HAWAII DOC TALKS 2023 SCHEDULE
DAY 1
Thursday, January 12, 2023
9:30am – 11:30am
Pre-conference Workshop
Melissa Barber, ND, MSc, E-RYT
Publishing from the Front Lines of Naturopathic Care Delivery
Attendees will be guided through the writing and publication process of case reports, case series, and/or retrospective chart reviews. The presenter will offer special considerations about data collection, research reporting guidelines, journal selection, and provide examples of different publications. This workshop will increase your confidence to publish your own work. Come with patient cases you would like to publish!
1:00 – 1:30pm
Welcome – Michael Traub, ND and Corinne Maul De Soto, ND
Opening Blessing
1:30 – 2:00pm
Alena Guggenheim, ND
Taking the judgement and shame out of therapeutic diet recommendations
As naturopathic physicians and integrative providers, we understand the deep role that nutrition and diet play in human health. Unfortunately working with patient’s food choices is a ripe opportunity for unconcious bias to sneak in, and actually start to cause harm. This lecture will cover many interconnected topics including anti-fat bias, the harms of diet culture, and recognitizing how our language and recommendations can tilt the scales towards harm.
2:00 – 2:30pm
Ryan Bradley, ND, MPH
LPS, LDL, and PCSK-9…Oh my!!
Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is an enzyme that regulates the expression of the LDL receptor, thereby affecting circulating LDL concentration. PCSK-9 inhibition is the target of a relatively new class of injectable, antibody-based LDL-lowering drugs, that lower LDL well below what is possible from statin therapy alone. These drugs prevent cardiovascular events and reduce cardiovascular death. However, the endogenous regulation of PCSK-9 isn’t often discussed and involves and interaction between the gut microbiota, liver function, and gut permeability. This presentation will review the pharmacology of PCSK-9 inhibitors including recent clinical trials, highlight a conceptual model of PCSK-9 inhibition via altering the microbiota and gut permeability, and highlight emerging evidence on natural PCSK-9 inhibitors.
2:30 – 3:00pm
Landon Opunui, ND
The Smokescreen of Menthol & Melanin: An Intersection of Social Justice and Public Health
Commercial tobacco use remains the leading cause of avoidable premature disease, disability and death. Menthol in tobacco products is documented to increase initiation, increase addiction and decrease quitting collectively leading to increased health disparities. Menthol tobacco products are disproportionately marketed by the tobacco industry to marginalized BIPOC communities and thus have higher rates of use relative to other populations. Stress promotes melanogenesis and nicotine has a stronger affinity for tissues containing melanin creating the perfect storm for greater dependence that is being exploited by the systematic targeting of big tobacco. The commercial tobacco endgame is now a public health and social justice crisis.
.5 Credits General
3:00 – 3:30pm
Panel Q&A with Drs. Guggenheim, Bradley, Opunui
3:30 – 4:00pm
Exhibit Break
4:00 – 4:30pm
John Neustadt, ND
Reverse Osteoporosis and Reduce Fracture Risk with a Whole-Person Approach
Almost 53 million Americans have osteoporosis are at risk due to low bone mineral density (BMD). Too often people focus solely on their bone density. They falsely believe that treating this test number adequately protects them. Learn about the benefits and risk of this flawed approach, how you can use bone density tests and the myths surrounding them to open conversation with your patients, empower them to take more responsibility for their health and reduce fracture risk. During his talk, you’ll also learn how a toothbrush, a stork and four minutes a day may just save your patient’s life.
4:30 – 5:00pm
Jen Riegle, ND
Community Engagement as a Route to Professional Fulfillment
Physician burnout is one of the biggest problems our medical providers are facing today. We all know to take more rest, work less hours, and that our medical system needs to be improved in many ways. At HDT this year, I will share with you how I have seen community engagement reduce professional burnout for Naturopathic Doctors including myself and other integrative health professionals by offering connection, inspiration, and a sense of giving back to the community.
5:00 – 5:30pm
Mark Davis, ND
Helminthic Therapy Update – what new research tells us about these Old Friends
Learn the details of how to use helminthic therapy for patients with hyperinflammatory conditions, including the logistics of ordering, dose & organism selection, indications and adverse events
5:30 – 6:00pm
Q&A with Drs Neustadt, Riegle & Davis
Evening
Ohana Picnic on the Beach
Join us for beverages and snacks and a lovely sunset beach picnic with our HDT family!
