Dr. Pookrum is a graduate of Roosevelt University in Chicago (1968), where she completed graduate work in clinical microbiology and Creighton University Medical School in Omaha, Nebraska (1975). She completed her surgical internship in 1976 and then completed her Obstetrics-Gynecology residency at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, where she remained on staff from 1979-1981. She received her Ph.D. in nutrition in 1992 from the American College of Holistic Nutrition in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Pookrum brings a sense of vitality and boundless energy to her work. She is the Medical Director and founder of the Civilized Medicine Institute (CMI). CMI specializes in medical treatment through nutritional medicine, which creates a healing environment where clinical medicine and holistic practices are combined in a highly individualized approach. Her treatments have helped patients to heal visible signs of cancer, erase aging lines and learn to live happy, balanced and pain free lives. Dr. Pookrum's holistic philosophy incorporates her surgical and gynecological training and a ten-year odyssey into wellness therapies and techniques. "The capacity for health lies within the human body. The body is a barometer for assessing one's ability to live in harmony with his or her environment." According to Dr. Pookrum, "Nothing in our world has the power to make us weak, sad or diseased if we adopt the proper attitude, diet and commitment to wellness. Each of us can live in infinite perfection." Dr. Pookrum is an acknowledged leader in the natural healing movement. She was selected by Nelson and Winnie Mandela to be their consulting physician during their historic visit to the United States in 1990. She has hosted wellness talk shows on WCHB and WQBH radio stations in Detroit. She has conducted lectures for major corporations. Secondary education institutes, colleges, medical organizations and churches. She has received high praise for her dedication to educating others by sharing her vast knowledge of holistic healing techniques. She has been sited as one of the Outstanding Young Women of America: named by the Detroit News as one of Detroit's leading physicians; and has been honored by the Coalition of 100 Black Women.