Sep 1, 2021 | ND Spotlight
Dr. Karlee Tario, ND – Calgary, Alberta
Dr. Karlee Tario, ND studied Medical Biochemistry at UBC and graduated from Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine in 2019. Becoming an ND has been her biggest achievement to date, one that she has been working towards since she was 15 years old.
Karlee’s greatest areas of interest in practice are hormones and digestion. “Growing up having experienced these issues myself, I have a passion for helping others with these same ailments. I have been in their shoes and understand the frustration on trying to figure out what was going on with my own body”. Even though she thought she was doing everything right, she still wasn’t feeling her best and was not given any answers. Furthermore, her passion for hormones and digestion stems from the fact that these physiologic functions are quite related; she often observes connections in practice. She also enjoys treating skin conditions such as acne and eczema, as well as delving into anti-aging medicine “to get people looking and feeling their best”! Her greatest inspiration are her patients. “When I see how far they have come from when we first started and how much dedication, time, and work they have put into optimizing their health, it motivates me to continue helping patients reach their goals. It makes me incredibly happy to see people feeling better.”
A typical day in the life of Dr. Tario, ND involves waking up and having morning coffee, followed by a walk with her little pup Penny, working at the clinic, going to an F45 workout, and spending time with her loved ones. She is usually very active and enjoys going for an evening bike ride or rollerblade. On her days off, she loves to hike or hit up the mountain slopes.
Work/life balance is something Karlee takes very seriously, because “life can fly by so quickly and I believe we should enjoy every second of it”. She only works 4 days per week and will pick up a Saturday shift every other week. This gives her time off to spend with friends and family, go hiking, camping, or snowboarding, but also provides patients more flexibility when booking appointments. “As a new grad picking up that extra Saturday has been great for building my practice. Having the 4-day work week also allows me to have a patient research or prep day when needed… Making the time to do the things I love is super important for my own health and wellbeing. As (naturopathic) doctors, we can get so busy taking care of other people that we forget to take care of ourselves. Having a good work/life balance helps me be better for myself and for my patients.”
Her advice for future NDs is to shop around and find a clinic that is going to be a good fit for you. Making the decision on which clinic to join was her biggest challenge upon entering the profession. “Reading contracts was stressful and confusing at times; I highly recommend hiring a lawyer to go over it, and don’t be afraid to negotiate, as some contracts are outdated.” Furthermore, she recommends making sure the contract doesn’t go against college standards. Her recommendation is to start out at two different clinics “to get your foot in two doors” and then switching over full time to the one that feels like the best fit.
– Interview by Annick Meckes, July 2021
Nov 4, 2020 | ND of the Month, ND Spotlight
Dr. Eric Arrata, ND, Elite Sport Performance, Calgary
Dr. Eric Arrata completed an undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology at the University of Calgary and worked at the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal before moving to Seattle to study Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University.
“Since my early teens I knew that medicine was in my future and I’d be interested in maintaining health in the simplest ways possible. Most of this derives from the understanding that the body is self-correcting and connected to the larger natural world, though this understanding and awareness has largely been lost. A return to health then resides in our ability to remove the challenges to health that we’ve imposed, personally and societally. For the majority of people this is a simple, though not always easy, process. What we eat and drink, how we move and rest our bodies, our exposure to contaminants or toxins, and the health of our relationships all impact how vital and strong we are. So, at the end of the day, my clinical focus centers on lifestyle habits, emotional health, and identifying and removing known toxins or insults to the body.”
“My inspiration arises from being alive and becoming aware of the beauty and wisdom all around us. This may seem trivial or excessively dreamy, yet the truth is that things are always as they are and life isn’t complicated, just our understanding of it is. Knowing that we are all of nature and connected inspires me to aid others in being reminded of this. Then health can follow.”