DAY 2
Friday, January 13, 2023
7:00 – 7:45am
Quantum Flow
Quantum Flow
WHAT IS QUANTUM FLOW?
Quantum Flow is an embodiment method that works on every layer of your being. It is a technology used to manifest from your Soul; your life purpose, your dreams and your best life ever. Through movement, breath flow, vibrational sound and meditation you tap into the Quantum Field of infinite possibilities using the body as a vehicle of transformation, manifestation and abundance.
Quantum Flow helps you remember who you are, helps you tap into the bliss of being alive and awake and not just talk about it but live it, embody it and be it! This method is a lifestyle where you learn how to live in a state of flow, moment by moment. You turn challenges into opportunities, you open to your full potential, for you, for your clients, for your communities and for the whole world.
Quantum Flow is a formula that uses 7 distinct Stages of Manifestation: Grounding, Alchemy, Incorement, Radiancy, Flow, Integration and Divine Truth. Each stage is connected to the other in a dance of perfect orchestration for you to embody and awaken to your highest potential.
8:00am
Breakfast & Exhibit Showcase
8:30 – 9:00am
Landon Opunui, ND
Restoring Health Through Soil: An Indigenous Perspective
To take care of the macro, we must take care of the micro. Native Hawaiians and indigeous peoples developed a symbiotic relationship and reverence with soil. The health of the land we live on and grow our food in has a strong influence on human health. Despite significant impact of modern industrial agriculture practices on environmental and human health, we can learn to restore health through soil by the guiding principles of our ancestors.
9:00 – 9:30am
Ryan Bradley, ND, MPH
Getting to the Heart of Cannabis
Cannabis sativa is a potent herbal medicine, with numerous potentially beneficial applications in clinical care. Yet, with increasing medical and recreational access to Cannabis, some concerns are increasing related to its cardiovascular health effects. Increasing epidemiologic evidence suggests Cannabis use is associated with arrhythmia, myocardial infarction, and premature cardiovascular mortality. This presentation will summarize the state of the science related to the cardiovascular health effects of Cannabis, including potential mechanisms directly related to cannabinoid receptor function, and not type of administration.
9:30 – 10:00am
John Neustadt, ND
Physical Exam, Labs and Medical Devices for Evaluating and Managing Osteoporosis
Primary care providers are the healthcare practitioners who most commonly screen eligible patients for osteoporosis. Understanding the clinical presentation, laboratory and medical devices that you can use to screen and manage patients is an important clinical skill. Unfortunately, when it comes to osteoporosis, most primary care docs don’t feel well prepared to diagnose or manage these patients. This is where naturopathic doctors can shine.
10:00 – 10:30
Q&A Panel with Drs Opunui, Bradley & Neustadt
10:30 – 11:00am
Exhibit Break
Sponsored by My Pain Eraser
11:00 – 11:30
Britta Zimmer, ND; Camille Bourcier, LCSW
Anxious, Obsessed and Medicated: What to Do.
Anxious, Obsessed and Medicated: What to Do. The events of the last 3 years have exacerbated the existing mental health crisis in the United States. Psychiatric floors are full, the overflow patients are being held for days in Emergency Departments. Whether it is preventing a mental health crisis or ebbing the flow of an existing one, we, as practitioners, are tasked with the need to address the ever present and worsening mental health crisis of our patients. In this presentation, Britta Zimmer, ND and Camille Bourcier, LCSW will describe, via case vignettes, how they approach anxiety and OCD in their patient population. Their therapeutic, psychodynamic, nutritional, and pharmaceutical approach will be discussed in the context of these two common diagnoses. .
11:30 – 12:00
Jennifer Means, ND LAc
Hazards and Healing in the Age of Plastic
12:00 – 12:30pm
Alena Guggenheim, ND
When the hardwear breaks: recognizing dysautonomia in complex patient populations
The autonomic nervous system is frequently overlooked as a potential source of multi system, complex illness. This lecture will introduce the most common disorders of the autonomic nervous system including postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (OH), and touch on more rare disorders such as multisystem atrophy and autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy. Focus will be on clinical recognition and diagnostic evaluation.
