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Kristen Burris

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Finalist

General information

Hobbies & Interests

  • Tennis
  • Painting and Studio Art
  • Photography and Photo Editing
  • Yoga
  • Meditation and Mindfulness
  • Nutrition and Health
  • Volunteering
  • Community Service And Volunteering
  • YouTube
  • Social Media
  • Advocacy And Activism

Reading

  • Academic
  • Adult Fiction
  • Adventure
  • Gardening
  • Leadership
  • Art
  • Parenting
  • Classics
  • Psychology
  • Self-Help
  • Spirituality
  • Suspense

I read books daily.

Bio

I am a nationally-recognized acupuncturist and herbalist for women’s health and infertility located in the Boise, Idaho area. I was voted NAWBO Business Person of the Year and Top Doc of Eagle. In my career I have been sought after and interviewed by The Dr. Oz Show Producers and Good Morning America Producers. I am an expert in the field of women’s health and have been featured in: USA Today, MSNBC, Fox News, Woman’s Day , AOL Health, San Diego Union Tribune, NPR radio, , Parents, Parenting, Shape, Better Homes and Garden & Natural Health Magazines, The Idaho Statesman, Eagle Magazine, Achieving Families, Resolve, & The Independent Newspaper. I was also the cover girl for HERLIFE magazine for her work in miracles including: infertility, menstrual pain and problems, and preventing hysterectomies in women of all ages. I was featured on MIX 106 Radio as the first “Ask A Smart Person” for her work with difficult to treat women’s health problems, medical mysteries and infertility. After 21 years in my field it is time to pursue my doctorate. This degree was not available to me when I was in graduated school. They have created a program to help us reach more people, add credibility to natural medicine and continue to share my passion through giving lectures and writing books. I'd like to share the miraculous stories of some of my patients who had the most challenging infertility cases in the U.S. We are nearly to 700 hundred births from my private practice alone. My patients sweetly refer to me as the "Baby Maker." I'd like to change that to Dr. B, the Baby Maker.

Education

Pacific College of Oriental Medicine-San Diego

Master's degree program

1997 – 2001

Majors:
  • Alternative and Complementary Medicine and Medical Systems, General

Pacific College of Oriental Medicine-San Diego

Doctoral degree program (PhD, MD, JD, etc.)

1997 – 2025

Majors:
  • Alternative and Complementary Medicine and Medical Systems, General

University of Iowa

Bachelor's degree program

1990 – 1994

Majors:
  • English Language and Literature, General

Langley High

High School

1986 – 1990

Miscellaneous

Desired degree level:
Doctoral degree program (PhD, MD, JD, etc.)
Graduate schools of interest:
Pacific College of Health Science-Chicago
Medical school interest:
Yes

Career

  • Founder, President, Medical Director

    Alternative Medicine · American Acupuncture Center

    Jan 2001 – Jan 2008

  • Founder, President, Medical Director

    Alternative Medicine · Eagle Acupuncture

    Jan 2008 – Present

Miscellaneous

Dream career field:
Alternative Medicine
Has nursing license:
No

Future Interests

  • Advocacy
  • Volunteering
  • Philanthropy
  • Entrepreneurship
Career Search Scholarship
Potential careers I am planning to explore while in college are public speaking and publishing books to bridge the gap in our broken healthcare system. We need a strong voice that can seamlessly bring together integrative medicine in our country. Too many young children are taking medications and too few adults know their actual medical treatment options. We are creating a drug-dependent generation who lean too heavily on medications and surgery to try and fix healthcare problems that can be solved through healthy communication, altering their diet or simply getting acupuncture. Our drug-dependent mentality is creating a sick-care model, not a healthcare system. The devastating side effects from medications and the number of unnecessary surgeries are costing our country billions of dollars. The number of patients who need more surgeries due to failed surgeries is at an all-time high. Patients believe they need these surgeries or these drugs when in fact some studies have shown up to 90% of the recommended surgeries are in fact elective, and not critically necessary. I want to empower people to understand their healthcare options before they go under the knife. I had seven doctors recommend a life-altering hysterectomy before ever having the chance to have a child. The first time I was advised to cut out my uterus I was merely 17 years old. This is a travesty. Luckily, I did not heed their medical advice. Instead, I suffered for years thinking I had tried everything to alleviate my pain. Not one doctor mentioned alternative medicine. Not one suggested trying acupuncture even though it had been used to treat pain for 4,000 years, on billions of people. Study after study has proven its efficacy yet, no one is being referred out for the therapy. Millions of people have received irreversible knee, hip, and back surgeries. Hundreds of thousands of hysterectomies are performed in the U.S. alone; up to 500,000 annually. That is 450,000 surgeries that are considered elective, not life-saving, and not at all necessary. Simple herbal medicine and acupuncture can reduce uterine bleeding by half, without robbing women of their reproductive rights. There are no known severe risks to this ancient medicine yet women are being forced to believe they have no other option. Women are told they have no choice. They believe these words, why wouldn't they? Once committed they are looking at a lifetime of hormones, or worse yet, mesh embedded into their bladders, bowel and bodies. The number of auto-immune conditions that are caused by foreign objects left in women's bodies is criminal. We have a better way. First do no harm is what we rely upon in this nation yet we are being given the wrong information. I feel there is a symbiotic way we can use the best of both worlds. First, use the least invasive medicine. First, use natural medicine that does not do irrevocable harm. First, protect the patient's rights and then and only then take away her ability to have a baby for the rest of her life. Then and only then, give her a surgery that may cause her to need a second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth surgery down the road. Give people a chance to know we can approach the body with respect and gentleness and still get excellent medical care.
Kristen Burris Student Profile | Bold.org