As naturopathic medical students we are trained similar to allopathic (MD's and DO's) medical students. We all go through 4 years of medical school, accredited by national  accreditation  agencies,  and take national licensing exams after two and four years to prove our competency and to obtain a license to practice medicine.   Classes in the first two years are similar for all trained physicians, consisting of the basic like anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, microbiology and others.  The last two years of clinical training is where there is the greatest difference in the training for the different types of doctors.  While naturopathic diagnosis is very similar to allopathic doctors (MD's and DO's) (using physical examination, blood tests, stool tests, EKG's, and referring to specialists for special diagnostic tests, to name a few), treatment is where we often greatly differ.   In MD or DO school they are basically taught two things: how to prescribe drugs and how to perform surgery.   In general they know very little of nutrition, exercise, mental and emotional health, and alternative therapies (which, according to the NIH, 1/3 of American's utilize regularly) and they are stuck working in a paradigm (US healthcare) that does not allow much use of these valuable treatments.  As naturopathic doctors we are taught all the same principles as any other family physician: how to prescribe pharmaceuticals, deliver babies, perform minor surgery and refer out for specialty treatment when appropriate, but this is just a small piece of what we do.   We have great success utilizing less invasive and less harmful treatments such as nutrition and lifestyle coaching, natural supplementation, botanical medicine, homeopathic remedies, acupuncture, manual body manipulations, IV therapy and hydrotherapy to help a person regain their health. 

Currently there are 15 states which allow Naturopathic doctors to obtain a license to practice medicine as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.  Scope of practice varies from state to state, as does insurance coverage for naturopathic services. Legislative efforts continue throughout the country in hopes that in the near future all states will license naturopathic doctors so that everyone can have access to this powerful medicine.

Naturopathic medical training is based on 6 principles: 

First, do no harm

Just like all other doctors we take an oath to do no harm to those around us.  This harm can be physical, mental, emotional or spiritual, and we all vow to respect each persons autonomy, spiritual and cultural beliefs as well as their current health concerns.

Identify and treat the cause

We are not trained to suppress symptoms or continue to band-aid a problem without searching for the cause.  We use cutting edge diagnostics and utilize the extended amount of time we spend with our patients to try to get to the root cause of a condition. Our goal is to not only eradicate symptoms, but actually prevent the problem from ocuring in the future.

The healing power of nature

There are so many ways nature provides resources for us to help heal.  Pharmaceutical companies know this and this is why approximately one quarter of their drugs come from natural substances.  We are trained to use natural, safe and effective treatments to help a person heal while reducing the propensity for side effects to occur.

Doctor as teacher 

We are fortunate that we have a lot of time to spend with our patients.  This time not only allows for a relationship to develop, it allows us to empower our patients with knowledge and know-how.  We take time to explain what is happening in a person's body, exactly how we are going to try to help and how they can help themselves in the future.

Prevention is the best treatment

While we can help fix symptoms and diseases after they have manifested, we know that prevention is the goal in healthcare.  We teach our patients how to lead healthier lives so that they can avoid potential problems in the future.

Treat the whole person

You are not your back pain, your diabetes or your cancer, you are an intricate being that is multifaceted and multidimentional.  I rarely will use the same protocall for two people who both may have the same condition. We believe that individualized treatment is profoundly effective and necessary.  We treat you, not your disease to insure that you have the best that you personally need to get better.