Exploring the fine art of medicine
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (July 19, 2022) — Please allow me to introduce myself … For those who get the reference, let’s share a wry smile and move on.
I am Nathalie Raven Archangel-Montijo. That, dear readers, is a 30-character name. My thinking has always been: If you’ve got them, why not see how they can be useful. This is precisely my philosophy around medicine.
I hold a rather interesting array of degrees and certifications, including master’s in nursing and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). I have post-master certification as an adult geriatric primary care nurse practitioner (AGPCNP) and a license to practice acupuncture in California (L.Ac). To round all that out, I am certified in infection prevention and control (CIC) and as an advanced certified Hospice and palliative care nurse (ACHPN).
As you can probably surmise, I am good in various sticky situations and an interesting party guest. For my primary occupation, I am involved in the running of a hospital department. On weekends, I work with patients on Hospice care.
Although I do not currently spend a great deal of time practicing acupuncture, the paradigms and principles of TCM inform every aspect of my life. I spent a significant amount of time earlier in my career working in long-term care and learned first-hand the challenges of aging in modern America.
Not to imply that any age group has it particularly easy in these confounding and difficult times. From social media-soaked Gen Z all the way through to the last surviving members of the Greatest Generation, the importance of developing strategies to promote healing, resilience and well-being can hardly be overstated.
Hippocrates, the Big Daddy of modern medicine, put it elegantly: “Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is love of humanity.”
In this column, I hope we can share a bit of the love. I enjoy exploring medicine as an art as well as a science and humbly invite you to take the opportunity to join so we can learn together.
Please reach out with ideas, questions, thoughts – anything you’d like to see examined in greater detail. Please send comments and question to newwavenightingale@gmail.com.
Speaking of the close proximity between medicine and art, on any given evening I might be found playing music with my outlaw country band Nineteen Hand Horse. You will find artistic, creative types lurking beneath many health-care workers. The two worlds mesh beautifully – like the song of a nightingale piercing the dark to herald the dawn.
Nathalie Montijo
Nathalie Raven Archangel-Montijo holds a rather interesting array of degrees and certifications, including master’s in nursing and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). She has post-master certification as an adult geriatric primary care nurse practitioner (AGPCNP) and a license to practice acupuncture in California (L.Ac). To round all that out, she is certified in infection prevention and control (CIC) and as an advanced certified Hospice and palliative care nurse (ACHPN).
She also performs in the outlaw country band, Nineteen Hand Horse.