’ll need some money for that too, if you don’t mind) and my patients can afford to see me. You see, times are tough for everyone and I’m assuming my patients will be paying off their student debt as well.
I’ll accept cash, check or credit. I’m not picky.
Thanks a bundle.
Sincerely,
Talia Marcheggiani, BSc(Hons), ND candidate 2014
Monday, April 23, a date that has been haunting me for the past few months, marked the day that I embarked on my second Objective Structured Clinical Examination: The OSCE.
At CCNM we have an quarterly exam in Point Location, or acupuncture. The exam consists of memorizing all of the points on two or more acupuncture channels (usually around 60-70 different points), along with the underlying anatomy, contraindications and the depth and angle at each point. (more…)
I’ve been struggling lately. The weather has gone back to its windy, cold and moody self, after playing mind games with us for a week or so. I’m back to taking my vitamin D, since the sun isn’t offering it up for free anymore. Maybe that’s why I feel cheated. It could very well be that we’re presented with so many flow charts it’s like I’ve died and gone to Flow Chart Hell – a special kind of hell where things break down into a series of isolated steps that are easier to understand, for some.
There’s something to be said for good company, sun and sand to bring you out of a dark, rainy slump. Last week was a particularly emotional one for me, which in part is due to my Reiki initiation, which can cause some energetic side effects, and some events happening on the home front.
Another naturopathic exam session has come and gone. The end of our last midterm week tucked an uncomfortable 49 exams (in less than two years) under our already stuffed belts. Despite the over-stuffing of knowledge (taxing our Spleens, according to TCM, which is the equivalent of overeating at a buffet), I can’t help but feel empty at the end of these week-long ordeals.
Walking down University Avenue in Toronto past all the major hospitals, including the Princess Margaret, a hospital that specializes in oncology, one can’t help but notice the lines of smokers puffing away outside, in front of the hospital doors, in the frigid February air.
This morning I dropped J off at the airport as he caught the 8am flight back to Bogotá, Colombia. These past two weeks, where I showed him a bit of my world, after sharing his for two years, in both Bogotá and Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, were a whirlwind of activity. He met all of my family and enjoyed all the great things that Toronto has to offer.
Sometimes I wonder about the so-called “health food” that we encounter in health food restaurants like Fresh in Toronto. I mean, what exactly constitutes a health food?
Are fried onion rings healthy just because they were breaded with quinoa instead of corn batter? I am inclined to say no: fried onion rings, whether they are breaded with quinoa or corn, are still fried. Sometimes our good intentions fail when we prepare healthy foods in the same, unhealthy way as fast foods.
I think it was Meghan Telpner of “Making Love in the Kitchen” who said that a health food is a food that promotes health, not just a food that doesn’t cause disease. Does that mean that those with a fetish for salty, crispy snacks face a lifetime of deprivation? I assure you not! Allow me to present The Kale Chip: a salty, crunchy snack that will indeed make you healthier! As Dr. Phil R. says, “It’s like sunshine for your cells.” (Well, maybe not, but they’re still great for you!)
Kale is a dark, leafy green, full of flavenoids (potent anti-oxidants), vitamins, minerals and fibre. It can be cooked like spinach, used instead of lettuce in salads and, best of all, slowly baked into crispy, savoury chips, to satisfy your salty tooth!
How to make them:
The Kale
I buy a huge bundle of kale for $2.99 at Metro at Spadina and Bloor. This bundle is good for at least two batches of kale chips. Break up the kale leaves into chip-sized pieces, wash them thoroughly and drain out any excess water.
The Dressing
– 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
– 1 tbsp tahini
– 1 tsp garlic powder
– pinch of salt
(if you find that the dressing isn’t enough to adequately cover the kale pieces, increase the amounts in the appropriate ratios to make more).
All good chips come with seasoning (come on, when was the last time you craved plain chips?). To make this health-promoting seasoning, add apple cider vinegar, tahini, garlic powder and salt together and mixed well to create a sauce. Then pour the sauce over the bowl of kale pieces and toss thoroughly to cover the kale evenly.
Next, spread the dressing-covered kale pieces onto a baking sheet and set your oven on its lowest temperature: in my case, 140 degrees.
Let the kale bake for 4 hours, turning the leaves over at the midway (2 hour) mark.
After 4 hours, take them out, let them cool and, in the morning, pack these little babies into a little container to take with you to work or class. For me, a 5-hour nutrition class goes by much more smoothly when I have a delicious, vitamin-packed snack to munch on!