Dr. Bogus says. . .
Any licensed naturopathic doctor (N.D.) attends a four year, graduate level naturopathic medical school and is educated in all of the same basic sciences as an M.D. There is even a nationalized basic science board examination that the physicians in training must pass in order to graduate with a doctorate degree from the school they choose. These physicians in training also have clinical rotations in medical care facilities where they see patients, diagnose, treat, and manage cases with in the realm of primary care.
In addition to the standard medical curriculum (called allopathy), holistic and nontoxic approaches to treatment with an emphasis on disease prevention and optimizing wellness are the included in the naturopathic standard. Also, the naturopathic physician, is required to complete four years of training in clinical nutrition, homeopathic medicine, botanical medicine, psychology, and counseling. A naturopathic physician takes rigorous professional clinical board exams so that he or she may be licensed by a state or jurisdiction as a primary care general practice physician.
Each accredited school has to complete a process of evaluation that can take several months to years to complete. There are currently only a handful of accredited schools in North America. The official and only accrediting association is AANMC (the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges). It's important to be aware of the other associations and schools out there that are claiming to be naturopathic medical school accredited by some other organization. Please be aware that if a school is not accredited by AANMC, it does not meet the high standards of education necessary to educate naturopathic doctors. The Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges was established in February 2001, to propel and foster the naturpathic medical profession by actively supporting the academic efforts of accredited and recognized schools of naturopathic medicine.
Another important governing association that is in place to assure quality education for accredited schools is the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME). Their mission is quality assurance; serving the public by accrediting naturopathic medical education programs that voluntarily seek recognition that they meet or exceed CNME's standards. Only students and graduates of programs accredited or preaccredited (candidacy) by CNME are eligible to apply for the naturopathic licensing examinations administered by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE), and are generally eligible for state and provincial licensure in the U.S. and Canada.
The NPLEX (Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examinations) is the examination graduates of one of the approved naturopathic medical colleges must pass to be eligible for licensure in any of the 16 states or 5 provinces that license/register naturopathic physicians. NABNE is responsible for qualifying applicants to take the NPLEX, administering the NPLEX to examinees, and preparing and sending exam results and transcripts to licensing/regulatory authorities.
The institutions that regulate naturopathic medicine grant authority to NABNE to be the examining body for the naturopathic profession through their agreement to use the results of the NPLEX examinations in their determination of the candidate’s eligibility for licensure (United States) or registration (Canada).
Additional information on the naturopathic schools that are included in the accreditation process or ones that are already accredited can be found on the following website; American Association of Naturopathic Medical Colleges
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Dr. Bogus says. . . Welcome to my Blog! I'm excited to be a part of the blogging world. I would first like to say that there are specific topics I'd love to cover and I'm working on a list so that you can have an idea of what will be the topics of discussion in the future. The topics will focus on specific examples of how I apply the naturopathic tenets in practice.
I'd like to start by letting you all know that there are 6 tenets in naturopathic medicine, all which I follow. They are the following;
1- The healing power of nature- this means that our bodies and the environment around us are very smart and there is an innate ability for these systems to create balance. When encouraged in the correct way, our bodies can heal on their own.
2- Identify and treat the cause of disease- this means that as a naturopath I do not treat symptoms. I try to find out why someone is having symptoms and try to help that person correct the cause of discomfort and disease. On a needed basis, I will help people to alleviate symptoms (or palliate) until the cause is found.
3- First do no harm- there are many levels that this tenet can be interpreted. I don't want to harm my patients. I also don't want to mess with the innate ability of individual's body to correct the problem on their own. Doing no harm may mean following the standard of care to some doctors. When a doctor only focuses on one symptom in the body instead of the whole being, the natural healing process in that individual can be negatively influenced (this is called supression). I like to go beyond the minimum of care and look deeper into the whole person. With this holistic approach, the unnecessary measure of supression is not a factor in the treatment plan.
4-Doctor as teacher- I love this one! By educating our patients on natural processes of the body and the effects of different situations and drugs on the body, we empower our patients to make educated decisions for them selves. They are able to be fully prepared to face the challenges and outcomes of their own decisions. By educating others and doing so in a non-biased way, we truly place power back into the patients' hands.
5- Treat the whole person- another great concept. There is no way to just treat parts of a body. Our entire system is interconnected into a complex but beautifully intelligent way. When a doctor leaves part of the system unattended to, it can disrupt the entire system. As a naturopath, I try to the best of my ability to treat each person wholly, as a complete, individual system.
6- Prevention- The prevention of disease and the attainment of optimal health in patients are primary objectives of naturopathic medicine. In practice, these objectives are accomplished through education and the promotion of healthy ways of living. Naturopathic physicians assess risk factors, heredity and susceptibility to disease, and make appropriate interventions in partnership with their patients to prevent illness. Naturopathic medicine asserts that one cannot be truly healthy in an unhealthy environment and is committed to the creation of a world in which humanity may thrive.
This is a background of why I love this medicine. There is more to come so I hope you continue to join me in this little venture.
I'd like to start by letting you all know that there are 6 tenets in naturopathic medicine, all which I follow. They are the following;
1- The healing power of nature- this means that our bodies and the environment around us are very smart and there is an innate ability for these systems to create balance. When encouraged in the correct way, our bodies can heal on their own.
2- Identify and treat the cause of disease- this means that as a naturopath I do not treat symptoms. I try to find out why someone is having symptoms and try to help that person correct the cause of discomfort and disease. On a needed basis, I will help people to alleviate symptoms (or palliate) until the cause is found.
3- First do no harm- there are many levels that this tenet can be interpreted. I don't want to harm my patients. I also don't want to mess with the innate ability of individual's body to correct the problem on their own. Doing no harm may mean following the standard of care to some doctors. When a doctor only focuses on one symptom in the body instead of the whole being, the natural healing process in that individual can be negatively influenced (this is called supression). I like to go beyond the minimum of care and look deeper into the whole person. With this holistic approach, the unnecessary measure of supression is not a factor in the treatment plan.
4-Doctor as teacher- I love this one! By educating our patients on natural processes of the body and the effects of different situations and drugs on the body, we empower our patients to make educated decisions for them selves. They are able to be fully prepared to face the challenges and outcomes of their own decisions. By educating others and doing so in a non-biased way, we truly place power back into the patients' hands.
5- Treat the whole person- another great concept. There is no way to just treat parts of a body. Our entire system is interconnected into a complex but beautifully intelligent way. When a doctor leaves part of the system unattended to, it can disrupt the entire system. As a naturopath, I try to the best of my ability to treat each person wholly, as a complete, individual system.
6- Prevention- The prevention of disease and the attainment of optimal health in patients are primary objectives of naturopathic medicine. In practice, these objectives are accomplished through education and the promotion of healthy ways of living. Naturopathic physicians assess risk factors, heredity and susceptibility to disease, and make appropriate interventions in partnership with their patients to prevent illness. Naturopathic medicine asserts that one cannot be truly healthy in an unhealthy environment and is committed to the creation of a world in which humanity may thrive.
This is a background of why I love this medicine. There is more to come so I hope you continue to join me in this little venture.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