For Dr. Arrata’s, the most rewarding aspect of his career as an ND is “having a patient arrive concerned about their pain, energy, digestion, mood or what have you, and then leave with a sense of how these symptoms relate to how they have lived their lives. This brings a smile to my face. I feel the saying “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink” reflects what we do in our clinics daily. You provide people with a mirror and it’s up to them to accept the truth of the image or not.”
When it comes to work/life balance, Dr. Arrata feels that it is important as an ND to practice what you preach. “Teachings are most effective when they come from experience. One cannot know what it feels like to swim on a mountain stream until one has done so. So, in order to explore altering perspectives and changing one’s habits with patients, I should have had this experience myself. Early on in my career I discovered the things that support me and those that don’t, and I incorporated as many supporting factors as I could professionally and personally. These related to having a schedule that is never too busy, simplifying the various ways in which patients can reach me, maintaining boundaries around my cellphone and social media use, and remembering that family always comes first. I can’t really preach what I don’t practice.”
“Challenges are always plentiful in practice, yet the one that I most need to be aware of is not stretching my knowledge too thin. There are a great many areas of interest I have, that I often need to reel myself in to focus on a select few. I try to enhance those areas that are my “bread and butter” and leave topics that “stretch” the clinical envelope as smatterings, to keep things interesting. This has and likely always will be my greatest challenge since “connecting the dots” is a game I love.”
Sep 30, 2020 | ND Spotlight
Dr. Arnel Beaubrun graduated from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM) in 2003. He co-founded CCNM’s annual Men’s Health Awareness Week and Sports Medicine Speciality Clinic. He currently runs his own clinic, Integra Naturopathics, in Calgary where he treats both English and French speaking patients.
“I experienced firsthand the healing potential of Naturopathic Medicine in my life. I overcame a severe auto-immune disease in my early twenties with the help of naturopathy, after frustrating attempts with conventional treatment. It was a life-changing time for me that literally changed the trajectory of my future. My personal journey has greatly influenced my practice. While it continues to evolve as the years pass, it has always been rooted in my passion for endocrine and digestive health – the greatest factors in auto-immunity. My quest to discover the role of digestion in health allows me to help those with complex auto-immune disorders and learning spectrum disorders, through the healing power of food.”
Dr. Arnel Beaubrun feels deeply inspired by lifestyle medicine. “Raising our three children holistically fuels my desire to explore and expand my knowledge about how our habit life affects our wellness. We’ve chosen to educate our kids in the Waldorf school system, with a focus on low media (our kids don’t have iPads), creativity (art and music are a priority in their early years) and outdoor experience (there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing). As they grow older, we are witnessing firsthand the extraordinary influence lifestyle (from an early age) has on neurological and immune health. It’s been fascinating and has deeply changed how I deliver pediatric care to the young and preventative care to the rest of our clients.”
For Dr. Arnel Beaubrun, the most rewarding aspect of his career is that “Naturopathic Medicine has offered me the opportunity to expand beyond a fulfilling clinical practice. We’ve created and sold several successful companies – all of them woven together by natural health and wellness. We have been involved in the yoga industry, food industry (we created and founded Bruhe – a real food café) and now the supplement industry (Rumina Naturals). Natural medicine has been a fantastic stepping-stone for personal and professional growth. Having naturopathic knowledge is a huge advantage as an entrepreneur in the health and wellness space. I enjoy the diversity and challenges that come with the variety that I’ve created in my career. I have Naturopathic Medicine to thank.”
When it comes to maintaining a healthy work/life balance Dr. Beaubrun says: “This has required some creativity! As a busy father of three very active children, it’s become super important to immerse myself in their passions and interests – to stay present in their lives while keeping fit and finding some balance (not easy). I’ve learned to embrace climbing, mountain biking and parkour in the last few years – it’s a wild ride with them! Adaptability and flexibility don’t come naturally for me, but I’ve had to move beyond my comfort zones to allow room for new ways of maintaining life balance.”
Adapted from an email conversation on August 6th 2020 by Annick Meckes.
