What is Naturpathic Medicine and the Naturopathic Physician?

As a Naturopathic Physician I am often surrounded by like-minded folk and I assume everyone knows what Naturopathic Medicine and Naturopaths are. Here is a short passage that will help others to understand who we are.

Naturopathic Medicine
Naturopathic medicine is much more than natural therapies. It is a system of health care - an art, science, philosophy, and practice of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of illness and health promotion. Naturopathic medicine is not defined by the substances used in treatment but rather by the principles which underlie and determine its practice. These principles include:

• First do no harm
• Find the cause
• Employ the healing power of nature (vis medicatrix naturae)
• Treat the whole person
• Pevention
• Doctor as teacher (docere)

All too often I see people falling into a trap by taking the result of a study or what a well-known figure says (insert Kevin Trudeau here) and applying it to their situation. Perhaps they get lucky and they find the appropriate remedy but there is a lot of misinformation in the public realm. More often their treatment does not work they are disappointed in natural medicine. This is not the Naturopathic perspective.

Only when we find the true cause of the illness (in the naturpathic sense) and apply the appropriate treatment will the correct therapy be selected. What is good for one individual may not be appropriate for another because the process that produced the illness may not be the same even though the symptom is similar. Pharmaceuticals and surgery are all appropriate naturopathic treatments if they are necessary and applied according to the Naturopathic Priciples. We endeavor to employ therapies that are rooted in nature and are of the least force that provides cure.

The Naturopathic Physician
There are approximately 4000 practicing naturopaths in the entire United States. We are scientists, artists, philosophers and teachers. We respect the natural wisdom of the body, the uniqueness of each person and the energetic being that makes us human. In general we spend more time with our patients with our first visits being around 1 hour and return visits 30 minutes. We use traditional and current methods of diagnosis including physical exam, laboratory analysis and imaging. We We have extensive referral networks that we use in the best interest of our patients.

In Washington State we are licensed as 'primary care physicians'. Many have a general practice and others work as specialists/consultants in natural medicine. Fourteen states currently license naturopaths and many more have ongoing legislative movements. As physicians in Washington we are included in the 'every category' of provider that mandates insurance policies be offered by insurance companies for medical coverage. Most naturopaths choose to contract with insurance companies and also accept cash patients at a discounted rate. Some have a strictly cash-based practice.

Naturapathic physicians tend to use a combination of herbal medicines, lifestyle modification, homeopathic remedies, therapeutic diet and nutrition, counselling, physical medicine and manipulation and vitamin and mineral supplements.

Our scope of practice is determined by our training and the state legislature. In November 2006 a large expansion of our scope was enacted giving the Naturopath the ability to prescribe most pharmeceutical drugs if the situation warrants. In addition this gives naturopaths the legal ability to manage the prescriptions that many of our patients are on already.

Naturopathic education is also modelled after conventional medical school. Students spend 4 rigorous years minimum recieving their academic training with a load often over 30 credits per quarter. Many choose to take 5 years. The first two years are spent learning the basic sciences, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, histology, etc. This is followed by therapeutical and clinical training. Clinical training takes place at the school supported clinic treating members of the surrounding community and in private clinics with doctors throughout the region and beyond. Approximately 2/3 of each class continue to graduate with 1/3 either dropping out or failing to meet academic requirments.

All students must pass national board examinations over three days.