So often I hear practitioners say things like:<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel self-conscious when I speak to doctors.\u201d<\/em> Whether you\u2019re looking to partner with doctors or not, read on\u2026 We\u2019ll use doctors as an example because (let\u2019s be honest), talking with them can be intimidating.<\/p>\n You might feel small, less-than\u2014less educated, less respected\u2014and you might think, \u201cWho am I to be in conversation with an MD? How can I possibly bring something to this partnership?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Many practitioners tell me that they don\u2019t think they know enough<\/strong> to reach out to physicians.<\/p>\n They\u2019re afraid they\u2019ll appear foolish, or less intelligent than they know themselves to be.<\/p>\n So, they don\u2019t reach out.<\/p>\n The practitioners who hold themselves back don\u2019t value what they do know, and instead focus on what they don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n Well, I\u2019m here to tell you that you might just know more than you think!<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what Sandi, a Full Body Systems student and practitioner, recently shared regarding a conversation she just had with a physician:<\/strong><\/p>\n I had a really interesting thing happen to me yesterday. I was at a dinner party and was introduced to a physician who heard I was trained in functional nutrition. She started asking me a bit about my background, then said \u201cI hear you should give up gluten and I\u2019ve read a few functional medical doctors\u2019 books, but I didn\u2019t understand what they meant and how it could be damaging for patients. I tried to give it up once and nothing happened. So what do you think?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n If I had been asked that same question a year ago, I would not have been able to answer! Not a lot of confidence for sure, but this time I was thinking to myself, \u201cI\u2019ve got this!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n I reminded her where the small intestine is located, what gluten does to those villi that line the small intestine, how they can become flattened by gluten and dairy, and how that affects nutrient uptake. I also told her that this creates inflammation in the small intestine by affecting the tight gap junctions, which will begin to expand and create more of a chasm between the cells, allowing foreign substances (like gluten proteins) to enter the bloodstream where they don\u2019t belong.<\/em><\/p>\n She said, \u201cOh I get it now!! Thanks for explaining that!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n A doctor said that – I couldn\u2019t believe it!<\/em><\/p>\n She also asked me about GERD, and I went on to explain how I would approach that and also \u2018what\u2019s going on in there\u2019. I couldn\u2019t believe that I could answer nearly everything she asked. It was a great feeling!!<\/em><\/p>\n After the conversation she took my name and wanted to see my website and plans to refer clients to me.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Unreal!<\/p>\n “Andrea, thank you so much for the amazing way you teach and really break it down. This would not have been possible if I hadn\u2019t taken your program, I\u2019m truly grateful.”<\/em><\/p>\n Wow! I love hearing these kinds of successes.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not about leaping tall buildings, it\u2019s about using plain language and understanding \u2018what\u2019s going on in there.\u2019<\/p>\n And partnering with a physician doesn\u2019t require that you know what they know. You can\u2019t!<\/p>\n But similarly, they don\u2019t know what you know. Or what you can know once you study nutrition from a functional lens.<\/p>\n You need to know your unique piece. And you need to be able to share it – to educate both your clients and other practitioners.<\/p>\n Your piece is functional nutrition, and as you can see from Sandi\u2019s story, it\u2019s a vital piece that many physicians are missing!<\/p>\n So many doctors are in the same boat that this one was\u2014they want to help their patients but they don\u2019t understand the deeper connections between food and physiology, why diet modification matters, or what it actually takes to make such a huge lifestyle change.<\/p>\n Yes, you read that right!<\/p>\n Doctors know a LOT, but they aren\u2019t taught nutrition (especially functional nutrition).<\/p>\n They don\u2019t necessarily know (or understand) what gluten does to the small intestine. Or what sugar can do to hormonal balance. Or what lack of sleep can do to blood sugar balance!<\/p>\n They need you to do that piece.<\/p>\n And while they aren\u2019t all ready to talk to a nutrition pro and hear their perspective, many of them are.<\/p>\n Are you ready to answer the call?<\/p>\n Functional Nutrition<\/a> So often I hear practitioners say things like: \u201cI feel self-conscious when I speak to doctors.\u201d \u201cHow can I partner with doctors when they know so much more than I do?\u201d \u201cHow do I gain respect from doctors?\u201d Whether you\u2019re looking to partner with doctors or not, read on\u2026 Feeling more confident, respected, and like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[166,188],"class_list":["post-18259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nutrition-therapy","tag-clinical-quickies","tag-relationships"],"_yoast_wpseo_sitemap-include":null,"_yoast_wpseo_canonical":null,"_yoast_wpseo_redirect":null,"_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":null,"_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":null,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"[]","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":null,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":null,"_yoast_wpseo_title":""What can an MD learn from me?" | How to partner with doctors","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"So often I hear practitioners say things like: \u201cHow can I partner with doctors when they know so much more than I do?\u201d \u201cHow do I gain respect from doctors?\u201d","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"practitioners partner","yoast_head":"\n
\n\u201cHow can I partner with doctors when they know so much more<\/u> than I do?\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cHow do I gain respect from doctors?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\nFeeling more confident, respected, and like you really can<\/u> hold your own with any type of practitioner (or client!) is something we can all<\/em> benefit from.<\/p>\nRelated Blog Posts:<\/h3>\n
\nBack it up<\/a>
\nTherapeutic Partnership<\/a>
\nRoot Cause<\/a>
\nAllied Functional Medicine Practitioner<\/a>
\nTerrain<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"