Complementary and Integrative Medicine

Thank you. Um, Robert,

I’m in London, Ontario, and my background is in acupuncture and herbal medicine and homeopathy and ozone therapies and functional medicine and neural therapy. So there’s a number of different things I do. It’s good to see familiar faces and it’s good to see new faces.

Before all this, I was in the Air Force. I was a flight surgeon and a diving medical officer. So Remembrance Day was an important day for me to be there to remember those people that have given us our freedoms.

It’s really hard work to do a fellowship application like you’re doing because you hear how diverse our backgrounds are. We’re internists, we’re surgeons, we’re family doctors, and we have a whole bunch of different backgrounds. And I appreciate how difficult that work is.

It’s really going against the grain, because what we’re looking for is trying to solve people’s problems rather than just to give them something to cure a symptom. And I think that’s what sets us apart—our desire to help the person and to do whatever we can think of doing to help that person.

At the same time, we have to try to fit into systems—we’re a round peg fitting into a square hole—because we try to contort ourselves into all these rules and regulations we have to follow to be consistent with what our colleagues think is proper medicine. And that makes it difficult.

Yeah, that’s all I have to say. Thanks.

Thanks so much.

And you led the charge too. We had that group—I think it’s gone now—but you’ve done a lot of work in integrative medicine in Ontario and Canada. So thanks for everything you’ve done.

Thanks, Esther. And thank you, Robert. You used to head a group—we had an Ontario group, and it was difficult to carry on financially and with all the challenges.

What was the name of the group at that time?

I can’t remember. The OMA used to have a section on this, and then it became a medical interest group. I would encourage you to make it a section again, because when it becomes a section, my understanding is that you get more financial support from the OMA.

We were told by the OMA that we couldn’t become a section unless we were recognized. And I’m not even sure if getting area of focused competence would be enough, since they’re looking more at specialties and subspecialties. So that’s still to be determined. But we did try, especially since we have well over 500 members.

Can I point everyone to something in the chat? I shared an analogy I use in teaching integrative medicine.

It’s the story of the six blind people and the elephant. Each person feels a different part—the leg, ear, trunk, tusk—and each concludes something different. They’re all experiencing the same thing, but only one part of it.

That’s similar to medicine. Some of us come to realize we’ve only learned one piece of how to understand the human body. Integrative medicine is about bringing together those different perspectives to understand the whole.

Thank you. Let’s say “person” instead of “men.” How’s that?

Walla, would you like to introduce yourself?

Sure. Thank you. My name is Sue. I’m a family physician in Oakville, and I’ve been practicing since 2016.

I naturally lean toward integrative medicine principles. I’m lucky to have a practice model that allows me to spend more time, so I go into detail about diet, nutrition, environment, stress—how it all connects to patient concerns.

Since the beginning of this year, I’ve been taking some courses and lectures in integrative medicine, and I’m hoping to learn more about integrative pediatrics and special needs children.

Thank you so much for answering my questions—I’ve taken away a lot from today.

Thanks so much.

Roger, would you like to introduce yourself?

Sure. I’m an oddball—I’m 84 and still functional.

I was attacked by the college about 10 years ago. I had a random assessment that was excellent, and then a year later, they did another assessment.

The issue was that I wasn’t doing what they considered standard tests—I was using clinical judgment. The lawyer involved didn’t understand the difference between standard practice and standard of care.

During that time, the college magazine was publishing articles about the cascade of unnecessary tests that cost money and produce incorrect results. But that didn’t seem to matter.

Long story short, they shut down my practice. I lost my practice, my house—everything. My wife died during that process. It was effectively a death penalty.

Now I’m living in a small basement apartment. But I’m religious, so I accept things as they come.

I’m still interested in medicine and the philosophy around it. I wish you all luck.

The question I had was whether other provinces have similar groups advocating in this space.

In Nova Scotia, there is a similar group, but it’s small and inactive at the moment.

Also, some of us are from Quebec, where the regulatory environment is less welcoming to integrative approaches. That was one of the reasons some of us moved.

Integrative medicine is not for the faint of heart. Many of us are passionate about helping patients, and stories like yours are unfortunately not uncommon.

Thank you for sharing that.

Barbara, would you like to introduce yourself?

I’m sorry I’m late. It’s been really nice to meet everyone.

I’m in Ottawa. I started in natural medicine over 30 years ago and later trained in orthomolecular medicine. I did family practice with hospital privileges for 26 years, then switched to focused GP psychotherapy, working with patients with chronic illnesses and autoimmune disease.

I work part-time now, and I have a peer assessment coming up. It’s increasingly difficult to find peer assessors in Ontario.

I also contributed to a book on people’s rights to integrative medicine.

Thank you.

Thanks so much.

We have a couple of questions for the group. First: what suggestions do you have for how the medical interest group can help?

Nadira?

I’m part of a primary care solo group—about 80 doctors—and we use a WhatsApp group. It’s phenomenal. You can ask questions about billing, referrals, anything.

It creates connection—you’re not really practicing solo anymore. I think something like that could be really helpful for this group as well. It allows for honest discussion, and there’s a level of confidentiality.

It also helps mobilize people quickly—for example, sharing voting opportunities or updates.

That’s a great idea.

The interesting thing is that some people will be active and others won’t—it’s normal. You can also create subgroups for specific interests.

I like it better than OMA Connect, because I don’t want my posts to be public forever. WhatsApp feels more private.

We could promote it through OMA Connect or email.

It’s also important to have a consent process—confidentiality, verifying membership, etc.

Fred:

For anyone new to integrative medicine, I offer mentorship. You can shadow me for a day. I want to show you the excitement of this kind of practice—solving problems others couldn’t solve. My email is drfredhui@gmail.com.

That’s very generous.

Final question: how can we move integrative medicine forward?

Mandeep:

I think the biggest issue is siloing. We need to connect more—with each other and across disciplines. Even informal connections help.

I talk to different practitioners—reiki, therapists, yoga instructors—and they’re surprised a physician is interested in their work.

We need to build bridges, create more awareness, and perhaps do small talks at clinics. Social media could help, but it’s complicated given regulations.

Ultimately, as societal interest grows, that’s what will drive change.

Yes, the CPSO has issued policies on social media, and it can be tricky. It’s important to maintain professionalism and be mindful of how we communicate publicly.

It can help to think of speaking as if the college is the audience.

I think that’s why a private network like WhatsApp is useful—more candid discussion.

Any final comments?

I just want to thank everyone for taking time on a Saturday. It’s been nourishing to connect.

We’re all working toward improving healthcare. I respect all of you and will do what I can to support this work.

Thank you.

Thank you everyone.

Bye-bye. Take care.

Adrian, can you stay on for a sec?

Just curious—how do I match phone numbers to names in the WhatsApp group?

You may need to click into contacts. I’ve only added a couple of people so far. All exec members are admins.

Great, thanks so much.

Thanks everyone—enjoy your weekend.