What is Naturopathic Medicine?
Naturopathic Medicine is a form of primary healthcare that incorporates modern Western medicine, scientific knowledge and research, and natural, holistic medicine. Naturopathic Doctors (NDs) are primary healthcare physicians who are trained to diagnose, treat, and manage patients with acute and chronic conditions, while simultaneously addressing the root cause of the disease and taking into account all parts of the patient at the level of the mind, body, and spirit.
Naturopathic medicine emphasizes the use of natural modalities, such as nutrition, botanical medicine, herbs, and lifestyle counseling. They are often used in conjunction with conventional medical therapies to support the body’s natural healing process, also called “integrative medicine.” The main focus of naturopathic medicine is to treat the whole person, which is done by viewing the body as an integrated whole in all its physical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions to best alleviate any pain, problems, or diseases that patients present with.
Naturopathic medical education is extremely comprehensive and trains graduates for primary care delivery. Unlike conventional medical doctors, naturopathic doctors are not required to do a residency or choose a specialty. Some NDs begin practicing as general practitioners and naturally gravitate toward continuing education and patients with similar health journeys. The naturopathic profession offers career path flexibility that can grow and mature with a doctor’s clinical skill and professional trajectory.
Other NDs may choose to develop an interest in a specific area of medicine, or maintain a broad practice, seeing a variety of patients and conditions. For those NDs who graduate with a passion for a particular area of focus, there are many options to pursue that interest. Some naturopathic doctors seek out internships and residencies in a specific field such as oncology, pediatrics, environmental medicine, endocrinology, psychiatry, and more.
As mentioned, NDs focus on discovering the underlying symptoms and offer natural and effective therapies to permanently remove symptoms and reduce dependency upon medications. The therapies and natural prescriptions utilized by naturopathic doctors improves current health and reduces the risk of future age-related decline. Rather than just suppressing symptoms, naturopathic doctors work to identify underlying causes of illness, and develop personalized treatment plans to address them. Although NDs focus on natural healing alternatives, they know when a patient needs more invasive, harsh therapies and are trained in pharmacology and how to use pharmaceutical drugs when necessary. If state licensing permits, they are allowed to prescribe pharmaceutical agents to patients themselves, or refer to a conventional medical colleague, as well as when emergency or surgical intervention is necessary.
Naturopathic Doctors are wonderful healthcare professionals who want to treat your whole body, not just your symptoms, and are willing to spend as much time as necessary with you to get to the root cause of the problem. Read the next post to see whether having a Naturopathic Physician as your primary care doctor is the right decision for you!
Check out the following websites I have referenced for more information:
https://naturopathic.org/page/WhatisaNaturopathicDoctor
https://aanmc.org/featured-articles/naturopathic-specialties/