Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Rodney Dunetz.
Dr. Dunetz, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I learned at a young age that we have more control over our own destiny – both in terms of our health and what we can accomplish in life – than society at large has trained us to believe.
As a child, I was blessed with a progressive mother who instilled in me a sense of my own power over my destiny: power of mind, power of heart and power of health. It is from her guidance and the learned belief in my ability to control my own health destiny that I decided I wanted to help others on their own path to achieving optimum health.
I am a strong believer that we can only help others to the extent that we help ourselves, and so many years ago I set out to deepen my spiritual, emotional and physical understanding of myself via daily meditation and yoga – a practice that I still maintain today even with my hectic schedule.
I also believe that to be kind to others begins with being kind to all species. With that in mind, I became vegetarian many years ago. I am in constant awe of the amazing bounty of plant-based foods the Universe has gifted humanity with to enjoy – without the need to ever cause harm to another living being.
I also believe in the power of life-long learning. Although I already ran a successful acupuncture practice at the time, as soon as the first Doctoral Degree program in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine was introduced to the East Coast of the United States, I enrolled and was part of the first graduating class. This involved two additional years of training on top of the three years I had already achieved and is the highest degree possible in the field of acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. The added knowledge that I gained has helped me immensely to achieve optimum results for my patients.
I also believe in giving back, both to my profession and to the community. From 2008 – 2016 I served as a director on the board of the Florida State Oriental Medical Association (FSOMA), which helps to represent the acupuncturists in Florida. I stepped down from serving on that board in November 2016 when I was honored by an appointment by Florida governor Rick Scott to the Florida Department of Health – Board of Acupuncture. This is the governmental regulatory agency for acupuncture in the state of Florida, serving to protect the public. I am currently the Vice Chairman of this board.
I am also a Palm Beach County Medical Reserve Corps Volunteer and have previously served on the Everglades University Program Advisory Committee for Alternative Medicine. Also, for seven years I provided pro bono acupuncture treatments for Hospice By the Sea – Boca Raton staff and volunteers. I am extremely proud to be the only acupuncturist ever selected as a Hero in Medicine finalist (2014) by the Palm Beach County Medical Society for my work with Hospice by the Sea.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think that anyone who puts themselves out there every day to achieve their greatest good will always have obstacles tossed in their path. The real test is what we do with them. As Walt Disney once said, “All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”
I completely agree. Obstacles are put in front of us to test how creative we are, how strong we are and how much we really want what we are going after. If you really want something, obstacles serve to light the way by inspiring greater resolve and ingenuity. But if you don’t really want something, obstacles will serve as a convenient excuse to throw your arms up in the air and give up. In that way, obstacles are wonderful teachers about who we really are and the things that are most important to us.
One of the major challenges that I have taken on is to work tirelessly to elevate my profession so that it continues to gain the respect it deserves both from the public and also from the medical community at large. While acupuncture and Oriental Medicine are rooted in practices that are thousands of years old, they continue to be validated by modern scientific methodologies. I am continually working to build bridges with Western allopathic practitioners. Only by partnering together can we best serve the needs of our patients and achieve optimum health outcomes.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Dunetz Wellness Center – what should we know?
The Dunetz Wellness Center is an integrative functional medicine practice based in Boca Raton, Florida and serving patients throughout the entire southeast of the state. As an integrative functional medicine practitioner, I work in close partnership with our patients to uncover how every aspect of their lives – from genetics and environment to nutrition and stress – intertwines at the deepest level to affect the long-term health and wellness of the whole person.
Our integrative approach utilizes the latest scientific research and diagnostic testing to obtain unique insight into the function of the body, from how it responds to stress to its ability to absorb and utilize nutrients. We specialize in a variety of safe and effective non-surgical, non-drug-related diagnostic and treatment protocols, including advanced nutritional testing and other advanced functional medicine tests, acupuncture, injection therapy, IV therapy, K-laser cold laser therapy, nutritional counseling and herbal therapies.
I am most proud of our clinic’s exceptional commitment to patient care at every level of interaction. I think that all too often as doctors become busy they lose sight of the personal aspect of treating patients and the importance of the human connection in the healing process. There is a tendency for doctors to view patients more as symptoms, diseases, and specific body parts than as a whole, multi-dimensional beings.
At the Dunetz Wellness Center, we look beyond symptoms – and even beyond disease – to gain a deeper understanding of the functioning of the entire person. And that is a large part, I believe, of why we achieve such stellar results with our patients.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I think it’s a given that a successful doctor should have superb technical knowledge. Beyond that, I feel that my ability to communicate with patients has been extremely important to my success.
Often, by the time patients come to see me, they are not only suffering physically but often they are also suffering mentally and emotionally because they have not achieved their desired healing results with Western allopathic medicine. And because they have not responded to Western treatment, they sometimes come to believe that there is no hope.
Just the ability to communicate with patients as individuals, to hear what they are saying and to provide them with hope invokes a sense of internal comfort and positivity that can have a huge impact on their health outcomes.
Contact Info:
- Address: 500 NE Spanish River Blvd.
Suite 31 Boca Raton, FL 33431 - Website: www.mindbodybasics.com
- Phone: 561-789-9558
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_rodney/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AcupunctureBocaRaton
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dr_Rodney
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