A Day In the Life of a Homeopath: Brigitte Davis, HOM

What inspired you to become a homeopath? EASY! Fascination with human physiology + a strong belief in a natural, healthy lifestyle + a desire to help others = Homeopathy, a way to treat the root cause which not only relieves suffering but also restores health. What does your average day as a homeopath look like? Besides patient work, time is set aside each day for correspondence and social media.  When time permits, I research health trends, marketing and productivity tools.  I also like to read the old literature to learn from our great masters. What do you most love about being a homeopath? The majority of my cases are longstanding chronic conditions  where either conventional medicine has nothing more to offer the patient or the patient wants a drug alternative.  Nothing is more rewarding than a patients' joy when their conditions improves beyond their expectations. What is your favorite homeopathic story? Saving a man's toes from amputation A man in his 60's presented with a history of serious recurring infections. The open wounds under his toes kept him from work and conventional treatment was unable to prevent the infection from recurring.  The patient required regular wound management from the hospital and amputation of 3 toes was being considered. Having nothing to lose he came to try homeopathy.  There was improvement with the 1st remedy but progress stalled.  Treatment was continued using a different approach.   He stated "I'm cured" at the next follow-up, explaining that this was the best his toes had been in 2 years. I check in with him annually and his toes are still free of infection. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"476","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"480","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"360"}}]] We don't need to know what you had for breakfast, but I'm sure it was healthy and delicious, so do tell! What did you have for breakfast? Because I struggle with weight, I avoid the conventional refined carbs for my 1st meal to keep my insulin from spiking and setting the tone for the day. So what to eat?  After foraging through the fridge leftovers, today's breakfast was broccoli and adzuki beans warmed in butter. Tell us a little about your life before you became a homeopath.  I married into a farm setting and while working as a pharmacy technician and later as bookkeeper for the drug store. I've always been "natural health" health and environmentally minded. I studied Therapeutic Touch, Reiki and meditation and read books on crystals and herbal remedies.  I also took distance education from the University of Waterloo with a focus on the health sciences. Life circumstances forced me to refocus and I almost got into med school, making it onto the waiting list. That plan failing,  I started  my own bookkeeping business in 1993.  By 2000 we were leaders in the accounting software industry and the only company authorized to do data repair for Simply Accounting.  Accounting offices frequently sent staff to our training centre. The business winds were changing and it was time to again refocus and this is when I chose to go into homeopathy.  I remembered saying earlier that I'd b a different kind of medical doctor by  getting to the root cause of illness.  Prophecy has come true as I have realized that dream through homeopathy. How did you change your life through homeopathy? The scope of healing that is possible with homeopathy ever amazes me and this drives me to study, evaluate and challenge myself. What role did CCHM play in supporting your transformation? It took me the 1st year of school to 'unlearn' the conventional medical model.  CCHM laid the strong foundation of homeopathic philosophy and now there is no going back, only forward, building on that very foundation. What are three key memories from your experience at CCHM?

1. Getting up at 5am to make the 10am clinic in Toronto.
2.   Exam day and influenza: making it through the exam with a vial of Gels on my desk.
3. The close relationships with classmates and being voted valedictorian.

What obstacles did you have to overcome in order to become a homeopath?

1. Running a full-time business with much overtime while schooling.
2. Lack of confidence as a new graduate.

How do you see your future in homeopathy? Besides further developing  my chronic disease practice, my goals include teaching and mentoring , running trials to show the efficacy of our remedies and developing homeopathic strategies to help patients with debilitating illnesses for which conventional medicine has no cure. What do you love about the homeopathic community? I like that we are all dedicated to homeopathy but I wish there was a way to foster better networking, information sharing and peer support. What advice can you offer to a person considering becoming a homeopath? Being a homeopath is not just treating patients.  I would advise that they investigate all facets of a practice: CHO standards and guidelines, business administration and payroll, marketing and the cost of starting a business. I'd also recommend building a support team with their banker, lawyer and accountant. If they have all this in place going in, theirs will be a strong foundation upon which to build their practice. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"477","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"360","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"480"}}]] About Brigitte: Brigitte Davis (owner – Grand West Homeopathy), has always been interested in health and well being. Her mission is to help her patients reclaim their health and enjoy an improved quality of life. Brigitte is driven and her patients know that she goes the extra mile to fully understand their condition and to find the best treatment options for them. She has studied advanced homeopathy as well as integrative and functional medicine. For this reason many people with difficult cases come to see her to get results.  She is particularly interested in helping patients with chronic diseases or with debilitating illnesses for which conventional medicine has no cure. Outside of her practice, Brigitte is very active in Zonta, a service club whose mission it is to protect the human rights of women especially those in under developed countries. She lives a quiet life with her husband on their farm and in keeping with her core values, is introducing more holistic practices to their operations. Brigitte Davis Grand West Homeopathy 125 Grand Ave W  Chatham ON  N7L 1B6 519 354-7300 [email protected] www.facebook.com/GrandWestHomeopathy/ Website still under construction  gwhomeopathy.com