Best of the Best! CCHM Faculty Feature: Veronika Zhmurko MD(UA), PhD, Hom, Lecturer

For over two decades Veronika Zhmurko has been using her substantial skills in homeopathic medicine to successfully treat people of all ages.

Veronika has a traditional European Medical Education. As such, she underwent all the training that medical doctors in North America receive plus extra studies. The latter included courses in preventative medicine (e.g. hygiene, nutrition), nature-based treatments (including herbology, hydrotherapy), and homeopathy. She studied homeopathy with such masters as Dr. Tatiana Popova (Popov School of Homeopathy, Ukraine), George Vithoulkas (International Academy of Homeopathy, Greece), Dr. Andre Saine, Dr. Joe Kellerstein (Canadian Academy of Homeopathy). Dr. Jose Isaac (India).

 After graduation from medical school, Veronika has worked in the Ukraine as a family doctor and general practitioner for 10 years. She earned PhD in clinical immunology in 2000  and in 2001  was awarded the position of assistant professor at the Kiev Medical Academy, Department of Post Graduate Studies. Over the course of her medical career, Veronika has authored 14 scientific papers in the fields of immunology, allergology and internal medicine. Since moving to Canada in 2002 her career and studies have been predominantly focused on homeopathy. Veronika currently practices in Toronto at Thornhill Naturopathic Health Clinic.

My way to homeopathy was long and not quite steady. It started during my first years in medical school when one of my classmates invited me to attend some lectures on homeopathy. These lectures were not mandatory in the medical program, but everybody could attend it if they wished. Have to say that these lectures did not impress me much. More to that there was a lot of skeptical opinion running around homeopathy, and after few attempts, I decided to discontinue this endeavor.  Until my oldest daughter was born. Around 12month old she developed eczema. As a diligent medical student, I went with her from one doctor to doctor, was trying different modern treatments, but everything was in vain. After some creams however, it looked as it disappeared but after a while eruptions would come back in even worse condition then it was before. I felt hopeless. Then the same classmate advised me to try homeopathy. And I did without any hope or trust in it. But to my surprise after three doses of remedy her skin started to clear up and eventually her eruptions were gone and never came back. Therefor after graduating from med school, in early 90ths I finished specialization course in homeopathy which gave me permission to use homeopathy in my medical practice.

I started to practice homeopathy alongside with regular medicine. Later, I have finished the Popov”s Homeopathic school in Ukraine and International Academy of Classical Homeopathy in Greece.

From the old masters that most resonate with me are J.T.Kent and J.H.Clark.  Kent because of his deep analytical mind and clear pictures in his MM that helps to see what should be treated in the patient. Clarke with his broad description of every homeopathic substance, the history of its use in the past in his Dictionary which helps to se the image of each remedy. I like the “Homeopathic Drug pictures” of M. Taylor and “Clinical Therapeutics in Homeopathy” by Temple S. Hoyne—Taylor has a lot of references with different masters in her book and Hoyne book is very practical, it gives a lot of cases that teach you how to spot the remedy.

Teaching for me is sharing my experience and knowledge, navigating students through the information flows. I started to study homeopathy at the time and place when there wasn’t much information or books on the subject. Now, there is a lot of it—students can be easily drowned in this information. That’s why I am happy to be a teacher of the College that stands on the pure homeopathic principles. If students master these basic principles, they will have a strong base on which they will be able to create their own method of practicing homeopathy