Naturopathic Medicine: How It Works
The past 30 years has seen an extraordinary increase in consumer demand for safe, effective and cost-effective natural healthcare. Naturopathic medicine has emerged as the health care profession best suited to meet this demand. Although it almost disappeared in the mid-twentieth century because of the popularity of drugs and surgery, naturopathic medicine now offers safe, effective natural therapies as a vital part of the health care systems of North America the twenty-first century.Naturopathic physicians are trained in the art and science of natural healthcare at accredited medical colleges. Integrative partnerships between conventional medical doctors and licensed NDs are becoming more available. This cooperation makes more effective therapies available to consumers. It increases patient satisfaction in their relationships with their care providers. More people are recovering their health by adding naturopathic medicine to their health care options.
Naturopathic medicine is a system of medicine that assists in the restoration of health by following a set of specific rules. A basic assumption is that nature is orderly, and this orderliness is designed to result in ongoing life and well being. This dependable orderliness is believed to be guided by a kind of inner wisdom that everyone has. This inner wisdom can be assisted to return a person to their best balance by naturopathic treatments.
The Rules That Guide Naturopathic Medicine
Naturopathic physicians are guided in their treatment decisions by the idea that it is the nature of all things to return to balance; it is the nature of organisms- plants, animals, people- to heal. The naturopathic physician understands illness as a series of events that can be changed, or redirected toward order and balance, with help.
There are not many words in Western medicine for the inner wisdom that guides internal physical processes that lead to health or disease. Naturopathic medicine calls this inner wisdom the healing power of nature, or, in Latin, the vis medicatrix naturae. Naturopathic physicians understand that any treatments used should not further damage the ill person, whenever possible. This is expressed as primum non nocere, or the promise to first try the treatments that will mostly help and which do the least harm. When confronted with illness, the naturopathic physician looks for what in the patient’s life is most out of balance. The ND will work with a person to figure out the underlying cause of the problem. In order to remove the cause of the illness (tolle causum), the naturopathic physician must treat the whole person. To help a person be rid of the insults and stresses that are harmful, the doctor becomes a teacher (docere), giving the patient the information she needs to be a partner in her recovery through sensible self-care. Working in a partnership with a naturopathic physician helps each patient to learn new behaviors and effective solutions for their future, when efforts at prevention can be the focus of their doctor–patient relationship.
What A Visit With a Naturopathic Physician Is Like
In many ways a visit with a naturopathic physician will be a familiar experience. NDs use all the same sorts of interview questions, physical examinations, blood tests and imaging technologies like ultrasound and CT scans, that other doctors use to arrive at a diagnosis. Naturopathic physicians treat people in what are called “first contact” settings, meaning their office or a clinic, rather than in a hospital. NDs refer patients with serious acute illness or emergencies to conventional medical doctors when appropriate or necessary. Where the experience will be different is in the types if treatments the ND offers, as well as in the type of relationship the naturopathic doctor and the patient will have. Typically visits with a ND are much longer than those with a MD; the patient does a lot of talking, the naturopathic physician listens. The patient will be asked to be a very active and responsible participant in their treatment plan.
A naturopathic physician will be working to create an in-depth understanding of each patient’s condition, as well as to effectively communicate important information to other healthcare providers participating in the patient’s care. Essential to such a comprehensive evaluation is the in-depth first visit, which will usually last 60 to 90 minutes. Follow-up visits are usually 30-45 minutes long. A standard review of medical history and the story of the current illness will be recorded. Patients are often asked to provide reports of daily activities, such as dietary habits, physical activity, and psychological issues. NDs perform physical examinations as needed for the patient’s presenting concern and this is followed by any indicated laboratory or diagnostic imaging tests.
Treatments used in naturopathic practice include clinical nutrition and dietary changes, counseling for lifestyle modification, herbal medicine, homeopathy, physical medicine, and nutritional supplements. Depending on local licensure statutes, naturopathic physicians may be fully recognized as primary healthcare providers. Some NDs provide or will refer for treatments such as acupuncture or bone and joint manipulation. Some have special licenses to provide services for natural childbirth at home or in birthing centers. Depending on what state they are practicing in, some NDs will use prescription-only items, including natural hormones, amino acids and certain drugs to help patients.
NDs are trained to recognize serious and life-threatening situations and to identify conditions outside of the scope of their professional definition or legal limitations. NDs work with conventionally trained primary care physicians, internists, and specialists in co-managing patients, participating in decisions regarding referral for evaluation and treatment by medical doctors and other sorts of health care practitioners as well. Gathering and sharing important information with other healthcare providers for the good of the patient is a central feature of naturopathic medical practice.
The Healthcare System in Recovery
As the healthcare system continues to develop in response to consumer demand,
the identity and characteristics of the primary care physician will change
as well. Doctors of all kinds are called upon to provide comprehensive care
in a respectful and cooperative way with other healthcare providers. All
of medicine is acknowledging the value of the therapeutic relationship that
develops between patient and physician. Naturopathic physicians have been
practicing as patient partners for over a hundred years. It is a great time
in medicine, as the guiding rules of naturopathic medicine become accepted
and valued by all.To access more in-depth information, including how to locate licensed NDs in a particular geographic area, contact the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians at www.naturopathic.org. Regarding naturopathic medical education, particularly the advanced standing programs available to degreed professionals, contact the American Association of Naturopathic Medical Colleges at www.aanmc.org. An additional resource for degreed medical professionals interested in naturopathic professional practice