12:30 – 1:00pm
Q&A Panel with Drs Guggenheim, Means and Davis
2:30 – 4:30pm
Optional Workshop: Dr. Misha Kleronomos, PsyD
Workshop: Mental Health Diagnosis and Prescribing for Physicians
Doctors in primary care, and those who treat chronic conditions are often the first line of diagnosis and prescribing for patients in need of mental health care. As a psychologist, I have found that there are missing components and common errors made by doctors due to lack of training in DSM criteria, complex mental health challenges, and overlapping, correlated, and similar diagnoses which can result in unnecessary, inappropriate or inaccurate medications or polypharmacy. The intention of this talk is to teach about the major mental health diagnoses being made by physicians, the common mistakes in prescribing psychotropics, and to provide some tools and information that will improve the titration of mental health care by medical providers.
Evening
HSNP Dinner (Pre-registration required)
DAY 3
Saturday, January 14, 2023
7:00 – 7:45am
Yoga on the Beach
8:00am
Breakfast
Sponsored by Biocidin Botanicals
8:15 – 8:45am
Jocelyn Strand, ND
LPS on the Loose - the systemic consequences of microbe induced inflammation
Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is found on the outer shell of gram-negative bacteria and is a potent endotoxin contributing to various diseases. LPS initiates a potent cytokine response, resulting in inflammation through binding of toll-like receptors (TLRs) and direct binding. Even small amounts of LPS due to bacterial infection are sufficient to elicit an inflammatory response. Inflammation resulting from LPS in the lumen of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract creates damage to the mucosa and the tight junctions of the gut, leading to increased intestinal permeability, allowing translocation of bacterial metabolites into the adjacent lymphatics and blood flow where it travels via the portal vein and must be cleared by the cells in the liver. Whatever the liver fails to clear enters systemic circulation. When gram-negative bacteria such as Porphyromonas gingivalis produce toxic metabolites in the mouth, it results in the direct translocation to adjacent blood flow and lymphatics. Oral dysbiosis and its resultant upregulation of inflammatory pathways is linked to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s dementia, respiratory diseases, and more.
8:45 – 9:15
Britta Zimmer, ND; Camille Bourcier, LCSW
Neurodiverse and Distracted: Undiagnosed ASD, NVLD, and ADHD Collide
This presentation will discuss 3 common neurodiverse diagnoses; ASD, NVLD, and ADHD. One out of 44 children is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the United States alone. Nonverbal Learning Disorders are becoming as prevalent as Dyslexia. The diagnosis and treatment of ADHD has been a controversial topic for decades now, the adult rate has doubled in the past decade. Due to these statistics and high prevalence of these disorders, they are becoming regarded as normal brain variations and a part of the neurodiversity of brains. Recognizing the common presentation, complex management, and integrative treatment of people with neurodiversity has become a necessary cornerstone to mental health practices. In this presentation, Britta Zimmer, ND and Camille Bourcier, LCSW will describe, via case vignettes, how they approach the commonalities as well as the differentiation of these neurodiverse presentations in their patient population. Their therapeutic, psychodynamic, nutritional, and pharmaceutical approach will be discussed in the context of these neurodiverse diagnoses.
9:15 – 9:45
Mark Davis, ND
Flowing with IBD – how to decide on clinical assessment & therapeutic tools
9:45 – 10:15
Dr. Misha Kleronomos, PsyD
Suicidal Ideation: Identification and Assessment for Physicians
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in adults in the united states. It is often physicians who hear of suicidal ideation in their patients, particularly now with the new requirements of assessment for depression at each visit. The purpose of this Doc Talk is to teach the Assessment of the seriousness of these thoughts or statements, the series of questions to ask as follow up, and a path of decision making around the risk of suicidality as well as delineating the spectrum of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
10:15 – 10:45
Q&A Panel with Drs Zimmer, Bourcier, Davis & Kleronomos
10:45 – 11:15
Exhibit Break
11:15 – 11:30
NFH Corporate Message
11:30 – 12:00
Molly Niedermeyer, ND
Practical Skills for Naturopathic Practice
Learn from an experienced physicians how to apply Naturopathic principles to daily primary care practice. This talk will be full of tips and guidelines.
10:45 – 11:15
Alena Guggenheim, ND
Demilitarizing medical language: an exploration of violent language in medicine
Western institutions are built upon the backbone of colonialism, which has either subtly or overtly informed the language and ideological approach of those systems. The medical system is no exception. Western medicine, from bench to bedside, often relies on violent or military based terms to talk about health and disease. We will explore how and why the immune system first came to be understood using direct military analogies, and start to understand the limitations of this view. We will also discuss common military terms that are used ubiquitously in the general practice of medicine, and possible impacts on our health as providers and that of our patients.
