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http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Lifestyle/Health/03AccentHEAL01110204.htm
Nutritionist aims for medical degree
By MICHAEL HAUN
Staff Writer
Last update: November 02, 2004
Michael Epitropoulos is a hard man to catch up with these days.
But when you're chasing a dream, well, that's to be expected.
When he's not at his Flagler Beach office, the clinical nutritionist
is making rounds at one of several doctors' offices, trying to
complete his quest to become a physician himself.
"This has been something that has always been a dream of mine," he
said. "I feel blessed to be given a chance to fulfill this."
Epitropoulos, 48, has gone back to school, again. After working as a
chiropractor, then getting a Ph.D. in clinical nutrition, he's
shooting for one more degree, this time in medicine.
"My philosophy is that it's never too late," he said with a laugh.
Epitropoulos is far from alone. More and more adults are returning to
the classroom, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
The latest statistics show that folks 35 and older now make up about
20 percent of all college students nationwide. That's roughly 2.9
million adults in college, double the number from the 1970s.
It's no easy task, no matter what the subject matter might be.
"The time management has been a challenge," Epitropoulos said. "I'm
working in my office here and then doing the rounds. It's been a real
juggling act."
He said that while making rounds at places like Halifax Hospital or
private practices, like at Dr. Raymond D'Adesky's office in Daytona
Beach, a lot of folks don't understand why he wants to go through all
the trouble.
"They don't understand why in the world I'd want to jump into this,"
Epitropoulos said.
It's not so much that it's a career change, Epitropoulos said, but a
career enhancement.
"This is giving me the credibility I need to expand my field in
natural medicine," he said from his office at Atlantic Nutrition
Center. "We live in a very medical society, a pill for this, a pill
for that. But the body does have the capability to heal on its own."
Epitropoulos hopes to bridge the gap between the two fields, adding
that "natural medicine is to be used in addition to standard medicine,
not as a substitution."
He should finish up his degree from University of Health Sciences at
Antigua College of Medicine -- a university on the Caribbean isle that
offers accelerated courses for those with science backgrounds -- by
next August.
He might be a year older by then, but said that it's the challenge
that helps him feel young.
"I'm getting some of the cobwebs cleared out," Epitropoulos said. "One
of the ways to stay young is to do keep doing things that are mentally
stimulating."
[email protected]
Nutritionist aims for medical degree
By MICHAEL HAUN
Staff Writer
Last update: November 02, 2004
Michael Epitropoulos is a hard man to catch up with these days.
But when you're chasing a dream, well, that's to be expected.
When he's not at his Flagler Beach office, the clinical nutritionist
is making rounds at one of several doctors' offices, trying to
complete his quest to become a physician himself.
"This has been something that has always been a dream of mine," he
said. "I feel blessed to be given a chance to fulfill this."
Epitropoulos, 48, has gone back to school, again. After working as a
chiropractor, then getting a Ph.D. in clinical nutrition, he's
shooting for one more degree, this time in medicine.
"My philosophy is that it's never too late," he said with a laugh.
Epitropoulos is far from alone. More and more adults are returning to
the classroom, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
The latest statistics show that folks 35 and older now make up about
20 percent of all college students nationwide. That's roughly 2.9
million adults in college, double the number from the 1970s.
It's no easy task, no matter what the subject matter might be.
"The time management has been a challenge," Epitropoulos said. "I'm
working in my office here and then doing the rounds. It's been a real
juggling act."
He said that while making rounds at places like Halifax Hospital or
private practices, like at Dr. Raymond D'Adesky's office in Daytona
Beach, a lot of folks don't understand why he wants to go through all
the trouble.
"They don't understand why in the world I'd want to jump into this,"
Epitropoulos said.
It's not so much that it's a career change, Epitropoulos said, but a
career enhancement.
"This is giving me the credibility I need to expand my field in
natural medicine," he said from his office at Atlantic Nutrition
Center. "We live in a very medical society, a pill for this, a pill
for that. But the body does have the capability to heal on its own."
Epitropoulos hopes to bridge the gap between the two fields, adding
that "natural medicine is to be used in addition to standard medicine,
not as a substitution."
He should finish up his degree from University of Health Sciences at
Antigua College of Medicine -- a university on the Caribbean isle that
offers accelerated courses for those with science backgrounds -- by
next August.
He might be a year older by then, but said that it's the challenge
that helps him feel young.
"I'm getting some of the cobwebs cleared out," Epitropoulos said. "One
of the ways to stay young is to do keep doing things that are mentally
stimulating."
[email protected]
