Learning medicine by living it
Dr Shami graduated from the Imperial College School of Medicine in London in 2000 and worked in the UK and New Zealand before settling in Melbourne.
She has over 25 years experience and has specialised in nutritional and environmental medicine by completing a degree (FACNEM) with the Australian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine (ACNEM). In 2021, she was Vice-President of ACNEM.
My personal journey with integrative medicine began more than 20 years working as a GP, where I felt incredibly disillusioned with the ‘traditional’ medical model. I started my career in the United Kingdom within the National Health Service (NHS) model, and it didn’t take long for me to realise that much of the system was geared toward managing symptoms rather than addressing the deeper causes of people’s suffering.
The quick consultations, drug-focused treatments and masking of symptoms seemed so far removed from what I always believe medicine should be.
The National Health Service (NHS) is the publicly funded healthcare system of the United Kingdom, operating in a similar way to our Medicare system here in Australia. It was established on the principle that healthcare should be available and affordable to everyone, regardless of income.
I became increasingly aware of the limitations of approaches that focus primarily on diagnosis and treatment without always considering the broader reasons that led to a person’s chronic illness or condition. Like many large public healthcare systems, it faces challenges including workforce shortages, long wait times, underfunding pressures, and high demand for services. The system can become overly reactive, usually focused on managing illness and symptoms after they emerge rather than investing enough in prevention, long-term wellbeing.
It was not until I realised that my own chronic stress and burnout were quietly affecting every aspect of my health, from my gut health to my hormonal balance, energy levels, sleep, and emotional wellbeing.
I began searching for what we call “alternative” solutions. For years, I had normalised running on empty, pushing through exhaustion, and living in a constant state of stress without fully understanding the impact it was having on my body.
It wasn’t until a friend introduced me to nutritional medicine in 2013 that I finally felt like I had discovered the missing piece of the puzzle. For the first time, I encountered an approach that looked at the body as an interconnected system, one that considered not just physical symptoms, but also the role of diet, stress, sleep, environment, and emotional health in shaping overall wellbeing.
This experience became deeply personal. I started exploring the connections between stress, lifestyle, nutrition, nervous system regulation, and long-term health, and it completely shifted the way I understood wellbeing. I became very passionate about burnout and stress.
Learning about nutrient deficiencies, gut health and the impact of stress and environmental toxins on our health felt like I was learning about medicine all over again. I was amazed that in all the training and formal education, I had never been taught how effective integrative strategies can help our bodies heal naturally.
I decided to go further and enrolled with the Australasian College of Nutritional and Environment Medicine (ACNEM), which then in 2021, I became the Vice-President of ACNEM.
Through my own personal experience, I discovered my true passion to help others find solutions to their chronic symptoms to the root causes of their conditions and improve the quality of their health and their lives.
This is why I founded MINT in 2023, an integrative natural therapies clinic, where we can educate patients on the impact of stress and chronic disease. My goal is always to help patients achieve lasting health and wellness so they do not need to rely on medications or frequent doctor visits.
Through my own healing journey, I have reached a place where I can now support others in theirs.
At the end of the day, clinicians are human too and we are continually growing and genuinely wanting people to get better.
MINT Clinic is a modern integrative health clinic dedicated to helping people achieve lasting wellbeing through personalised, evidence-based care. We believe that health is about more than simply treating symptoms, it’s about understanding the whole person and identifying the underlying factors that may be affecting their wellbeing.
MINT combines the best of modern medicine with a holistic understanding of health. To learn more, go to mintclinic.com.au
