Debt, Dogs, and the Medicine We Love Anyway

Bex sits down with Debbie Yu, Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine, owner of Little Si clinic in North Bend, WA, former Bastyr faculty, and creator of the Doggy Oracle Card deck. They met in Nepal in 2015 doing rural primary care through the Acupuncture Relief Project — and a lot of what shaped both of them about this medicine happened there.In this episode: the real numbers behind Debbie's student debt ($70k for a doctorate she'd skip if she could do it over), why raising cash rates isn't as simple as it sounds when most of your patients are on insurance, the crossroads the profession is actually at, and what it felt like to finally, after twelve years, make a livable income.Also: dogs as medicine. Seriously.Honest, funny, and a little bittersweet. This one's for anyone who loves this medicine and is still figuring out how to make it work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit needlingtogettothepoint.substack.com