EP129: Timeless Practice and Personal Growth Concepts for Functional Medicine Practitioners

In this episode, Sachin interviews Dr. Peter Osborne, his first mentor. Sachin met Dr. Osborne in California at a conference Dr. Osborne was hosting, called Market Functional Medicine. Sachin went to the event after downloading a lead magnet e-booklet from Dr. Osborne on how to build your practice. Sachin learned about the conference from an email. That conference changed Sachin’s life. It was wonderful for Sachin to hear someone who was a few years ahead of where he wanted to be, so open and willing to share his knowledge, holding nothing back. Sachin got some wonderful advice that he immediately applied to make an instant difference in his practice.

 

Key Takeaways:

[2:51] Sachin welcomes Dr. Peter Osborne and thanks him for joining the podcast today. Sachin thanks him for being a great role model as a father, husband, practitioner, clinician, and entrepreneur. Sachin elaborates on the connections between being a clinical practitioner and running a business.

 

[4:23] How has Dr. Osborne found passion to keep tapping into and how has he continued doing it all these years? Dr. Osborne says the passion found him. It came from the lack of knowledge, empathy, and discernment that he saw in medicine in his exposure to medical environments while in chiropractic school.

 

[6:36] Functional medicine practitioners have to be great clinicians as well as great at business. Hospitals and medical doctors aren’t going to refer patients, so you have to understand business. Less than one percent of people will see a functional medicine practitioner. Let’s change that so we can help more people. Dr. Osborne is passionate about helping people.

 

[7:37] In Dr. Osborne’s view, if you’re not passionate about helping people you should leave the practice. The way to be successful is to love people and have great empathy, great concern; that you care, and that you’re going to do what it takes. You’re going to spend more than a 20-minute appointment with a person if they start crying and you need that time to help them.

 

[8:14] One of Dr. Osborne’s mentors taught him to help the people and the money will follow. If you go for the money, you’ll never be happy.

 

[10:01] It can be challenging to keep up with the literature. There is so much you can learn on the internet from others who have different expertise than you. Your patients have the same access to those interviews as you do. Dedicate time for study. Learn how to learn. Humbly understand that we don’t know what we don’t know. Continue to learn more. You’ll get better.

[11:52] Sachin talks about things he’s learned over the years, like breathwork. Dr. Osborne advises you to get really good at something first before you try to get really great at everything. Dr. Osborne is the master of gluten. That’s what people know about him. The biggest change in his clinical life was understanding that topic better than anyone else.

 

[13:21] After mastering gluten, Dr. Osborne broadened his horizons. He organizes his week into blocks. Monday through Wednesday is his clinical schedule. On those days, he is not studying extra. Thursdays and Fridays are filled with blocks dedicated to research, writing, interviews, running his business, thinking about his business, and his family, meditation, and exercise.

 

[14:02] It boils down to just being organized and having intent. Thinking about what it is that you want. So many people want to be successful but they don’t think about what needs to happen for that success to happen. Organization has to be a big part of your thought process. If it’s not, there are too many distractions and shiny