The 66 Faces of Canada

As Im deep into market research for The Integrative Women’s Health Centre, I have been combing the internet for paths to information on the population of the GTA which may help me determine if my idea is viable one.

During my searches, I came across “The 66 faces of Canada”.  This is an interesting breakdown of common demographics in neighbourhoods all over the city (and Canada)!  You can visit the website for Environics Analytics (click on “lifestyle look-up”) to search any postal code, to see what kind of people live in a particular neighbourhood.  These are, of course, generalizations and there are always exceptions to the rules, but it is interesting, from a practitioner’s perspective, to see what kinds of patients you might be treating, in any given neighbourhood.

It’s also fun to search postal codes for entertainment purposes.  I searched my own postal code and it turns out that I live smack, dab, in the middle of an “Old World Style” neighbourhood!  According to the talented analysts at Environics Analytics, my neighbourhood is a magnet for first generation immigrants from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Asia and Latin America!  There is a mixture of renters and owners as far as housing is concerned.  Apparently they like the spend their hard earned dollars on going to night clubs, film festivals, theme parks and taco restaurants! (problem solved at Christmas time! Taco restaurant gift cards for all my neighbours!)  Also, google “The 66 Faces of Canada” to see them all at once!

 

My Dream

Imagine a health centre which specializes in treating women’s health concerns; medicine for women, by women.

Imagine an experience where treating a medical concern is approached with time, care and compassion.  Imagine having options and treatments to choose from, from highly qualified doctors and practitioners.  Imagine being treated like a person, with individual physiology, concerns and needs, not just an OHIP number.  Imagine how it would feel, as the patient, to be the main practitioner in your own care, to learn, from highly skilled and experienced educators, how to treat yourself.  Imagine how it would feel to be a part of the construction of your own, individualized, health care plan; made, just for you.

As a practitioner, imagine being able to give patients this very experience.

Imagine how it would be to know you are a part of something revolutionary as we change the face of medicine, as we know it!

This is my dream.

This is a dream which has been developing ever since I read the book Reflections of the Moon on Water by Dr. Xiaolan Zhao, a Chinese Medicine Doctor in Toronto.  Her words of Chinese Wisdom and inspiring perspective shed a new light on how I viewed my body, as a woman.  Her book conjured the notion that the culturally conditioned, “curses” and “girl problems”, such as menstruation, menopause and everything in between, should be celebrated and not dreaded.  Dr Zhao’s suggestions that these things do not have to be painful or unpleasant shocked and surprised me as I am a woman, who has a long history of suffering from the symptoms of a hormone imbalance, including PMS, problem periods, digestive issues and adult acne.  She offered gentle solutions and treatments to my issues, which were a breath of fresh air compared to the chemical/pharmaceutical suggestions commonly made in our healthcare system, or even worse, the suggestion that pain is just part of being a woman.

After reading her book, I vowed learn more about this way of thinking, and share it with as many people as possible.  This lead me to studying Chinese Medicine at The Institute of Traditional Medicine in Toronto, where I studied with many outstanding teachers and practitioners.

Now I have graduated and it seems that the time has come to make my dream a reality.

The only problem is….I have no idea how.

Many practitioners of alternative medicine run into the same problem.  We enter school with the best intentions.  We study hard, we learn how to become amazing practitioners and then we graduate.  It’s shortly after graduation that we realize that we not only signed up for a lifelong practice of healing others, we also signed up to be entrepreneurs….whether we like it or not.

I have to be thankful that entrepreneurship is obviously in my genes.  My great grandparents were carnies – they owned the Traveling Caramel Crisp Truck.  My grandparents owned an ice cream shop for many years, until they retired and began their business restoring and selling antique clocks.  My mother owns a bed and breakfast and a tea shop in Stratford.  My cousin has her own Karaoke company.  My younger brother founded a summer company for computer repair, in his last year of high school.  I have no shortage of inspiration in my life, that’s for sure.  Even so, it’s an intimidating process.

This is why I plan to write about my journey.  Hopefully I will be able to one day, look back on my days when I feel on top of the world, or reflect on the times when I fall flat on m back.  Hopefully I can learn a lot from this experience.

Also, I want to shed some light on the process, for all of the other well intentioned, naive, recent alternative medicine graduates, in hopes that we can learn from each others’ successes, mistakes and everything in between.

With excitement, I welcome you to join me on my journey of The Conception of: The Integrative Women’s Heath Centre!