Nancy ying with Bella, her acupuncture patient. My approach to practicing veterinary medicine is to consider each animal as a whole, or holistically. I create an integrated medical program using both conventional western medicine and complementary alternative medicine. Some of the alternative options include: acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutrition, and homeopathy.
Natural therapies can mitigate the stress, suffering, and adverse side effects normally associated with medications. I proactively identify health issues and their root causes, and address them before they become problems. Keeping pets well is as important as healing them when they are sick.
Becoming a veterinarian seemed both wonderful and scary when I was a high school student, so I never considered it seriously. I thought about my life and realized that I always made the sensible, safe choices, and my life seemed small compared his. I made a decision to pursue a career in veterinary medicine.
My path toward holistic veterinary medicine began with my mom who always told me to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. I sensed something was missing in conventional veterinarian education, but did not know what it was. She uses acupuncture, herbs, and nutrition in conjunction with conventional medicine to get better results. That is when I realized that my mom was right about the importance of diet.
Holistic medicine is about supporting and healing the body to bring it back into balance, as opposed to focusing on fighting disease. This is a never-ending journey of learning. Before starting my house-call practice, I worked at Peekskill Animal Hospital. While I enjoyed helping many pets, it was hard to connect with my patients because they are nervous in the hospital. I decided to take the second biggest adventure in my life, start my own holistic house call practice.
