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How are Naturopathic Doctors Licensed? A naturopathic physician takes rigorous professional board exams so that he or she may be licensed by a state or jurisdiction as a primary care general practice physician.Naturopathic medicine has an independent accrediting agency, the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME), which is the recognized authority for establishing and maintaining the educational standards for profession. A nationally standardized licensing exam (NPLEX) has been established, which is used in nearly all of the states which currently license NDs. Currently, fourteen states license NDs (as does Puerto Rico and four Canadian provinces). In these states, NDs practice as independent primary care general practitioners (CA NDs: www.calnd.org), with the ability to diagnose and treat medical conditions, perform physical exams, and order laboratory testing. In these states, many health care consumers specifically choose NDs as their primary care providers.
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How is Naturopathic Medicine defined? Naturopathic medicine is a distinct system of primary health care - an art, science, philosophy and practice of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of illness. Naturopathic medicine is distinguished by the principles which underlie and determine its practice. These principles are based upon the objective observation of the nature of health and disease, and are continually reexamined in the light of scientific advances. Methods used are consistent with these principles and are chosen upon the basis of patient individuality. Naturopathic physicians are primary health care practitioners, whose diverse techniques include modern and traditional, scientific and empirical methods. Taken from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), the government's book of jobs and job descriptions in Above all, naturopathic physicians respect the natural healing power present in all systems of the human body and they attempt to focus and mobilize that power in their treatment process. NDs have found that this natural healing power, can treat disease as well as rebuild strength, vitality, and optimal health. Naturopathic physicians understand that what you eat is the basis for your health. Adopting a healthy diet is often the first step towards correcting health problems. Many medical conditions can be treated more effectively with foods and nutritional supplements than they can by other means, but with fewer complications and side effects. Naturopathic physicians may use specific individual diets, fasting, and nutritional supplements with their patients
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What are the Principles of Naturopathic Medicine? The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) (www.naturopathic.org)
describes these tenets as:
Utilize the Healing Power of Nature
Vis Medicatrix Naturae Nature acts powerfully through the healing mechanisms of the body and mind to maintain and restore health. Naturopathic physicians work to restore and support these inherent healing systems when they have broken down, by using methods, medicines, and techniques that are in harmony with natural processes.
First Do No Harm:Prinum Non Nocere
Naturopathic physicians prefer noninvasive treatments, which minimize the risks of harmful side effects. They are trained to know which patients they can treat safely, and which ones they need to refer to other health care practitioners.
Find the Cause: Tolle Causa
Every illness has an underlying cause, often an aspect of the lifestyle, diet, or habits of the individual. A naturopathic physician is trained to find and remove the underlying cause of a disease.
Treat the Whole Person
Health or disease results from a complex interaction of physical, emotional, dietary, genetic, environmental, lifestyle, and other factors. Naturopathic physicians treat the whole person, taking these factors into account.
Preventative Medicine
The naturopathic approach to health care can prevent minor illnesses from developing into more serious, chronic, or degenerative diseases. Patients are taught the principles with which to live a healthy life; by following these principles, they can prevent major illnesses.
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What type of education does a Naturopathic Doctor have? MDs and NDs have some areas of common ground, namely their education. MDs are trained in basic sciences and clinical sciences to prepare them for the various illnesses and emergencies they will face during their practice. NDs are also well trained in all these sciences in their education.As with all physicians today, Naturopathic doctors are trained at accredited, four to five-year, post-graduate, medical institutions. But, unlike MDs they are also trained in a variety of traditional natural therapeutics, including botanical medicine, clinical nutrition, homeopathy, hydrotherapy, and naturopathic manipulative therapies. "The first two years are virtually the same as any medical school: anatomy, physiology, microbiology, biochemistry, etc. They are taught at the same level as any other medical school. If you look at the number of hours in our classroom situation, you'll find in most cases the number of hours we spend exceeds most medical schools." Dr. Zeff adds, "We are required fifteen hundred hours of clinical education as a minimum to graduate from the school. This is under the supervision of naturopathic doctors.” Medical educators and legislators have been impressed with the high standard of education required of naturopathic physicians. NDs learn how to integrate this diverse knowledge by combining their conventional medical education with the goal of providing optimal health care in their practices. They weave their conventional medical knowledge with the principles of naturopathic medicine and its treatments to create a natural health care program tailored for each individual patient.
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What do Naturopathic Doctors specialize in? NDs are recognized as the medical experts in natural therapies. They are sought out to provide expertise in the field of Complementary Medicine, including policy development, medical training, medical research and clinical applications of natural therapies. Naturopathic Physicians have participated in collaborative activities with the Federal Government, federal scientific and research panels, major universities, state and local public health departments and private research institutes. NDs are the most comprehensively trained specialists in complementary medicine. Technology has brought with it not only unheralded advances in diagnosis and treatment, but realization of the necessity for collaboration and integration. Be it in the realm of political persuasion or the provision of healthcare, our challenge is to distill the truth that is contained in each perspective, and to do so in partnership for the good of those we serve." William Benda, MD
NDs are trained in the specialty of natural science-based medicine. NDs treat a variety of conditions from the common cold to chronic cardivascular disease.
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Does my insurance cover naturopathic care? Naturopathic medicine is not currently covered by insurance in
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What can I expect when I visit a Naturopathic Doctor for the first time? Naturopathic Doctors are general practitioners trained as specialists in natural medicine. In practice, naturopathic physicians perform physical examinations, laboratory testing, gynecological exams, nutritional and dietary assessments, metabolic analysis, and allergy testing. They may order x-ray, ultrasounds, other imaging procedures, and other diagnostic tests. They are the only primary care physicians clinically trained in the use of a wide variety of natural therapeutics First visits are generally 1 ½ hours in length. Return visits are generally 45-60 minutes in length
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