Community Highlights: Meet Michelle Gerber of Michelle M Gerber, A Naturopathic Corporation

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Gerber

Hi Michelle, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in semi-suburban central Illinois, with a corn field in my backyard–a can of peas was a serious vegetable. I was sick all the time as a kid–I took countless rounds of pink-bubble gum antibiotics, had allergy shots every week for years, and had 2 surgeries on my upper respiratory system. I always loved science. I literally did an extra curricular in high school that was basically taking tests in biology over and over again–went to State and got 8th in the state in biology test taking, ha! I remember doing a paper in middle school on antibiotic resistance and finding it fascinating. Other than that, I really didn’t have any exposure to natural medicine at all. But I knew I didn’t want to be a conventional doctor–too algorithmic, too reliant on a protocol and a drug. . . too boring, really. When I went to college I did a microbiology/immunology major with a minor in chemistry–I thought maybe I’d go on to microbial research. I also did a lot of chanting, holding signs, and chaining myself to things in college–activism was maybe my true major. One day, at an anti-sweatshop conference in New York, I was sitting on a broken couch in some hostel or something, and a person whose name and face I cannot remember, somehow told me about Naturopathic Medicine. I was beyond intrigued. As soon as I got home I got on the computer and looked it up and it was a real angel-choirs-light-from-heaven moment. I was absolutely hooked. I changed to pre-med the next day and went to visit all the schools, ultimately choosing Bastyr University for my doctorate and midwifery masters, and National in Portland for my residency, eventually. Never looked back. I moved to LA soon after finishing my residency and started building my practice right away. I did post graduate training to earn my board certification in Naturopathic Pediatrics. Almost 20 years later, the rest is history. Now I have a thriving family medicine practice with an emphasis in pediatrics and women’s health (fertility, childbirth, hormones). And I recently moved to my current location in Glassell Park which is my home neighborhood–I love it.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Well, my family thought I was craaaaazy. I moved out to Seattle right after undergrad to pursue what??? My entire family lives in central Illinois so I’m the one who left. But they came around, mostly. Med school was intense–I’ve never been to conventional medical school, but according to my colleagues who have, Naturopathic is maybe even harder–we have to learn all the pharmaceuticals and all the herbal medicines, for example. As doctors who truly look for the cause and have “doctor as teacher” as one of our core principles, we have to really understand the physiology and biochemistry, not just the algorithm of symptom leads to disease name leads to drug (I mean that as no disrespect–conventional doctors do incredible things, especially in the realms of imaging and surgery, but they have their weak areas too). I developed a debilitating case of insomnia, especially when my then fiancée had to return to Illinois for a year. But I would say that through luck, optimism, perseverance and support, I’ve been relatively blessed in my journey. Probably the biggest challenge for most Naturopathic Doctors and Midwives is the lack of respect and collaboration from the conventional medical world. Each state licenses us differently–in some states I can do anything that a conventional MD GP can do. In some, I would only be like a glorified nutritionist, and in some it is illegal to practice my trade. Those barriers are tough, but it is gratifying to see some of the changes in mainstream medicine towards Naturopathic ideals and practices over the years. Even if we don’t get the credit.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I think I mostly answered this in my earlier entries, but as previously stated, I am trained as a primary care physician (although there are some limitations to that practice in California) and I have a busy Naturopathic family practice. I am also a midwife, so I deliver babies (in community settings, not in a hospital), and can continue to see those children throughout their lives. I am privileged to be able to care for entire families, which is very gratifying. Naturopathic Doctors have our philosophy front and center when we care for patients (Doctor as Teacher, Treat the Cause, The Healing Power of Nature, etc), and we do use gentler modalities that try to work with the body (like herbs, exercise, nutrition, microbes, etc), but will use whatever tools are best for the job, including pharmaceuticals when appropriate. A large part of my practice revolves around women’s health as well (hormone balancing at all ages, fertility, childbirth, etc). I always say that I treat everyone! But especially moms and babies. I think really what sets Naturopathic Medicine apart is how we approach a patient–we really listen. We take time. We’re tenacious–so many times I get patients who come in and say that their doctor ran some tests and told them they’re fine, but they don’t feel fine–we keep looking/working until they feel better, period.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
There is no pipeline for Naturopathic Doctors like there is for conventional MDs–you can’t just go work at a hospital for a while or join a large clinic–most of the time NDs just have to put out their shingle and build up their practice. It may have changed since I was there, but the schools didn’t really prepare us enough for the business side of things–and we are, on the whole, not business people, we’re healers/teachers! But figure out how to get that training, and be tenacious about all things. When I first moved to LA I made a spreadsheet of all the Montessori schools and mom’s groups in LA and I cold called them and asked to do a free talk on nutrition, and I kept pounding the pavement. That and a good website will do a lot for you in terms of building up your practice. Network with other doctors and midwives–I met with many, and some of those meetings really sparked things for my career too. But patients need us, they really do. So keep striving!

Pricing:

• Call the office for regular pricing, but I do also run a low-cost Medi-Cal clinic once a month for those on Medi-cal or with poverty level income.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.MichelleGerberND.com