12:30 – 1:00
Q&A Panel with Drs Riegle & Niedermeyer
2:30 – 4:30
Jennifer Means, ND, LAc
Workshop: Impacts of Plastic On Our Health
DAY 4
Sunday, January 15, 2023
8:00am
Breakfast
Sponsored by: Microbiome
8:15 – 8:45am
Sarah Ellis
The Gut-Brain Axis: Exploring and Restoring
We are currently living in the “era of the microbiome”, and there is daily development in understanding of the complex and bi-directional relationship between our guts and our brains-evolving into the popular concept of the Gut-Brain Axis (GBA). The microbiome ecosystem can influence central nervous system physiology through production of anti-inflammatory compounds, maintenance of a strong intestinal barrier, production of neurotransmitters, regulation of stress response, and vagal nerve stimulation. While intricate, this system is delicate. Low gut diversity means less production of signaling molecules and neurotransmitters. The microbial ecosystem can help modulate stress response, but chronic stress can dampen microbial diversity. Thus, there is elaborate two-way cross talk between the gut and the brain and dysfunction in this messaging has strong potential for vicious cycles of ill health- including mental health-in today’s modern world. Fortunately, there are emerging therapeutic tools to “manipulate the microbiome” and improve the connectivity between these two fundamental organs. Learn about these mechanisms and promising new interventions in this talk!
8:15 – 8:45
Molly Niedermeyer, ND
My Cups are Half Full: A Naturopathic Physicians Journey thru Breast Cancer
This pragmatic presentation is to guide Primary Care physicians thru the practical and useful approaches to assist their female clients with breast cancer. The insights are from the prospective of an experienced Naturopathic physicians personal journey with navigating this disease and integrating all our best medicines while applying allopathic medicines with a Naturopathic principles.
8:45 – 9:15
Dr. Misha Kleronomos, PsyD
Mindfulness for Mental Health
Mindfulness is an important skill for every person to learn. Utilizing concrete practice exercises, specific techniques, and examples, as well as the current state of the science, this Doc Talk will teach professionals how to utilize this technique for their own stress management, anxiety, depression, or just increased joy in addition to being able to help patients understand the concept for their own clinical benefit.
9:45 – 10:15
Q&A Panel with Drs Kleronomos, Niedermeyer & Davis
10:15 – 10:45
Exhibit Break
12:00 – 12:30
Mark Davis, ND
Mood Indigo: Qing dai can be a critically important immunoregulatory herb for severely inflamed patients, when used properly to avoid adverse effects
Learn about the history, sourcing, dosing, indications, contraindications, and evidence base regarding the safety and efficacy of qing dai
11:15 – 11:45
Ryan Bradley, ND, MPH
Say No to Drugs that Don’t Work or Cause Harm: CONTINUED - Statins and SSRIs
11:45 – 12:15
Suzanne Rosenberg, RPh
Compounded Medications You Should Know About
12:15 – 12:45
Q&A Panel with Drs Guggenheim, Bradley & Rosenberg
2:30 – 4:30pm
Diana Joy Ostroff, ND, LAc
Workshop: Exploring Under-Prescribed Protocols to Dramatically Enhance Patient Outcomes
Are your patients frustrated that they aren’t healing as quickly as they think they should? Would you like to help them integrate a practice that will speed their recovery and remind them that they are in the driver’s seat? And as a bonus — if you practice this as well, you’ll serve as a role model for them. This fun-filled play-shop is a relaxing and enjoyable way for new and advanced students, doctors and teachers to experience ancient, powerful and effective, techniques to enhance mental, emotional and physical well-being in moments. Dr. Joy will guide you in simple breathing and meditation processes, which you can share with patients during acupuncture treatments and for at-home use. We will also explore the foundational postures for creating balance, coordination and strength in a safe environment. You’ll understand the core poses, proper body alignment and posture variations, to suit all levels.
In addition to those talks above, the following presentations will be available via on-demand recordings for all registrants:
Laura Neville, ND
- Type 1 Diabetes Care Confidence for Every Practitioner
Radley M Ramdhan, ND, LAc
- Trauma to PTSD: Root Causes to Healing Branches
Special Thanks to our Premier Sponsor:
Don't Be Shy. Get In Touch.
If you are interested in joining us in Hawaii in any way, reach out to us!