Why Naturopathic Medicine?

A question I often get asked is…”why naturopathic medicine?”. To answer that question, we’ll take a trip back to middle school. For the longest time, I thought I was going to be a tornado chaser (thanks Twister and Helen Hunt). Unfortunately, that career doesn’t lend itself well to family life, or really any stability, so I decided I should change my career path. After a host of joint sprains and strains from year around volleyball bringing me into regular doctor appointments, my interest turned to medicine. By the time I hit high school I was set on being an orthopedic surgeon or maybe a medical oncologist. My senior year of high school was spent job shadowing with an oncologist and a general surgeon every afternoon. Turns out…I loved physical medicine but HATED surgery and while I found oncology interesting, I really wanted to focus more on prevention.

I headed off to college at Gustavus and fell in love with biochemistry and genetics (nerd alert!). I toyed around with the notion of going into genetic counseling but the idea of studying pedigrees all day, every day didn’t thrill me. I thought about the chiropractic route but wanted more primary care. Midwifery was fascinating but I still wanted to see male and pediatric patients. Then one day, while researching career paths and medical specialties, I stumbled across naturopathic medicine and I was hooked. The training included everything I was looking for; primary care, physical medicine, nutrition, ability to add a midwifery focus or even do additional training in naturopathic oncology. In essence, I wanted to do all the things, and naturopathic medicine allowed me to do just that. Furthermore, I was able to attend a school that allowed me to also receive my Master of Science degree in Midwifery, fulfilling my interest in women’s health and maternity care above and beyond what was offered in the naturopathic obstetrics course work.

There are a few common myths I hear when it comes to naturopathic medical education and training. Let me dispel those here.

Myth #1: “People go to naturopathic medical school because they don’t have the grades to get into “regular” medical school.”

Reality: I, and many of my classmates would have had no concerns about getting into “regular” medical school, we just decided that it wasn’t the path we wanted to go. I had classmates with all different educational backgrounds; a researcher at the National Institutes of Health, a medical doctor, a PhD in neuropharmacology, a personal trainer, a musician. I absolutely loved the diverse backgrounds and perspectives in my cohort.

Myth #2: “Naturopathic doctors don’t have adequate medical training.”

Reality: The curriculum at any of the accredited naturopathic medical schools is rigorous and very similar to our allopathic counterparts. So much so that at my school (Bastyr University), medical students from the University of Washington would also attend our clinical shifts. Obviously, there are some differences in treatment and philosophy but both allopathic and naturopathic doctors learn things like pharmacology and minor surgery. Our training includes approximately 4,100 hours, a minimum of 1,200 clinical and direct patient care hours and we are required to sit for a series of Basic Science and Clinical Board Exams.

Check out a more in depth comparison of the ND vs. MD curriculum comparison here: https://aanmc.org/resources/comparing-nd-md-curricula/

Myth #3: “Naturopathic doctors and physicians are the same as naturopaths.”

Reality: A naturopathic doctor or physician is an individual that has graduated from an accredited four-year, professional-level medical education program. These schools are accredited by the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges (AANMC). Schools that are part of this have college accreditation with the U.S. Department of Education (ED), programmatic accreditation by the Council of Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME) and doctor licensure through the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE). In Minnesota and across the country, however, many individuals can call themselves “naturopaths” without going through this extensive training. You could take a 6-week course online and be granted a “degree”. This has been problematic for our profession as it can lead to confusion about the depth of our education.

Myth #4: “A naturopathic doctor is a homeopath and vice versa.”

Reality: While many naturopathic doctors use homeopathy as a treatment modality, being a naturopathic doctor does not make you a homeopath or vice versa. Homeopaths are not trained as primary care providers unless they have undergone additional educational programs to become such.

Myth #5: “Naturopathic doctors don’t even go through a residency”

Reality: MD and DO residencies receive federal funding, ND residencies do not, which as you can imagine greatly limits the availability of residency opportunities for new naturopathic graduates. The result of this is vastly more new graduates than residency opportunities, so competition is high for these few positions. There are still even fewer second year residency opportunities. I was fortunate enough to complete a two-year residency.

Through many years of medical training and thousands of hours of patient care, I am grateful that I stumbled upon naturopathic medicine in my search for the perfect career to fit the breadth of knowledge I was craving. I love that it is a career I am able to constantly learn through continuing education and training opportunities such as becoming certified in functional medicine through the Institute for Functional Medicine. I am also grateful that through nothing short of fate, my naturopathic education has allowed me the opportunity to teach anatomy and physiology locally to future healthcare providers. Teaching is truly my passion, whether it be one on one with a patient or with two dozen students in the classroom.

Curious if naturopathic medicine is right for you? Schedule a free 15-minute consult with me by clicking here to find out!

Thanks for reading!