What is Naturopathic Medicine

 

Naturopathic medicine (sometimes called “naturopathy”) is a distinct primary health care profession emphasizing prevention, treatment, and optimal health through the use of therapeutic methods and substances that encourage individuals’ inherent self-healing process. Naturopathic Doctors concentrate on whole patient wellness through health promotion and disease prevention, attempting to find the underlying cause of the patient’s condition. Naturopathic doctors see the physician as someone who facilitates healing by identifying and removing barriers to health.

By using protocols that minimize the risk of harm, naturopathic physicians help facilitate the body’s inherent ability to restore and maintain optimal health. The foundations of naturopathic medical practice are in six principles:

• First Do No Harm – primum non nocere

• The Healing Power of Nature – vis medicatrix naturae

• Discover and Treat the Cause, Not Just the Effect – tolle causam

• Treat the Whole Person – tolle totum

• The Physician is a Teacher – docere

• Prevention is the best “cure” – praevenire

 

What Training Do Naturopathic Doctors Receive?

 

A licensed naturopathic physician (ND) attends a four-year, graduate-level naturopathic medical school and is educated in all of the same basic sciences as an MD, but also studies holistic and nontoxic approaches to therapy with a strong emphasis on disease prevention and optimizing wellness. In addition to a standard medical curriculum, the naturopathic physician also studies clinical nutrition, homeopathic medicine, botanical medicine, psychology, and counseling. 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.