Naturopathic Education

Over the past few decades naturopathic medicine has grown from almost complete obscurity to become a household term in many parts of North America. Because naturopathic doctors (NDs) are trained in primary health care, a growing number of U.S. states and Canadian provinces have established licensing requirements that are similar to those of other medical professionals such as medical doctors, chiropractors, dentists, and veterinarians. A practitioner of naturopathic medicine is known as a Naturopathic Doctor or ND, a title that is protected in those jurisdictions but elsewhere (including Israel) can be used freely by anyone regardless of educational background.

Naturopathic training

The naturopathic medicine program as currently taught in six institutions in Canada and the United States is arguably the most comprehensive program in alternative medicine offered anywhere in the world. Lasting four years at a full-time course load and modelled on conventional medical schools, the curriculum combines in-depth study of the medical sciences with the theory and practice of several systems of complementary or alternative medicine:

• Medical studies include: Anatomy, physiology, histology, pathology, immunology, pharmacology, physical and clinical diagnosis, medical imaging, and clinical specialities such as pediatrics and oncology.
• Naturopathic clinical studies include: Nutrition, herbal medicine, classical homeopathy, Chinese medicine, physical manipulation, hydrotherapy, and lifestyle counselling.
• The fourth and final year consists of over 1000 hours of work at the school’s busy student clinic, supervised by licensed NDs.

Naturopathic graduates consequently combine knowledge of conventional medicine with training in several major therapeutic systems which do not involve pharmaceutical drugs or surgery. Already during their studies most NDs specialize in one or two of the therapeutic systems above. Often they complement their naturopathic training with outside training in other techniques that support their clinical approach.

Whereas in Israel the term naturopathy refers primarily to nutritional and herbal treatment, naturopathic medicine refers to a broader assemblage of well-established therapeutic systems brought together through adherence to common naturopathic principles. The therapeutic methods in which contemporary naturopathic doctors are trained include:

• Nutrition — the use of dietary modification or supplements to influence disease processes and overall vitality.
• Herbal medicine — harnessing the medicinal properties of plants, based on the collected experience of herbalists around the world over many centuries.
• Classical homeopathy — a powerful and sophisticated system of energy medicine that originiated in Germany over 200 years ago.
• Chinese medicine — a distillation of aspects of ancient Oriental wisdom. Through its concentration also on lifestyle influences on health in addition to treatment techniques (nutrition, herbs, and acupuncture), it offers a superb overall framework for guiding a patient interested in making significant lifestyle changes.
• Hydrotherapy — the application of heat and cold (typically using water) to strengthen and balance the neurological, hormonal, immune, and cardiovascular systems to assist in the treatment of virtually any disease. It is a simple and powerful method which was once common practice but now has almost been forgotten.
• Lifestyle counselling — the education of the patient in proper life habits.
• Physical medicine — techniques that directly address musculoskeletal problems through physical means.

Role in the health-care system

Despite their small number, naturopathic doctors are already at the forefront of the next generation of health-care providers in North America. NDs are highly effective in addressing the whole range of human disease, from colds and influenza to chronic and serious physical and psychological conditions. Their goals include uncovering the deep pattern of the disease rather than only addressing its symptoms, and where possible acting on the level of health-care policy in order to affect the health of the public on a wider scale. While NDs have a wide choice of therapies to choose from, they are also trained in identifying situations where referral to conventional medical care is necessary, and in general strive to cooperate with patients’ other health-care providers whenever appropriate.

Specialization

Given the enormous breadth of the naturopathic profession, no single person can become clinically expert in all naturopathic therapies. Moreover, because any system that follows the principles of naturopathic medicine can be classified as ‘naturopathic’, the range of potential treatment methods is boundless. Therefore, while maintaining a broad perspective on treatment possibilities, NDs tend to specialize in one or two primary modalities in which they continually maintain the highest standard of training through accumulated clinical experience and continuing education.