10 Frequently Asked Questions About Naturopathic Medicine
Check out the Top 10 FAQs about Naturopathic Medicine below. Share these links with your networks, and use the content to learn how to answer these common questions.
How are naturopathic doctors educated, trained, and licensed?
In addition to a standard medical curriculum, schools require their graduates to complete four years of training in disciplines such as clinical nutrition, botanical medicine, physical medicine, counseling, acupuncture, and homeopathic medicine.
What is Naturopathic Medicine?
Naturopathic medicine is a distinct system of medicine that skillfully combines natural therapeutic traditions with modern science to restore and optimize health. Licensed naturopathic doctors (NDs) are trained to provide primary care and to diagnose and treat patients of all ages, genders, and conditions.
NDs complete rigorous education in pharmaceutical drugs during their four-year, science-based medical education and they may prescribe medications when indicated as allowed by state regulations.
This FAQ primarily focuses primarily on licensed professionals who have graduated from a four-year, in-residence, graduate-level medical school recognized by the US.
Naturopathic doctors’ rigorous nutrition training and understanding of food as medicine enables them to provide individualized nutrition guidance. NDs complete ~155 classroom hours of nutrition education during medical school. NDs utilize evidence-based nutritional recommendations.
A “naturopath” is not the same thing as a licensed naturopathic doctor. Licensed naturopathic doctors are regulated at the state level to practice naturopathic medicine. State-mandated regulatory bodies oversee standards of practice, complaints, and discipline for all licensed jurisdictions.
When you’ve decided to see a naturopathic doctor, it’s helpful to know what to look for when choosing an ND, how to find an ND, and what to expect at your first naturopathic medical appointment.
Naturopathic doctors treat people with all medical conditions and can provide both individual and family health care. Read about 6 of the most common reasons patients choose to see a naturopathic doctor.
How do naturopathic doctors and conventionally trained doctors work together?
There are a number of situations where naturopathic and conventionally trained doctors working together deliver care for patients. These areas where naturopathic medicine excels provide diagnostic approaches and treatments that complement those of conventionally trained doctors. Sometimes one doctor takes the lead and sometimes the other. Both the patients and providers benefit from collaboration.
Why do naturopathic doctors spend between 1 and 2 hours with patients in an appointment?
As doctors trained to treat the whole person, NDs take the time to explore many factors that affect your health, create customized treatment plans and health management strategies. This time spent with you is often focused on identifying the underlying cause(s) of your health concerns, and empowering you to engage actively in restoring and managing your own health. This whole-person care leads to high patient satisfaction and improved outcomes.