This blogger is going on vacation!

Well readers, up until this time this blog has been devoted to all things philosophical and instructional in the world of naturopathic medicine.  Time for a little change…

In celebration of my husband’s graduation from physical therapy school (he beat me in the race to becoming a doctor first!) we have decided to take a long, adventurous road trip.  This means several weeks away from Twitter, Facebook and Blogspot, while we enjoy the glorious creation of the Canadian Rockies and the Arctic.

The Arctic, did you say?  Yes, for some reason we got it into our heads to take a roadtrip to the arctic circle (we’d like to drive to the arctic ocean, but the road just doesn’t go quite that far).  We’ll be driving from Missoula, Montana to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories, passing through Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon. Here’s a little map of the route we will (hopefully) take:

There are a few extra challenges in our travels, since I’m gluten, soy, egg, and dairy intolerant.  I’m packing a bunch of home-made backpacking meals just in case.  I’ve had several requests to share these, but since they have gone un-taste-tested so far, I think I’ll wait until after the trip to share my favorites.

Since this blog post really had nothing to do with primary care, prevention, or naturopathic medicine, I’ll leave you with a few good articles about physician burnout and the importance of physician wellness:

First, an article published in the Lancet in 2009, titled Physician Wellness: a missing quality indicator.  I’ll quote their abstract: “When physicians are unwell, the performance of health-care systems can be suboptimum. Physician wellness might not only benefit the individual physician, it could also be vital to the delivery of high-quality health care.”

Next, a document by the Medical Board of California on Physician Burnout: “burnout is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a decreased sense of personal accomplishment. Preventing burnout–a responsibility of all physicians and of the healthcare organizations in which they work–entails the explicit promotion of physician well-being.”

For all my readers: Peace and Health, and enjoy your vacations!  You’ll hear from me in about a month…